The Upside Down World of Gustave Verbeek

"The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo" by Gustave Verbeek is one of the eight wonders of the comics world. Earlier illustrations in books and magazines created this illusion (images that read different when viewed upside-down), but Verbeek created the first such imagery in the comics. The Sunday page came in two parts: the first is read like a regular comic, then you turn the page upside down and the images, characters, and backgrounds change to continue the story with the same panels in a new position. But GoComics makes it easy—we turn the page upside-down for you.

The strip appeared in several major newspapers from October 1903 to January 1905. It was always printed as a half-full page and sometimes only in one, two, or three-color format, rather than the usual four-color. Here, GoComics offers the complete run of the Upside Downs (1903–1905). Also featured is the complete run of Verbeek’s "Loony Lyrics of Lulu" (1910) and a sampling of his long-running favorite, "Terrors of the Tiny Tads" (1906–1914).

This historic comic is presented in its original form, unedited from the time period in which it was created. These images may contain harmful stereotypes, problematic and antiquated ideologies, or otherwise negative cultural depictions and themes indicative of the context in which it first appeared. We run these vintage comic strips to preserve a digital archive of the medium's early examples.