Little Lulu

Little Lulu is the nickname for Lulu Moppett, a comic strip character created in the mid-1930s by Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on 23 February 1935 in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding and strewing the aisle with banana peels. Little Lulu replaced Carl Anderson's Henry, which had been picked up for distribution by King Features Syndicate. The Little Lulu panel continued to run weekly in The Saturday Evening Post until 30 December 1944.

Little Lulu was created as a result of Anderson's success. Schlesinger Library curator Kathryn Allamong Jacob wrote:
 * Lulu was born in 1935, when The Saturday Evening Post asked Buell to create a successor to the magazine’s Henry, Carl Anderson’s stout, mute little boy, who was moving on to national syndication. The result was Little Lulu, the resourceful, equally silent (at first) little girl whose loopy curls were reminiscent of the artist’s own as a girl. Buell explained to a reporter, "I wanted a girl because a girl could get away with more fresh stunts that in a small boy would seem boorish".

Characters and story

 * "Little" Lulu Moppet: Lulu is the title character and is often the ringleader of the girls. As such, she is the leader of their less formal club. Her best friend is Annie Inch. Lulu is a kind and sincere little girl who, though prone to mischief, usually ends up saving the day.
 * Thomas "Tubby" Tompkins: Tubby, whose real name is Thomas, is Lulu's friend and the leader of the fellers. He has helped Lulu many times and has tormented her just as much. His closest friends are Eddie, Willy and Iggy, who happens to be Annie's twin brother. When they are together, they can be as nasty to Lulu as any boy would. His parents, Jim and Ellie Tompkins, have less patience with his antics than Lulu's parents had with hers. In fact, Tubby was spanked with more frequency than Lulu. As the junior detective, who was later nicknamed "the Spider", he has helped Lulu get out of hot water when she is punished for something that her father has done. In his own title, Tubby appeared on his own, without Lulu. In addition, he had whimsical adventures with tiny aliens from another planet.
 * Cousin Chubby: Chubby is Tubby's somewhat lookalike cousin, except that he is shorter. The son of Mrs. Tompkins' sister, he is often forced on Tubby when he wants to play. Chubby became his familial nemesis after having to deal with two other cousins, Cousin Peter and cousin Jefferson. The latter had stolen Tubby's clothes, and was stripped in retaliation by the Clubhouse fellers.
 * Alvin Jones: Alvin is the little neighbor boy who is younger than Lulu and is often vexing towards her and her family. To placate the extremely troublesome Alvin, Lulu usually tells him stories, often starring Lulu and her mother, as a poor family who usually tries to make ends meet with little. Later on, even though Lulu as a poor girl is still used, the wicked Witch Hazel and her equally evil niece, Little Itch, became the antagonists of the stories. Alvin has a younger brother named Cedric, who torments him, just as he torments Lulu. In the "Tubby" series, he had his own stories by himself or with another little girl named Kathie.
 * Annie Inch: Annie is Lulu's best friend and occasional co-conspirator in her schemes to best the boys. She is the twin sister of Iggy and the two were often at each other's throats. They have a grandfather named Grandpa Feeb. Like most of the characters, their last names were variable with the stories, mainly her name was either Inch or McGee, but was more commonly remembered as Annie Inch.
 * Gertie Greenbean: Gertie is a friend of Lulu's and is spoken of often. Her first appearance showed her sticking up for Lulu against snobby Wilbur, who became her chief nemesis. In an attempt to get even with her, he shamelessly used his father's influence in the community to have her mother (Gertie and her mother lived in a trailer house) moved outside of town, but Gertie did not realize this. She thought her mother had run off (her mother allowed her to sleep over at Lulu's house, and didn't know her address); and had begun to cry. When Wilbur taunted her about this, the two got into a fight (she was a Tomboy) and beat him up. She sent him off crying, and she and her mother reunited. She was also featured in another story when Lulu planned to give her dog, Rover, a T-Bone, but, thanks to the snotty Wilbur, accidentally gave him a strand of pearls.
 * Wilbur Van Snobbe: Wilbur is a snobby rich kid who antagonizes not just Lulu, but everyone else (except Annie, Gertie, Margie, Gloria and the other girls who never antagonizes Lulu because she is their friend), as he thinks he is superior to his peers. One of his least endearing traits is the patronizing and extremely rude way that he treats his servants, which cause him to be referred to as "brat!" (Originally, his name was "Van Snobble", but was later accepted as Van Snobbe) Wilbur's nemesis was Gertie Greenbean, who fought him two times until they decided to become friends for now on. He has also clashed with Tubby on many occasions, but in the end, is vanquished, bested and humiliated because he so often underestimates his opponents.
