Mr. Skygack, from Mars

Mr. Skygack, from Mars was a comic strip by the American cartoonist A.D. Condo. It appeared in the Chicago Day Book, a Chicago working-class newspaper, from October 2, 1907 to April 1911[1] in about 400 comic strips and single panels.[2] 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,[3] The Milwaukee Journal, The Spokane Press, The Pittsburgh Press, The Tacoma Times and The Duluth Daily Star.

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

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.[2][4] Skygack subsequently appeared in Condo's ethnic-humor comic strip Osgar und Adolf.[5]

A Mr. Skygack costume of 1912

Mr. Skygack, from Mars is considered the first science fiction comic,[6] 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.[2]

References
  1. Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 274. ISBN 9780472117567.
  2. Miller, Ron (19 September 2013). "Was Mr. Skygack the First Alien Character in Comics?". io9. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  3. "Mr. Skygack From Mars". The Seattle Star. 15 October 1907. p. 4.
  4. Schaefer, Fred (February 10, 1912). "Who's Who in the Comics". The Day Book. pp. 26–27.
  5. 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
  6. Mr. Skygak, From Mars, at the Filson Historical Society, by Michael Veach; published 28 September 2010; retrieved 9 December 2013
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