Jeg kan huske, da jeg læste “Li’l Abner” i “Comics” og “Special-Comics” som barn i 70’erne, “Fearless Fosdick”, “Sadie Hawkins”, og de underlige, absolut spiselige, pære-formede “Shmoo” dyr. Dengang tænkte jeg ikke over, hvilken gave til menneskeheden og økosystemet disse godmodige Shmoo dyr kunne være, jeg tænkte mere over, hvordan de mon smagte, og jeg husker tydeligt, at jeg havde lyst til at spise en Shmoo. Men var heldigvis gammel nok til at forstå, at de ikke fandtes i virkeligheden. Men gid de gjorde! Vi kunne mætte hele jordens befolkning, og det var da også Al Capps budskab til os med “Li’l Abner” og “Shmoo” historierne – at jorden er en gave, som ville kunne dække vores behov, hvis vi bare tog vare på den. Og det var meget tidligt, at Al Capp var ude som miljø-forkæmper – i 40’erne og 50’erne diskuterede man i de amerikanske tidsskrifter og magasiner, hvorvidt “Shmoo” dyret repræsenterede Socialismen eller Kapitalismen, når den var værst. For mig at se er “Shmoo” dyret fuldstændig apolitisk, en velsmagende gave til menneskeheden. Jeg gider ikke, hvis alting skal gøres politisk, jeg vil have min mad i fred, uafhængig af parti-politik!
fra http://www.darkhorse.com/Interviews/1310/Shmoozing-with-Denis-Kitchen-6-8-06
Shmoozing with Denis Kitchen 6/8/06
Kitchen: Sure! The Shmoo was the invention of Al Capp. His “Li’l Abner” daily strip was among the most popular of all time and Capp himself was the most famous cartoonist of his era. But he became even more famous and much wealthier when Li’l Abner discovered these lovable little armless creatures in 1948 in a hidden Dogpatch valley. Shmoos loved humans. They regularly laid both eggs and bottles of milk. One would sacrifice itself on the spot if a person looked at it hungrily. Fried Shmoo tastes like chicken and, broiled, like steak. Its skin is excellent leather. A Shmoo’s eyes make buttons and its whiskers are perfect toothpicks. On top of that, Shmoos multiply like crazy, so anyone with a pair of Shmoos is self-sufficient. And, subsequently, lazy. With Shmoos proliferating, government and industry soon teetered on collapse. Thus the ironic downside of Shmoos: they are too good for humanity.
Scroggy: Was it popular?
Kitchen: Unbelievably popular! As a LIFE magazine headline put it, the “U.S. Became Shmoo-Struck!” A hundred licensed products from seventy-five manufacturers were produced the first year alone. Simon & Shuster sold nearly a million Shmoo books. Other products sold as much as several million units each. Shmoos entered the 1948 Truman/Dewey presidential debate. Shmoos were airlifted to Berlin during the Soviet blockade, causing a “near-riot.” The U.S. government even issued Shmoo Savings Bonds. I could go on and on!
* Dark Horse also offers a Shmoo vinyl figure, the Classic Comic Characters line’s Shmoo statue, and four volumes of Al Capp’s Li’l Abner: The Frazetta Years!
* This Shmoo archival hardcover features every Shmoo appearance in comic book form, including bonus strips-with digital restoration by P.M.B.Q. Studios!
“A master . . . Few have done it any better than Al Capp.” — The New York Times Book Review
“I am sure that he is the best satirist since Laurence Sterne.” — John Steinbeck –This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.Review
“From the more recent dustbins of history come Al Capp’s delightful little blubbery things known as Shmoos. . . . It’s been a long time since the funny pages took us on anything like this joyous and smart journey of social discourse.” (The Washington Post)
Product Description
More than fifty years ago, America was taken by storm when Al Capp introduced the Shmoo in his comic strip Li’l Abner. The adorable squash-shaped character was so popular it immediately spawned the largest merchandising craze in the nation’s history. In the words of Life magazine, the nation was “Shmoo-struck.” The Short Life and Happy Times of the Shmoo collects, for the first time in one volume, Capp’s essential comic strips about the Shmoo. This is Al Capp and his incisive social criticism at its best.
About the Author
Al Capp (1909-1979) created the comic strip Li’l Abner-featuring the exploits of Daisy Mae, Ma and Pa Yokum, Sadie Hawkins, and the Shmoo. The Dogpatch hillbillies struck a chord with Depression-plagued Americans and the strip ran from 1934 until 1977.