 * Snobbly: Snobbly is Wilbur's butler. Another butler, Parks, was summarily fired after he had had enough of being bullied by Wilbur.
 * The Clubhouse fellers: Iggy Inch, Eddie Stimson, and Willy Wilkins. These boys are Tubby's friends and co-horts, in their more formal and structured club, whose meetings are held in a one-room homemade "clubhouse". They are the ones who usually torment Lulu and the other girls. Sometimes, they turn the tables on Tubby, who seems to not pay his club dues on a frequent basis. Willy is the co-president and has developed a relationship with Gertie Greenbean. Eddie is usually the treasurer. At times, they usually end up needing Lulu to help them out, most especially against their cross-town rivals, the West Side Boys. During these occasions, they usually end up victorious and are happy Lulu is there to help them out.
 * Gloria: A rich friend of Lulu, Gloria's last name varied with the stories (for example, Goode, Love, or Sweet), as was not unusual with some of the characters but was often connected with Wilbur, as she was never in the same economic stratum as he was. She would use Tubby in order to make Wilbur jealous and vice versa. At times, she and Lulu would be shown as antagonistic, due to Lulu's excitement and that Gloria was too "girly" for Lulu's liking, but when united against the common enemy (boys) including Wilbur, they could be friendly forever.
 * Margie: A light brown-haired girl and also a friend of Lulu.
 * Ada: A slightly overweight girl who was a friend of Lulu.
 * Jeannie & Joannie: Two sweet twin girls and also two of Lulu's best friends. They are playing many times with Lulu and Annie.
 * Bearnie: Another of Lulu's friends. He is fat sweet boy who changes into a bad bully.
 * Suzy: A sweet girl with pigtails and Lulu's friend.
 * Freddie: An ugly boy who is in love with Lulu and trying always to kiss her.
 * Linnie: Another of Lulu's friends.
 * Fifi: She is a French kid who is a friend of Lulu, Tubby, and the rest of the gang. She appears in the giant-size comic book "Little Lulu in Paris".
 * George and Martha Moppet: George and Martha are Lulu's mother and father. Martha (Mildred in FC 146, 1947) was more patient with Lulu than her husband tended to be. George and Martha also co-starred with Lulu in some of the stories that she tells Alvin. Sometimes, Martha would spank Lulu for crimes she did not do, and thanks to Tubby's later investigation, would end up finding out that George had done something (like borrowing, misplacing, or breaking an object) that Lulu had wrongly been punished for.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins: Tubby's parents, who have little if any patience with his shenanigans, and has spanked him more times than Lulu's parents have. Often, Mrs. Tompkins forces him to entertain his annoying cousin, Chubby, when he doesn't want to.
 * Miss Feeny: Miss Feeny is the kids' Fourth grade teacher. She is popular and the kids love her. She appreciates Lulu, as she is one of the top students in her class. A spinster, who lives with her mother, she has a pet parrot she loves. Tubby took the parrot at one time to make sure Miss Feeny would promote him, but nasty Wilbur outsmarted him, or so he thought. Tubby switched the parrot for one of Wilbur's pet ducks. When Miss Feeny saw what Wilbur tried to do, she threatened him with demotion; and Tubby returned the parrot to Miss Feeny with no harm.
 * Mr. Ernest: Mr. Ernest is the school's principal. He is usually seen yelling at Mr. McNabbem and Mr. Googins for their failure to catch hooky players. He replaced the more stern Mr. Gruffly.
 * Mr. Clarence McNabbem and Mr. Timothy Googins: The school district's highly incompetent truant officers. Mr. Googins was married with children, and was never able to catch a hooky player. His replacement, Mr. McNabbem, wasn't constrained by marriage, but was even worse than his predecessor. He (as well as Googins) always framed Lulu for hooky playing when she was clearly given a legitimate reason to leave the school. For this, both often earned the wrath of Mr. Ernest. Eventually, McNabbem lost his job as a truant officer, after he once more framed Lulu for hooky when she had been sent on an errand by Mr. Ernest himself, he had forgotten his pipe at home, and sent Lulu to bring it to him. McNabbem thought that she was going to smoke it, and broke the pipe angering Principal Ernest. After being chased by him and most of the students, he hid in a box with two real hooky players. The students locked McNabbem in the box and delivered it to Mr. Ernest. He discovered McNabbem and thought that he had been playing hooky. After Mr. Ernest yelled at him, he was demoted to janitor. McNabben had once caught Tubby, who skipped classes to avoid a test, but it was a wasted effort as it was later revealed the principal had dismissed the class because the teacher didn't show up.

