Comic strips—stories told primarily in strip cartoon form, rather than as a written narrative with illustrations—emerged only slowly. Scottish-born newspaper proprietor James Henderson began publishing "Funny Folks" in 1874. Writer Denis Gifford considered "Funny Folks" to be the first British comic, though at first it tackled topical and political subjects along the same lines as "Punch". The magazine was heavily illustrated, with cartoons by John Proctor, known as Puck, among others, and benefitted from innovations in the use of cheap paper and photographic printing. "Ally Sloper's Half Holiday" (1884) is regarded as the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character (Ally Sloper). This strip cost one penny and was designed for adults. Ally, the recurring character, was a working-class fellow who got up to various forms of mischief and often suffered for it.