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 comics, 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/artist. He was a strong headed character that often employed physical violence to get what he wanted, and would often erupt into angry blobs of text that covered the page. In one of his most well known strips, he took a pin, stabbed the wall behind him, and words featured in that day’s paper 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 notably 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.