Week 3, Smithsonial Collection of Newspaper Comics - 4pts

I chose Toonerville Folks by Fontain Fox. A lot of the comics at the beginning of the Smithsonian Collection are heavy with small text and detailed images, and some political. I personally enjoyed the comic of Toonerville Folks more because while it has small text, the visuals aren't as heavy creating more of a balance. The more lighter comics like this one tend to have a visual gag, or someone getting injured because of a funny incident. This story begins with a dad working on a Christmas present for his son. His dilemma is getting the present, a bike into the house without his son seeing him. He phones his wife to ask her to send the son to his grandmother's house to give him time. The son is hesitant as there is a kid waiting to beat him up, but goes anyways. As predicted, the son is beat up by the bully. While the mom is bandaging his black eyes, the father is able to sneak the present in. Seeing that the bullies actions didn't prevent the father from the intent of hiding the bike, the parents seem as though they don't mind, creating the comic's gag or story. While the story is decent, I appreciate the simple characters and environments drawn a lot. The simple environments, draws more attention to and enhances the characters actions and what they're saying. The stories are simple, to the point and visually interesting. I also enjoy the color tones Fox used during that time period to color their comics.