Mr. Skygack, from Mars

The 18 October 1907 panel of Mr. Skygack, from Mars

Mr. Skygack, from Mars was a comic strip by the cartoonist A.D. Condo. It appeared in the Chicago Day Book, a Chicago (USA) working-class newspaper, from 1907 to 1917 in about 400 comic strips and single panels.[1] Like much of Condo's work in this period, the Mr. Skygack feature was syndicated and appeared in many other papers, including The Seattle Star,[2] The Milwaukee Journal, The Spokane Press, The Pittsburgh Press, The Tacoma Times and The Duluth Daily Star.

The comic followed the titular Mr. Skygack, a Martian, on his mission to study humans. Mr. Skygack's comical misunderstandings of Earthly affairs gave Condo the opportunity to comment on and criticize social norms.[1] Skygack subsequently appeared in Condo's ethnic-humor comic strip Osgar und Adolf.[3]

A Mr. Skygack costume of 1912

Mr. Skygack, from Mars is considered the first science fiction comic,[4] featuring the first extraterrestrial character in comics history. It also gave rise to the first recorded sci-fi cosplay when a Mr. William Fell was reported wearing a Mr. Skygack costume to a 1908 masquerade.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Miller, Ron (19 September 2013). "Was Mr. Skygack the First Alien Character in Comics?". io9. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mr. Skygack From Mars". The Seattle Star. 15 October 1907. p. 4.
  3. ↑ World Wide Words: Bee's Knees, by Michael Quinion; published no later than 7 April 2010 (date of earliest version, on archive.org, of page containing relevant information); retrieved 23 February 2014
  4. ↑ Mr. Skygak, From Mars, at the Filson Historical Society, by Michael Veach; published 28 September 2010; retrieved 9 December 2013

External links

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