A
Beano comic strip (syndicated to
The Funday Times) that was originally devised in
1993 (According to the Beano's website - I think this date is just when it moved to the Beano from another comic. Noders report that it was around at least 30-odd years ago in some form).
The strip revolves around a truly brilliant and inspired concept: The Numskulls are tiny homunculii who live in different departments inside a man's (known to them simply as "Our Man") head. There are two in the mouth who shovel food down to the stomach department, a guy steering, and ones working the ears, etc. vaguely in the manner of a submarine or bomber crew. Their leader is Brainy.
The plot generally involves one or more of the Numskulls being accidentally stranded outside the man's head, leaving him with some impairment or other. Another common plot element is that the man will complain of some ailment (caused by some failure of the Numskulls' mechanical equipment), and go to the doctor's to recieve treatment. The treatment always inadvertently causes the Numskulls bother, and in a roundabout way manages to solve the problem.
(e.g. if the man is told to eat ice cream to cheer himself up, the Numskulls might shovel it into the brain compartment - causing brain freeze - but then have a snowball fight, causing Brainy to neglect filing the Man's suicidal thoughts, taking his mind off them as it were. Please note this is only an example, and has never been used specifically in the strip. As far as I know.) Presumably the system of tiny people extended to all of the man's body, but we are seldom shown this. The stomach crew became mutinous at one time I think.
Some people think that the premise for The Numskulls is biologically implausible, however, that's exactly what the Numskulls would want you to think - all the contradictory evidence we have could be created by them as a smokescreen. Wow, it's kind of like a goofy slapstick precursor to The Matrix if you think about it.
(And Herman's Head, yes, thank you softlinker.)