Comic strips and comic books


A daily comic strip, entitled Little Lulu, was syndicated from 5 June 1950 through May 1969. Artists included Woody Kimbrell (1950–1964), Roger Armstrong (1964–1966), and Ed Nofziger (1966–1969).

Little Lulu appeared in ten issues of Dell Comics' Four Color comic book series (#74, 97, 110, 115, 120, 131, 139, 146, 158, 165), before graduating to her own title: Marge's Little Lulu in 1948. With the Dell Comics/Western Publishing split that created Gold Key Comics, Little Lulu went to Gold Key with issue No. 165. Tubby got his own comic series from 1952 to 1961, first appearing in Four Color No. 381, 430, 444, and #461; then his own title Marge's Tubby from No. 5 thru 49. In this series, Tubby had his own adventures without Lulu, especially with the Little Men from Mars. Upon retirement, Marge sold Little Lulu to Western Publishing. The comic was re–named Little Lulu with No. 207 (September 1972). Publication of the comics ceased in 1984 (with issue No. 268, the last few under the Whitman Comics name), when Western discontinued publishing comics. Artist Hy Eisman retained stories intended for #269–270 (scripted by Paul Kuhn) because the artwork was returned to him after the comic was cancelled. Three of these are to be reprinted in the Lulu fanzine The HoLLywood Eclectern (HE). "The Case of the Disappearing Tutu", slated to be the lead story in Little Lulu No. 270, appears in HE No. 47 (2008).

There were also two giant-sized annuals (#1–2, 1953–1954), fourteen Dell Giants (with seasonal and other themes), a regular-sized un-numbered special on visiting Japan and three Gold Key specials (two with Lulu on Halloween and summer camp, and one with Tubby and the Little Men from Mars). Lulu also appeared in 20 issues of March of Comics and was reprinted in several Golden Comics Digest.

Between 1985 and 1992 Another Rainbow Publishing published a hardbound 18-volume set, the Little Lulu Library, collecting the stories in the Four Color issues, plus the regular series through No. 87.

John Stanley
Writer/artist John Stanley's work on the Little Lulu comic book is highly regarded. He did the initial Lulu comics, later working with artists Irving Tripp and Charles Hedinger (Tripp inking Hedinger before eventually assuming both duties), writing and laying out the stories. He continued working on the comic until around 1959. Stanley is responsible for the many additional characters in the stories. After Stanley, other writers produced the Lulu stories for Gold Key, including Arnold Drake.

Advertising and merchandising
Little Lulu was featured on numerous licensed products, and she was the centerpiece of an extensive advertising campaign for Kleenex tissues during the 1940s–50s, and she was also seen in Pepsi-Cola magazine ads during that period. Kleenex commercials featuring Little Lulu were regularly seen in the 1950s on Perry Como's television show. Buell played an active role in merchandising Little Lulu, often taking a hands-on role in terms and negotiations. Today the trademarks on Little Lulu are held by DreamWorks Classics, successor-in-interest to former owners Classic Media and Golden Books Family Entertainment.

