Li'l Abner: Dailies, Vol. 23: 1957 Elvis in Dogpatch
by: Capp, Al

Softcover. Kitchen Sink Press, reprint, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 176 pages. A great send-up of '50s youth culture and Elvis Presley parody (Daisy Mae almost marries Elvis!) Li'l Abner eats mud mushrooms and becomes the size of a blimp. The Lizard of Ooze menaces Manhattan in a spoof of '50s monster movies. And Fearless Fosdick goes to Paris. Moonbeam McSwine catches Tiny Yokum in the annual Sadie Hawkins Day Race. Also in this volume: Lower Slobbovia, Senator Jack S. Phogbound, Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe. Plus a surprise appearance by Phil Silvers (TV's Sgt. Bilko). And don't miss the very entertaining introduction by James Vance which focuses on "cartoonist feuds," a special form of publicity stunt mastered by Capp, pitting himself publicly against such fellow creators as Will Eisner (The Spirit), Allen Saunders (Mary Worth) and Milton Caniff (Steve Canyon). Harvey Kurtzman ultimately parodied the feud schtick in a "Hey Look!" strip reprinted here. [See the Volume 17 introduction for Capp's thinly-disguised attack on fellow cartoonist Ham Fisher.] Heavily ghosted during this period by Frank Frazetta.