| Li'l Abner | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Al Capp |
| Current status / schedule | Defunct |
| Launch date | August 13, 1934 |
| End Date | November 13, 1977 |
| Syndicate(s) | United Feature Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Humor, Politics, Satire |
Li'l Abner was a comic strip that appeared in many United States and Canadian newspapers, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, USA. A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist Hillbilly is a term referring to people who dwell in remote Rural, Mountainous areas of the United States, primarily southern Appalachia and Written and drawn by Al Capp, the strip ran from 1934 through 1977. Al Capp (September 28 1909 &ndash November 5 1979 was an American Cartoonist and Humorist, best known for the satiric Comic strip
Read daily by scores of millions of people, the strip's characters and humor had a powerful cultural impact. A pseudo-holiday created in the strip, Sadie Hawkins Day is still observed in the form of dances at which women approach (or chase after) men. An American folk event Sadie Hawkins Day is a pseudo-holiday that originated in Al Capp 's classic Hillbilly Comic strip, Li'l Abner
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Characters and settings
The Yokums
The comic strip starred Li'l Abner Yokum, a dumb, obstinate, strong, and good-natured hillbilly. Abner lived at home with his parents, Pansy ("Mammy") and Lucifer ("Pappy") Yokum. Abner inherited his strength from the irascible Mammy, who dominated her family through the force of her personality, and dominated her foes with a knockout punch.
Abner's main goal in life was evading the marital designs of Daisy Mae Scragg, his beautiful and faithful girlfriend, and scion of the Yokums' feudal enemies, the Scraggs. For eighteen years, Abner slipped out of Daisy Mae's clutches time and again.
Capp finally gave in to reader pressure in 1952 and allowed the couple to marry. This was a major media event, and the happy couple even made the cover of Life on March 31, 1952, illustrating an article by Capp titled, "It's Hideously True!! The Creator of Li'l Abner Tells Why His Hero Is (SOB!) Wed".
Senator Phogbound
Senator Jack S. Phogbound was another memorable Dogpatch regular. A blustering Southern politician ("There's no Jack S like our Jack S!") who wore a coonskin cap and carried a rifle to impress his constituents, Phogbound is Capp's parody of the Southern Democrats who opposed the New Deal, of which Capp was a supporter. The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D At one instance in the strip, Phogbound was unable to campaign in Dogpatch, so he sent his aides with a large balloon filled with hot air — and nobody really noticed the difference.
Other regular characters
Abner's home town of Dogpatch was peopled with an assortment of memorable characters, including Marryin' Sam, Wolf Gal, Lena the Hyena, Native American Lonesome Polecat, [1] and a host of others, including the statuesque beauties Moonbeam McSwine, Stupefyin' Jones and Appassionata von Climax.
Another famous character was Joe Btfsplk, who only wanted to be a loving friend but was "the world's worst jinx", and always travelled with a small dark cloud over his head. Joe Btfsplk was a character in the Satirical Comic strip Li'l Abner by Cartoonist Al Capp (1909 - 1979
Perhaps Capp's most popular creation was the Shmoo, a species whose incredible usefulness and generous nature made it a threat to capitalism and perhaps to civilization. A shmoo (plural shmoon, also shmoos) is a fictional Cartoon creature
Fearless Fosdick
Li'l Abner also featured a comic-strip within the comic-strip, titled Fearless Fosdick (a parody of Dick Tracy). Fearless Fosdick was a long-running Parody of Chester Gould 's police detective character Dick Tracy. Dick Tracy is a long-running Comic strip featuring a popular and familiar character in American Pop culture. The razor-jawed title character ("Li'l Abner's Ideel") might take a bullet in the chest and declare the gaping tunnel a mere "flesh wound". (Or, as the chief once said, "Fosdick! I thought you were dead!" Fosdick answered, "Yes, but it didn't prove fatal. Just a mild case [of death]. ")
Travel settings
Situations often took the characters to other parts of the globe, including New York City, tropical islands, and a miserable frozen land of Capp's invention abounding in Yiddish humor, "Lower Slobbovia". Conceptually based on Siberia, or perhaps specifically on Birobidzhan, the worthless land was ruled by "King Stubbornovsky the Last". Birobidzhan (Биробиджа́н) is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Their monetary unit was the "Razzbucknik", of which one was worth nothing, and a large quantity was worth a lot less, due to the trouble of carrying them around. The favorite food of the natives was raw polar bear and vice versa. The similarly fictitious cartoon nation of "Elbonia" in the Dilbert world bears some conceptual similarity to Lower Slobbovia. Dilbert (first published April 16, 1989) is an American Comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams.
