June 4 1910 — A bittersweet announcement goes with this post. As we come to June 1910 in our complete reprinting of Herriman’s LA Examiner cartoons, we have reached his final month with the paper. Yes, believe it or not, Herriman won’t be at the Examiner for the Fight of the Century on July 4. Instead he’ll be in New York starting a little strip called The Family Upstairs before the month is out, and finally carving out his exalted place in the history of newspaper cartooning.

This Stripper’s Guide series has been running since June 2 2007, believe it or not. It has taken us a decade and a half to chronicle all of Herriman’s (major) cartoons for the Examiner from 1906 to 1910, roughly three times as long as it took Herriman to produce them. 

There are now just three cartoons left. Be here for all of ’em!

As for the cartoon above, obviously it is yet another take on the upcoming Fight of the Century. This one highlights not just Johnson’s mission to retain the title, but also taking a sidelong glance at his skin tone preference in girlfriends (who definitely did NOT need to be tied to a mast to be with him).