New York, New York: the city that gave us the term "rush hour." The city in which things can happen in "a New York minute." Is there any other city that could have inspired such a strip as The "Hurry Up" New Yorker? Maurice Ketten gives us a peek into the behavior of some of the more blusterous and hypocritical souls inhabiting "the city that never sleeps" a hundred years ago. His style here is quite different than what I've come to expect from him in features like Can You Beat It? or Poor Little Income, his figures are much more animated here than in those later works. And just who is the "Hurry Up" New Yorker? He's the guy "in a duece of a hurry" to get home, only to stop at the bar for a quick drink that lasts 23 hours. He's the guy who snaps at everyone about how much work he has to get done today, only to spend his time watching a building on fire from his window. She's the gal who can't tend to her family when she's rushing to make a train, but somehow has time for some baby-talk with her cute little puppy. He's the guy who can't spare a second to help his wife, but will gladly chat with the lovely Mrs. Quickly on the street for a couple hours. He's the guy, well you get the idea...I've got a post to wrap up here!
I know they say haste makes waste; I must apologize for putting up strips that show so many of those lines characteristic to that wonder of the ages, microfilm. Believe me, it was either put them up now, or risk letting them sit for months or years in the clean-up pile. We're going the way of instant gratification this time around.
By Maurice Ketten