The conventions of the pin-up don't necessarily work well within the context of a gag cartoon. In its early decades, Esquire resorted time and again to a formula of pairing provocatively underdressed women with suggestive gag lines in combinations that were meant to be both sexy and funny but more often than not came up short in both areas. In the April 1937 issue of Esquire, for example, George Petty presents us with his privileged view of a kept woman for the appreciative gaze of the magazine's male readership. Petty's choice of vantage point makes no pretense of this being a character study; indeed we get to see more of the bounced check than of the woman's face.
Note: This marks the first appearance of George Petty on Attempted Bloggery. He is the creator of the popular "Petty Girl."
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| "I suppose this bum check is your idea of an April Fool's joke[.]" George Petty Esquire, April 1937, page 41 |
Note: This marks the first appearance of George Petty on Attempted Bloggery. He is the creator of the popular "Petty Girl."
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