...Jessica Q. Stark Abstract This essay presents in dialogue two renditions of the Nancy comics by original creator Ernie Bushmiller and the later poet and visual artist Joe Brainard. Arguing for a generative consideration of these seemingly disparate versions on a continuum, this comparison addresses...

... unfold from a single icon, punchline, or gag. Stark places the original Nancy comic strips developed by artist Ernie Bushmiller in the 1920s and 1930s (which depicted Nancy as a sly trickster figure continually upsetting rules or pulling practical jokes on friends and neighbors) alongside the playful...