Topicality
Capp used Li'l Abner to satirize current events and fads, such as Zoot Suits in "Zoot Suit Yokum," in 1943. A Zoot suit (also spelled Zuit Suit) is a suit with high-waisted wide-legged tight-cuffed pegged trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded
In the 1960s and 70s, the strip became a forum for Capp's increasingly conservative political and cultural views. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined For example, he satirized college students protesting one or another cause by showing them carrying signs with the capital letters "S. W. I. N. E. ", which he translated as Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything.
Popularity and production
At its peak, Li'l Abner was read daily by 70 million Americans (when the US population was only 180 million). Many communities staged "Sadie Hawkins Day" events, after an annual race in the strip in which the unmarried women were allowed to keep any man they could catch. An American folk event Sadie Hawkins Day is a pseudo-holiday that originated in Al Capp 's classic Hillbilly Comic strip, Li'l Abner
Capp had a platoon of assistants in later years but always drew the faces and hands himself. The most notable may have been Frank Frazetta, who drew the beautiful full-bodied women in the strip's later years before his own fame as a fantasy artist. Frank Frazetta (born February 9, 1928) is an American fantasy and Science fiction Artist, noted for his Buck Rogers Fantasy art is a genre of Art that depicts The unseen Lena the Hyena, "the ugliest woman in the world," sparked a nationwide art contest; the winning design came from the then-unknown Basil Wolverton (later an artist for MAD). Basil Wolverton (July 9 1909 &ndash December 31 1978 was an American Cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, Illustrator and professed "Producer Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952
Li'l Abner lasted until Capp's retirement on November 13, 1977, and Capp died two years later.
In 1988 and 1989 many newspapers ran reruns of Li'l Abner comic strip episodes, mostly from the 1940s run, distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association and Capp Enterprises. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be United Media is a large editorial column and Comic strip Newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E Following the 1989 revival of the Pogo comic strip, a revival of "L'il Abner" was also planned in 1990. Pogo was the title and central character of a long-running (1948-75 daily Comic strip created Drawn by cartoonist Steve Stiles, the new Abner was approved by Capp's widow and brother, Elliott Caplin, but Al Capp's daughter, Julie Capp, objected at the last minute and permission was withdrawn. Steve Stiles is a cartoonist and writer coming out of the Science fiction fanzine tradition
Apart from a few reprints in some books, no comprehensive reprint of the series had been attempted until Kitchen Sink Press started a series reprinting all the dailies in hardback and paperback, one year per volume. Kitchen Sink Press was a Comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1969. The demise of KSP stopped this reprint series with volume 27 (1961). More recently, Dark Horse Comics reprinted the Sundays done by Frank Frazetta in four volumes covering 1954-1961. Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics Frank Frazetta (born February 9, 1928) is an American fantasy and Science fiction Artist, noted for his Buck Rogers
Beyond the comic strip
With John Hodiak in the title role, the Li'l Abner radio serial ran weekdays on NBC from November 20, 1939 to December 6, 1940. John Hodiak ( April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American Actor. [2]
The first Li'l Abner movie was made in 1940, starring Jeff York (credited as Granville Owen), Martha O'Driscoll, Mona Ray and Johnnie Morris. Jeff York ( March 23, 1912 - October 11, 1995) was an American film and television actor who began his career in the late 1930s using the Martha O'Driscoll ( March 4, 1922 - November 3, 1998) was an American Film Actress from 1937 until 1947 Mona Ray (born 1909 was an American stage and screen comedian / actress who appeared in the late 1927 silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as the mischievous slave Topsy (a white actress Johnny Morris (born June 15, 1887 in New York NY) was an American comedian/actor who began his career in Vaudeville and then worked Although this movie lacked the political satire and Broadway polish of the 1959 version, it gave a fairly accurate portrayal of the various Dogpatch characters. Of particular note is the appearance of Buster Keaton as Lonesome Polecat. Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton ( October 4 1895 &ndash February 1 1966) was an Academy Award -winning American Naturally, the story is about Daisy Mae trying to catch Li'l Abner on Sadie Hawkins Day. Since this movie predated their comic strip marriage, Abner makes a last-minute escape.
