Camera-ready comic art drawing for The Katzenjammer Kids

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the The Katzenjammer Kids comic strip shows “der Captain” calling “der Inspector” a “cheapskate” after being accused of being lazy. During the verbal altercation, Hans and Fritz offer “der Inspector” a bag that he thinks is full of cash. To prove he isn’t stingy, “der Inspector” offers half to “der Captain,” then they discover that the bag contains a wild cat planted by the two boys as a prank.

Joseph "Joe" Musial (1905-1977) was a comic artist who began working in 1929 as an assistant to Billy DeBeck’s comic strip Barney Google. In 1932 Musial was hired by King Features Syndicate to serve as a substitute artist on strips such as Blondie, Bringing Up Father, and Thimble Theatre. In 1956 Musial was asked to draw The Katzenjammer Kids. He continued drawing the strip until 1976.

The Katzenjammer Kids (1897- ) premiered in American Humorist, a Sunday supplement to the New York Journal. The creator of the strip, German immigrant Rudolph Dirks (1877-1968), was inspired by a German children’s story from the 1860s called “Max and Moritz.” The storyline included mischievous twins, similar to the later comic strip protagonists Hans and Fritz. Both sets of twins have an aversion to authority. The strip often sees Hans and Fritz playing pranks on various adults, such as their mother, “der Captain” (who acts as a father figure), “der Inspector” (a school official), and their tutor, Miss Twiddle.

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