Almost last call for Comics show at Cultural Center

👋 Hi, Monica here!

• I'm not a big museum person but have visited the comics exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center three times already and can't wait to go back.

Why it matters: "Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life 1880-1960" closes on Jan. 9 and makes for a great free holiday outing.

The inspiration: Artist Chris Ware and historian Tim Samuelson created the show to complement last summer's modern comic exhibit at the MCA and to showcase local cartoon history.

You'll see: Huge reproductions of old strips presenting Chicago life and humor back in the day.

• Works by early female and African American cartoon creators.
• Super cool artifacts and toys from Samuelson's personal collection.

Four surprises: The Chicago Tribune published an anonymously written series called "Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye," revolving around two kissing women — in 1905!

• Chicago papers ran a pre-WWII German-American comic strip called "Dinglehoofer und his dog Adolph" whose characters spoke with heavy accents.
• Front pages from the Chicago Tribune, Defender and Daily News on the same day in July 1921 show totally different stories and illustrate siloed news worlds even then.

Curator's choice: Ware devotes a third of the show to "Gasoline Alley" creator Frank King, whose characters grew up in real time

• "He was the first cartoonist to harness the ephemeral nature of daily newsprint to capture the ineffable passing of life with characters who aged," Ware tells Axios.

Details: The free show is open daily 10am to 5pm at the Chicago Cultural Center.