Number 669
The fat kids
In old comics the fat jokes flew fast and furious. There were fat characters: Tubby, Porky Pig, Fatman the Human Flying Saucer, Herbie, and of course Little Lotta. Lotta was a glutton, and shows it in this story from Little Dot #9. Someone came up with a character who had one characteristic, eating, and based solely on that made a string of stories and comic books that lasted for years.
The Lotta story is from Little Dot #9, from original art found on Heritage Auctions. The other story, which I've thrown in to give this posting some weight (yuk yuk) is "Chub" from Dennis the Menace #6. It's written and drawn by the team of Fred Toole and Al Wiseman, and is pretty much in the Lotta mode. I don't remember seeing Chub much. They probably couldn't milk (lowfat, I hope) the subject much more.
Nowadays with childhood obesity a sensitive health issue I can't imagine anyone doing stories like these, so enjoy the non-PC forbidden thrills of past fatty humor. While you're reading I'll do some sit-ups so my stomach doesn't enter the room a couple of minutes before the rest of me.
Pappy: Heaven knows I love all things Harvey, but Little Lotta made me tense. There was just something creepy about her need to eat, to always be eating. Her frenzy always seemed so indiscriminate and obscene. Like one day you might find her hunched over and feasting on . . . well, God knows what. Anybody seen Fido? I think the art for Lotta is Sid Couchey - he really liked his noses like sharpened pencils.
ReplyDeleteChubs gets much from Toole and Wiseman, who manage to put in a bit of charm and something beyond fat gags. I love the way his feet are drawn. Great theme post! - Mykal
From the CHUB comic -
ReplyDelete"We'll have to do something about the way Chub eats!"
Hmmm, ya think maybe ya shouldn't named him Chub, for starters?
Truly there is a bizarre sub-culture, a group of comic buyers who love comics about fat kids eating things. Some people collect comics with bondage on the cover, some like fat kids eatin'...me, I'm the rare type who collects comics with fat kids eating while in bondage. Hard to find those comics, too...
Hey, 'poco, how about Etta Candy in the old Wonder Woman comic books? Eating candy all the time, and her and her posse, the Holiday Girls, getting tied up by various villains, needing to be rescued by Wonder Woman. "Woo-woo!" said Etta...
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention one attribute of Lotta was super strength, which is funny like once, but they kept up her run in the comics for an incredible amount of time. Eating and throwing couches, yow. That's a girl you don't want to marry.
Thanks, Mykal, for throwing out the name Sid Couchey. I was trying to remember his name.