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From October 5, 1921. This might very well be the first mention of the thin, black haired boarder named Mack. A comparison shot of how he looked in 1937 shows just how primitive Gene Ahern's illustrations were in the beginning. An interesting story line presented here. Mack and his buddy share the same bed and get each others items of clothing mixed up. Hmmmm, but I guess the boarding house has that effect on the men who live there. The Major, in more contemporary strips, thinks nothing of sharing his bed with members of the Owls Club, after a full night of drinking.
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loginI still can't get over how much the contemporary Mack looks like a caricature drawing of my late Uncle Frank. Similar build, jet black hair combed the same way, and even the shape of chin looks familiar. Interestingly, I first read Our Boarding House comics as a kid, when my family visited the aunt, uncle and cousins up north. Their newspaper carried the strip. Our local paper didn't.