Theatrical shorts
In the 1940s, Lulu appeared in a series of theatrical animated shorts produced by Famous Studios for Paramount Pictures from 1943 to 1948, which replaced the Superman shorts of the 1940s. In all, 26 Little Lulu cartoons were released in a period of less than five years. A similar character, Little Audrey, was then created after Paramount failed to renew the Lulu license (and therefore avoided the payment of royalty fees). The voice of Little Lulu was performed by Cecil Roy, and Tubby (who was called Fatso in "Beau Ties") was Arnold Stang.

The theme song for the shorts was written and composed by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise, and Sidney Lippman.

In the early-1960s, Paramount and Famous Studios produced two new Little Lulu cartoons, "Alvin's Solo Flight" (a Noveltoon) in 1961 and "Frog's Legs" (a Comic Kings cartoon) in 1962, but unlike the 1940s cartoons, Arnold Stang didn't do Tubby's voice.

Television and films
Little Lulu has starred in several TV series and specials.

ABC aired two half-hour Little Lulu live-action specials on Saturday morning as part of the ABC Weekend Special series in the late 1970s. In both Little Lulu and The Big Hex of Little Lulu, Lulu was played by Lauri Hendler. The cast also included Robbie Rist and Annrae Walterhouse.

In 1976–1977, Lulu appeared in Little Lulu and Her Little Friends (produced by Japan's Nippon Animation) on ABC, voiced by Eiko Masuyama in the first three episodes and Minori Matsushima for the remainder.

A Little Lulu cameo was planned for the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but rights to the character could not be obtained in time. She was delegated to appear in the planned sequel which has been indefinitely delayed.

In 1995, Lulu appeared in The Little Lulu Show on HBO, voiced by Tracey Ullman. The series was produced by Canada's Cinar Films after Marge's death in 1993. The series ended in 1999 but continued to air on Cartoon Network in the United States and on Family Channel in Canada. It is currently seen on Teletoon Retro in Canada.

Lulu fans hold an annual gathering at the San Diego Comic Con in which they perform a play adapted from a classic Lulu story.

The Little Lulu Library
Published by Another Rainbow Publishing, were a series of six book box sets released from 1985 to 1992. They were published in reverse order, with Set VI being released first, then counting down to Set I. Each of the six sets contains three volumes, each with about six comics. The comics are printed in black and white; however, the covers are printed in full color. The books are about 9" by 12", with the pages being larger than the original comic book pages.

