The 1940s newspaper strip "Barnaby" by cartoonist Crockett Johnson reads like a low key comedy directed by Preston Sturges combined with the vaudeville antics of a kid with his semi - imaginary friend and/or Flim Flam - Con Artist Uncle. Early comic strips like Little Nemo in Slumberland 1905 and Mr. Twee Deedle 1912 both had similar interactions with impish cigar chomping fairy like companions who acted as guides to the unseen landscapes of Slumberland or of wood sprites mingling with country meadow creatures. In the case of Barnaby the Fairy Godfather Mr. O' Malley dealt strictly in events taking place in 1940s suburbia. Magical visitors like invisible leprechauns, shy ghosts or mental giants made the trip to Barnaby's neighborhood to help the kid find adventure and give advise on daily life.
The 2013 Fantagraphics newspaper reprint book "Barnaby VOL. 1: 1942-1943"
One of the few examples of two adult lady shoppers actually seeing Mr. O' Malley and mistaking him for a little person disguised as a department store Christmas elf or holiday gnome.
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