Grove, Laurence

English

Enlighten: Publications

22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the world
https://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 1/4
Author
Laurence Grove
Professor of French and Text/Image
Studies, University of Glasgow
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the world
March 15, 2016 10.10am GMT
Here’s a good pub quiz question: what was the world’s first comic?
If you’ve no idea, don’t feel too foolish. It wasn’t even recognised by experts until a few
years ago and is still debatable today. But long before Viz, The Beano, Eagle and even 
Punch, I can answer with reasonable confidence that the accolade goes to the Glasgow
Looking Glass of 1825.
The fortnightly publication, which ran over 19 issues for a year starting in June 1825,
offered a satirical view of politics and all aspects of life in the city – before broadening
to become the Northern Looking Glass from issue six. The cover of the first issue
includes a panoramic cartoon that pokes fun at the world powers of the day, including
images of John Bull (personifying England) alongside the likes of the King of Prussia
and Charles X of France. Next to this is a cartoon entitled “Fashions for June”, which
mocks the excessive styles that people were wearing.
The comic was the brainchild of the English satirical cartoonist William Heath, who had
reached Glasgow aǔer fleeing from London to escape debts. Oǔen published under the
nom de plume Paul Pry, Heath teamed up with lithographic printer Thomas Hopkirk
and his print manager John Watson to produce the publication aǔer meeting Hopkirk
in one of the city’s drinking dens.
Accompanying an 1825 piece on the grave­robbing problem. Looking Glass
22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the world
https://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 2/4
The Looking Glass contained the world’s first comic strip,
namely the History of a Coat, whose adventures from owner to
owner ran over three episodes. There were many examples of
speech bubbles, such as the heated one below between “Billy
the Bully and Ranting Dan”.
Well before the environmental movement as we know it was a cartoon entitled: “The
Consumption of Smoke”, which gives a futuristic before-and-aǔer imagining of city life
without factory smoke. Also eye-catching is the hard-hitting cartoon in the lead image
that accompanied an essay on the problem of grave robbing; and the one below that
depicts English banks crumbling around a fat John Bull next to thriǔy Scotsmen –
ironic aǔer the banking crisis in our era.
Issue 1 front cover Looking Glass
Billy the Bully and Ranting Dan. Looking Glass
22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the world
https://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 3/4
Other contenders
The Looking Glass was a soaring success, sharply increasing the number of outlets in
the first few issues both across the Scottish central belt as well as to Liverpool and
London. Its undoing seems to have been its celebrity, with its biting satire making
enemies for Heath, who fled back to London at the height of its popularity. He was said
to have run up drinking debts. He started a London version of the title but it folded
aǔer a few months.
Despite being a trailblazer, the Looking Glass’s claim to be the world’s first comic was
overlooked by virtually all historians of the graphic novel until the end of the 20th
century. The main previous contender was the Histoire de M. Jabot, which was
launched in 1835 by Geneva schoolmaster Rodolphe Töpffer. Jabot tells the story of its
central character’s search for love. The tone is burlesque and caricatural, with humour
oǔen provoked by the discordance between the pseudo-loǔy tone of the text and the
slapstick nature of the accompanying images.
Banker satire. Looking Glass
22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the world
https://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 4/4
Although only intended for Töpffer’s pupils and close friends, the cartoons were
popular enough to engender numerous pirate versions and spin-offs. This included
North America’s first comic, The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck of 1842 – a year
aǔer Punch arrived in the UK.
When I said at the beginning that the Looking Glass’s status as the first comic was
debatable, it means ignoring previous examples of narrative heroes like Rowlandson or 
Hogarth; the speech bubbles used by Isaac Cruikshank and Biblia pauparum; and
before-and-aǔers like the manuscript of Petrarch’s Visions. Depending on how you
define “comic”, any of these might be able to stake a claim.
But judging from our 21st-century viewpoint, where we see a comic as something to
fold up and take home – something featuring picture stories and available to a mass
market – it is hard to argue against the Looking Glass. Jabot is perhaps the world’s first
modern graphic novel, though it was not available to the masses of course.
Whatever your point of view, we’re running a four-month exhibition in Glasgow that
contains examples of everything I have mentioned – as well as the first copy of Punch
and various other artefacts dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. Thanks to a loan from
the Kunzle Collection of Los Angeles, we’ll also be able to show the first editions of
Oldbuck and Jabot and the original Jabot manuscript side by side for the first time ever.
Töpffer felt that his comics were not worthy of serious attention, let alone academic
analysis or gallery displays. This was the way that most people viewed comics until the
end of the 20th century. Thankfully the world has now seen the light. Publications like
these give us a unique view of society in the early 19th century, and are invaluable in
helping us understand how the modern comic came about. Long aǔer the laughing has
stopped, they continue to be incredibly important.
Jabot in action. Wikimedia


Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the World

Enlighten

22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the worldhttps://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 1/4AuthorLaurence GroveProfessor of French and Text/ImageStudies, University of GlasgowAcademic rigour, journalistic flairInside the pages of the oldest comic in the worldMarch 15, 2016 10.10am GMTHere’s a good pub quiz question: what was the world’s ﬁrst comic?If you’ve no idea, don’t feel too foolish. It wasn’t even recognised by experts until a fewyears ago and is still debatable today. But long before Viz, The Beano, Eagle and even Punch, I can answer with reasonable conﬁdence that the accolade goes to the GlasgowLooking Glass of 1825.The fortnightly publication, which ran over 19 issues for a year starting in June 1825,oﬀered a satirical view of politics and all aspects of life in the city – before broadeningto become the Northern Looking Glass from issue six. The cover of the ﬁrst issueincludes a panoramic cartoon that pokes fun at the world powers of the day, includingimages of John Bull (personifying England) alongside the likes of the King of Prussiaand Charles X of France. Next to this is a cartoon entitled “Fashions for June”, whichmocks the excessive styles that people were wearing.The comic was the brainchild of the English satirical cartoonist William Heath, who hadreached Glasgow aǔer ﬂeeing from London to escape debts. Oǔen published under thenom de plume Paul Pry, Heath teamed up with lithographic printer Thomas Hopkirkand his print manager John Watson to produce the publication aǔer meeting Hopkirkin one of the city’s drinking dens.Accompanying an 1825 piece on the grave­robbing problem. Looking Glass22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the worldhttps://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 2/4The Looking Glass contained the world’s ﬁrst comic strip,namely the History of a Coat, whose adventures from owner toowner ran over three episodes. There were many examples ofspeech bubbles, such as the heated one below between “Billythe Bully and Ranting Dan”.Well before the environmental movement as we know it was a cartoon entitled: “TheConsumption of Smoke”, which gives a futuristic before-and-aǔer imagining of city lifewithout factory smoke. Also eye-catching is the hard-hitting cartoon in the lead imagethat accompanied an essay on the problem of grave robbing; and the one below thatdepicts English banks crumbling around a fat John Bull next to thriǔy Scotsmen –ironic aǔer the banking crisis in our era.Issue 1 front cover Looking GlassBilly the Bully and Ranting Dan. Looking Glass22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the worldhttps://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 3/4Other contendersThe Looking Glass was a soaring success, sharply increasing the number of outlets inthe ﬁrst few issues both across the Scottish central belt as well as to Liverpool andLondon. Its undoing seems to have been its celebrity, with its biting satire makingenemies for Heath, who ﬂed back to London at the height of its popularity. He was saidto have run up drinking debts. He started a London version of the title but it foldedaǔer a few months.Despite being a trailblazer, the Looking Glass’s claim to be the world’s ﬁrst comic wasoverlooked by virtually all historians of the graphic novel until the end of the 20thcentury. The main previous contender was the Histoire de M. Jabot, which waslaunched in 1835 by Geneva schoolmaster Rodolphe Töpﬀer. Jabot tells the story of itscentral character’s search for love. The tone is burlesque and caricatural, with humouroǔen provoked by the discordance between the pseudo-loǔy tone of the text and theslapstick nature of the accompanying images.Banker satire. Looking Glass22/08/2016 Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the worldhttps://theconversation.com/inside­the­pages­of­the­oldest­comic­in­the­world­56225 4/4Although only intended for Töpﬀer’s pupils and close friends, the cartoons werepopular enough to engender numerous pirate versions and spin-oﬀs. This includedNorth America’s ﬁrst comic, The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck of 1842 – a yearaǔer Punch arrived in the UK.When I said at the beginning that the Looking Glass’s status as the ﬁrst comic wasdebatable, it means ignoring previous examples of narrative heroes like Rowlandson or Hogarth; the speech bubbles used by Isaac Cruikshank and Biblia pauparum; andbefore-and-aǔers like the manuscript of Petrarch’s Visions. Depending on how youdeﬁne “comic”, any of these might be able to stake a claim.But judging from our 21st-century viewpoint, where we see a comic as something tofold up and take home – something featuring picture stories and available to a massmarket – it is hard to argue against the Looking Glass. Jabot is perhaps the world’s ﬁrstmodern graphic novel, though it was not available to the masses of course.Whatever your point of view, we’re running a four-month exhibition in Glasgow thatcontains examples of everything I have mentioned – as well as the ﬁrst copy of Punchand various other artefacts dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. Thanks to a loan fromthe Kunzle Collection of Los Angeles, we’ll also be able to show the ﬁrst editions ofOldbuck and Jabot and the original Jabot manuscript side by side for the ﬁrst time ever.Töpﬀer felt that his comics were not worthy of serious attention, let alone academicanalysis or gallery displays. This was the way that most people viewed comics until theend of the 20th century. Thankfully the world has now seen the light. Publications likethese give us a unique view of society in the early 19th century, and are invaluable inhelping us understand how the modern comic came about. Long aǔer the laughing hasstopped, they continue to be incredibly important.Jabot in action. Wikimedia

http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/122993/1/122993.pdf

Inside the pages of the oldest comic in the World

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