Introducing Bill Bowline and, um, well I don't believe I caught the other gent's name: The Two Jolly Jackies! This is an early effort from George Herriman which ran every Sunday for a good portion of 1903, until mid-November. These two sailors appear to be rather close, but they'll be the first to tell you that it's the ladies they're trying to impress when they break out their special sailor stunts. One scary episode illustrates that perhaps their heterosexuality is not so obvious to everyone they meet out on the street. I'm not saying that some of their antics wouldn't be cause for a beat down, but it is rather upsetting to see this situation played for laughs. Thankfully the rest of their exploits tend to be fairly lighthearted; I know it was probably a tired joke even a hundred years ago, but it still made me smile to see the results of the "language" portion of the curriculum at their school for young sailors. And let's not forget the time the boys were mistaken for mermaids...

Take a tour of our Jackies archive if for no other reason than to see the one of the most respected artists to ever work the comics page begin to form his style. As well, the Ignatz Archive has several of these strips (and even a few we don't have) in glorious color, so make sure to stop in for a look when you're done here.