Dark Horse reprints
In 2004, Dark Horse Comics obtained the rights to reprint Little Lulu comics. Eighteen black and white volumes plus an un-numbered color special were published through early 2008. After a short hiatus, the series resumed in mid-2009 in full color. Volumes 4 and 5 were originally published before the first three volumes, as it was felt that their content was more accessible.
 * 1) My Dinner with Lulu ISBN 1-59307-318-6 (reprints Four Color Comics No. 74, 97, 110, 115, 120)
 * 2) Sunday Afternoon ISBN 1-59307-345-3 (reprints Four Color Comics No. 131, 139, 146, 158)
 * 3) Lulu in the Doghouse ISBN 1-59307-345-3 (reprints Four Color Comics No. 165 and Little Lulu #1–5)
 * 4) Lulu Goes Shopping ISBN 1-59307-270-8 (reprints Little Lulu #6–12)
 * 5) Lulu Takes a Trip ISBN 1-59307-317-8 (reprints Little Lulu #13–17)
 * 6) Letters to Santa ISBN 1-59307-386-0 (reprints Little Lulu #18–22)
 * 7) Lulu's Umbrella Service ISBN 1-59307-399-2 (reprints Little Lulu #23–27)
 * 8) Late for School ISBN 1-59307-453-0 (reprints Little Lulu #28–32)
 * 9) Lucky Lulu ISBN 1-59307-471-9 (reprints Little Lulu #33–37)
 * 10) All Dressed Up ISBN 1-59307-534-0 (reprints Little Lulu #38–42)
 * 11) April Fools ISBN 1-59307-557-X (reprints Little Lulu #43–48)
 * 12) Leave It to Lulu ISBN 1-59307-620-7 (reprints Little Lulu #49–53)
 * 13) Too Much Fun ISBN 1-59307-621-5 (reprints Little Lulu #54–58)
 * 14) Queen Lulu ISBN 1-59307-683-5 (reprints Little Lulu #59–63)
 * 15) The Explorers ISBN 1-59307-684-3 (reprints Little Lulu #64–68)
 * 16) A Handy Kid ISBN 1-59307-685-1 (reprints Little Lulu #69–74)
 * 17) The Valentine ISBN 1-59307-686-X (reprints Little Lulu #75–81)
 * 18) The Expert ISBN 1-59307-687-8 (reprints Little Lulu #82–87)
 * 19) The Alamo and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-293-3 (reprints Little Lulu #88–93 in full color)
 * 20) The Bawlplayers and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-364-6 (reprints Little Lulu #94–99 in full color)
 * 21) Miss Feeny's Folly and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-365-4 (reprints Little Lulu #100–105 in full color)
 * 22) The Big Dipper Club and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-420-0 (reprints Little Lulu #106–111 in full color)
 * 23) The Bogey Snowman and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-474-X (reprints Little Lulu #112–117 in full color)
 * 24) The Space Dolly and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-475-8 (reprints Little Lulu #118–123 in full color)
 * 25) The Burglar-Proof Clubhouse and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-539-8 (reprints Little Lulu #124–129 in full color)
 * 26) The Feud and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-632-7 (reprints Little Lulu #130–135 in full color)
 * 27) The Treasure Map and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-633-5 (reprints Dell Giant/Marge's Little Lulu and her Special Friends No. 3 and Dell Giant/Marge's Little Lulu and her Friends No. 4 in full color)
 * 28) The Prize Winner and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-731-5 (reprints Dell Giant/Marge's Little Lulu and Tubby at Summer Camp No. 5 and Dell Giant/Marge's Little Lulu and Tubby Halloween Fun No. 6 in full color)
 * 29) The Cranky Giant and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-732-3 (reprints Dell Giant/Marge's Little Lulu and Tubby at Summer Camp No. 2 and Dell Giant/Marge's Lulu and Tubby Halloween Fun No. 2 in full color)


 * Little Lulu Color Special ISBN 1-59307-613-4 (reprints a selection of stories from Little Lulu No. 4 through No. 86 in full color)

Dark Horse later began issuing Giant Size volumes, each collects three of their reprint books.


 * 1) Giant Size Little Lulu Volume 1 ISBN 1-59582-502-9 (reprints Four Color Comics No. 74, 97, 110, 115, 120, 131, 139, 146, 158, 165 and Little Lulu #1–5)
 * 2) Giant Size Little Lulu Volume 2 ISBN 1-59582-540-1 (reprints Little Lulu #6–22)
 * 3) Giant Size Little Lulu Volume 3 ISBN 1-59582-634-3 (reprints Little Lulu #23–37)
 * 4) Giant Size Little Lulu Volume 4 ISBN 1-59582-752-8 (reprints Little Lulu #38–53)

In 2010, Dark Horse reprinted the companion Tubby series (Little Lulu's Pal Tubby) in volumes similar to their Lulu volumes.


 * 1) The Castaway and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-421-9 (reprints Four Color Comics No. 381, 430, 444, and No. 461 and Tubby #5–6 in full color)
 * 2) The Runaway Statue and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-422-7 (reprints Tubby #7–12 in full color)
 * 3) The Frog Boy and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-635-1 (reprints Tubby #13–18 in full color)
 * 4) The Atomic Violin and Other Stories ISBN 1-59582-733-1 (reprints Tubby #19–24 in full color)

Famous Studios Little Lulu filmography
Note 1: The cartoons marked with an asterisk are in the public domain. Note 2: In the U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. version, the episodes "Magica-Lulu" and "Musica-Lulu" are respectively titled Magical Lulu and Musical Lulu.