Li'l Abner was often featured in American advertising. During the 1940's he was the spokesman for Cream of Wheat cereal. Cream of Wheat is a hot Breakfast cereal invented in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks North Dakota. During the 1950's he represented such products as Strunk chainsaws and Chesterfield cigarettes. Chesterfield is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. It was one of the most recognized brands of the early 20th century but sales have [3]
The drink called "Kickapoo Joy Juice", featured in the strip and characterized as "moonshine" or bootleg liquor, has been a brand in real life since 1965, produced by the Monarch Beverage Company. The Monarch Beverage Company Inc is a diversified international beverage company based in Atlanta in the U As with "Mountain Dew", another euphemism for moonshine, the real-life product is a soft-drink. Mountain Dew is a popular drink distributed and manufactured by PepsiCo.
A musical comedy adaptation of the strip, also entitled Li'l Abner, opened on Broadway in 1956 and was made into a 1959 movie musical with Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Julie Newmar, Stella Stevens, Donna Douglas, and a cameo by Jerry Lewis. For the film based on the musical see Li'l Abner Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and For the Broadway musical version see Li'l Abner Li'l Abner is a 1959 Musical film based on the Comic strip Peter Palmer (b 20 September 1931 in Milwaukee Wisconsin) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Li'l Abner, both on Broadway and on Leslie Parrish (born March 13 1935 in Upper Black Eddy Pennsylvania) is an American Actress. Julie Newmar (born August 16, 1933) is an American actress, Dancer and Singer. Stella Stevens (born Estelle Caro Eggleston; October 1 1938 is an American actress, Film producer, Film director and pinup Donna Douglas (born September 26, 1933) is a Louisiana -born American Character actress and Real estate Jerry Lewis (born March 16, 1926) is an American Comedian, award-winning actor producer writer and director best-known for his slapstick
In 1968 a theme park named Dogpatch USA featuring Capp's characters opened in northwest Arkansas and remained a popular attraction until it closed in 1993. Dogpatch USA is a defunct theme park located on State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper in the state of Arkansas Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Several attempts have been made to reopen the park but at present it lies abandoned.
The original Dogpatch is a historical part of San Francisco dating back to the 1860s that escaped the earthquake and fire of 1906.
The Shmoo character was used in two Hanna-Barbera produced Saturday morning cartoon series in the 1970s and 1980s. A shmoo (plural shmoon, also shmoos) is a fictional Cartoon creature This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. First in the 1979 The New Shmoo cartoon series (later incorporated into Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo) and then from 1980 to 1984 in the Flintstone Comedy Show in the Bedrock Cops segment. The New Shmoo was a 1979 Cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC about a group of teenagers — Mickey, The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC.
In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps. Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative Postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service in 1995 to honor the centennial of the newspaper Comic A postage stamp is an adhesive paper evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services The strip also won its creator, Al Capp, the Reuben Award in 1948. The National Cartoonists Society is the world's largest organization of professional Cartoonists It presents the Reuben Awards.
In the last panel of a Little Annie Fanny story, a preview bill on a wall announcing an act appearing soon shows Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe, with the caption, "Coming--The @??!!!#$%??&*!!"
A Fred Lincoln-directed pornographic movie titled "Daisy May" was released in 1979 and was loosely based on Li'l Abner. Little Annie Fanny was a Comic strip created by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder for Playboy in October
Notes
- ^ Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe (who was anything but hairless) were the brewers of "Kickapoo Joy Juice", presumably based on the real patent medicine "Kickapoo Indian Sagwa", a product of the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company of Connecticut completely unrelated to the real Kickapoo Native American tribe(s) of Oklahoma, Kansas or Mexico/Texas
- ^ Contrary to popular opinion, Li'l Abner on the radio from Chicago from 1939-1940 was not written by Al Capp but by Charles Gussman. Patent medicine is the somewhat misleading term given to various medical Compounds sold under a variety of names and labels though they were for the most part actually The Kickapoos ( Kickapoo: Kiikaapoa or Kiikaapoi) are one of the Algonquian speaking Native American Tribes Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. However, Gussman consulted closely with Capp on the story lines.
- ^ Gallery of vintage graphic design featuring Li'l Abner as spokesman.
See also
- Salomey, the Yokums' pet pig. Salomey was the Yokums' beloved pet pig in the classic Comic strip Li'l Abner, by Cartoonist Al Capp
External links
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