The creation of syndicated newspaper artist Lewis Pardain, Lancer the Paper Fiend was an icon of the early twenties to late forties. Created during Pardains employment at the Kellbridge Chronicle, the comic titled Lancer in the Inkwell would revolve around Lancers interactions with the reader, the space around him, and the text speech bubbles and borders of the comic. It was a very meta fourth wall breaking comic strip and fairly well regarded by readers for its funny inventive usage of the medium. 

Lancers personality in these comics could be described as a very curious, but easily irritated/pestered character that would often ‘fight’ with the reader and/or artist. He was a strong headed creature that often employed physical violence to get what he wanted, and would sometimes erupt into angry blobs of text that covered the page. In one of his most well known strips he took a pen, stabbed the wall behind him, and words poured into the room. It was gags like these that drew fans to buy the paper just for Lancers antics.

When Pardain left Kellbridge Chronicle to help build up the fledgling Liquid Laff Pictures with close friend Ivan Hoth, several other artists would attempt to fill the role of drawing for Lancer and the Inkwell. However due to various personal work and life related issues, these replacements tended to quit within one to two months. The comics were never quite the same following Pardains departure, as they were lacking the inventive fourth wall breaking they were once known for, and within two years the comic ended its run. 

Although Kellbridge owned the rights to Lancer, Pardain continued to draw non-commercial art of the character long after his departure. Most of this art would be given away to friends and family. What remained afterwards was archived in his apartment home. In fact, the last thing Pardain ever drew was Lancer, because in the 60s he was found deceased at his home office mid drawing. 

Lancer has a statue built in honor of Pardain’s legacy, located outside the Kellbridge Chronicle historical building.