Ad Carter's Just Kids is a rather well known strip, but did you know it's a revamp of an earlier work? Our Friend Mush and Other Boys began in 1916, becoming just plain ol' Our Friend Mush by year's end. The Stripper's Guide has evidence that it morphed again many years down the road into Mush Stebbins And His Sister, but that's getting way ahead of ourselves. If you are familiar with Just Kids you may notice Carter's style of illustration on Mush is more traditional, for lack of a better term. It reminds me a little of Out Our Way. Not that there's anything to dislike about the artwork here, I guess I've always dug the distinctive look of the kids in Just Kids. While I'm typing all of this, it's becoming clear that we need to get some samples of that title up here sometime...

But let's get back to our friend Mush, shall we. I was expecting a more raucous boys' strip, but this one is a little quieter - not that the boys are angels by any means, trouble manages to find them often enough. A typical outing from the early days might feature a misunderstanding involving pie theft. Or Mush's inability to woo the object of his affections, Suzie. And let me say it's a little surprising to witness the degree to which these boys had the hots for their own cousins! As far as boys getting into trouble, there's a continuity in early 1918 where Mush is sent to boarding school for fighting only to find his way back home through further fisticuffs.