Muggs McGinnis strip (August 19, 1935)

Today we would call this kind of pun a "dad joke," but here it comes from a little kid. I bet it originated on the vaudeville circuit.

Wally Bishop produced the strip for almost fifty years, from 1927-1974. In 1936, it was retitled "Mugs and Skeeter," referring to the main character's little brother. Strips like this reflect changing generational attitudes about children; in the nineteenth century, children had been considered a nuisance to adult life, but now they became appropriate subjects for endearing popular entertainment.

Muggs is holding something called a 'book' which contains written stories. This one is about a cowboy shooting somebody dead. The notion of 'children's literature' was still evolving I guess.