Little Ophan Annie 1924 - June 2010
Little Orphan Annie & Sandy
For those of you under 50, who have no idea who Li’l Orphan Annie is; she was the ever positive, moppy red headed girl in a red dress who was most recognized for her pupil-less vacant eyes. Her only friends were her disheveled, little doll Emily Marie and her scraggly dog Sandy, which was brought into the strip at a later point. Sandy also had the pupiless eyes.
Oliver (Daddy) Warbucks
She escaped from a Dickensian orphanage (reference to Charles Dickens, the popular English novelist of the Victorian era who created A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist) and eventually met, in 1925, Oliver Warbucks, an idealized capitalist who took her under his wing, insisting that she call him “Daddy,” hence the term, “Daddy Warbucks.”
Warbucks was bald and always wore a tuxedo with a diamond a stickpin in the middle of his white shirt. Ever the penultimate businessman, he was gruff and earned his money through hard work, believing in fair play as well as fair pay. He was known for paying his employees well, winning him the devotion of all of his servants and workers alike.
Punjab
Warbucks’ had three “right hand men” were; Punjab, an eight-foot native of India, The Asp, an East Asian man-servant with mystical powers and the mysterious Mister Am, a jovial, white bearded friend of Warbuck’s who had supernatural powers and claimed to have lived for millions of years… Some strips even hinted that he may might have even been God. *gasp!*
Punjab In Action: Sim Sim Salabim!
The comic strip was known for its push of the “old-fashioned” values of honesty and hard work… stuff that you Xbox and Twitter generation know nothing about. At first, through the 1920s, the comic was humorous, focusing on slapstick humor, aimed primarily at children. They then became more adventurous, placing Annie in precarious, dangerous predicaments, often needing rescuing by Warbucks or one of his manservants.
Little Orphan Annie Comic Strip
In the early 1930s, as the depression was taking hold, recognizing that many adults were now reading the strip, Gray left the adventure stories and became more politicized. Gray was well known for his hatred of labor unions, as was depicted in his 1935 story “Eonite,” a miraculous metal which was to be the answer to all of humanity’s problems. This story, in particular, resulted in continuous attacks from the liberal left for his anti-union views. Other targets in Gray’s scope were the New Deal and communism, further perpetuating the left’s anger towards his views and writings. He was viewed as either conservative or libertarian with a populist streak, while creating stories that looked into the darker aspects of human nature, such as greed and treachery where Annie would come across gangsters, killers, spies and saboteurs.
Little Orphan Annie Comic Strip
Gray would weave stories around real life political issues, such as the gap between rich and poor, glorifying the honest American business ethic while presenting Warbucks as someone who hated snobbery and laziness. Interestingly though, despite the Gray’s pro-capitalist slant, the Annie stript consistantly portrayed corrupt businessmen as the main villains.
Gray’s venture into politicizing Annie went on into World War II where he used the Annie strip to motivate kids across the U.S. to create groups of “Junior Commandos” that collected tons of scrap metal and paper for the war effort, which, unfortunately included TONS of Golden Age comic books.
After Gray’s death in 1968, Annie declined in popularity until the Broadway musical “Annie” hit the stage in 1979. But as new artists took to drawing Annie, the comic strip continued to decline in popularity. June 13th will be their last publication. I hope all of you get a chance to see the last created strip of a cherished American relic.
Harold Gray - Died 1968
notorious for that more so than Marvel. Of course, Columbia had a card up their sleeve, just in case the actors were tanked. Call it the, “Just in case the director and all the primary actors of Spider-Man get fired,” plan. Or the, “Let’s do Spider-Man over again but more cheaper and just like Smallville… but different! Ok!?” plan.
[remember Hugh Jackman/Wolverine], is currently looking for a director to fill Raimi’s shoes. One thing is for sure though, Marvel has a hell of a track record when it comes to reboots not cutting the mustard! Let’s hope ol’ Vandi can do a better job on Spidey than Marvel did with The Hulk the second time around or The Punisher the second time around or The Fantastic Four the second and third time around or even Captain America the second time around. …. Oops, forgot… they didn’t mess that one up again yet.
