C.A.B.ified Classics ~ Li'l Abner's Daisy Mae

Liner Notes: The cartoonist Al Capp was born Alfred Gerald Caplin in New Haven Connecticut to immigrants of an East European Jewish heritage, and spent the next 43 years creating a stereotype that never was, through his cartoon strip Li’l Abner.

Having no first-hand knowledge of poor American Appalachian Mountain culture, Capp none-the-less gave the world his skewed take on the so-called “Hillbilly.” The American urban public ate up this fictionalized view, with its rampant country-bumpkin ignorance, hokey dialog, oversexed pin-up women, and pipe-chomping grannies. All from a guy that never left the metropolitan north east.

Possibly because of Li’l Abner and all the politically incorrect denizens of Dog Patch, interest in all things “country” became major fad at the time and Bluegrass and Country record sales exploded in north eastern cities. The movie industry and television took the hint and all things backwoods became the rage; Daniel Boon, The Beverly Hillbillies, so on and so forth. Even a predecessor strip, Barney Google shed its namesake city dwelling character in favor of its second banana, Snuffy Smith and all his template “Hillbilly” environs.

So, for good or bad, Al Capp created fiction that became a mostly accepted stereotype reality. No doubt the slight of the movie “Deliverance” would have made him giddy. Which is too bad, because the Appalachian hill folk have a long, founding history of pioneering and intelligent rugged individualism; the hard working and loving back bone of America. Some of the nicest and neighborly people in the world. And I’ll take that over a cynical city slicker cartoonist any day.

That said, here in the typical C.A.Bified twisted version of an already twisted version of reality, Earthquake McGoon discovers he dun hit duh jacketypot! Somebody dun tied Daisy Mae to the KickaPoo Joy Juice Still wif a jug cork stuff’d in her mouff! Tarnation! If thar iz two thangs he lurves, its swillin’ moonshine and ah TEEKLIN’ purdy, clean-livin’ gals like Li’l Abner’s wife.

This piece is also a winning suggestion of Deviant Art C.A.B. Watcher Rooster50
in the First Annual C.A.B. Watcher Challenge. Congratulations (again) Rooster50.



***SEE all the C.A.B.ified Classics HERE!***

Thumbs up.

Another terrific addition to the Classics! Thanks for the background info as well, quite interesting.

LOL nice work C.A.B!

This is one of my favorite CABified Classics yet.

I adore the style and how you brought all this together!

Nicely done, my friend,

Deetzo

I always appreciate the education in illustration history...shmexy and educational! Truly I become a better man through indulging my C.A.B. addiction...or at least a more enlightened pervert. Great drawing. It really captures both the atmosphere and style of those old comics. Of course a pretty bound thing in short shorts doesn't hurt either...

Wonderful drawing! Great work, C.A.B. 😀

Always luv'd that there Daisy Mae's feet!

Good work.

Wonderful work!

I also really enjoyed the included liner notes.

Jim
MTJpub.com

Another excellent work!

Daisy Mae is certainly among the most classic subjects to be imagined. Great.

Terrific work, as always (and thumbs-up on the history as well -- I agree, the Appalachian folk have been misrepresented in popular culture).

Very interesting face!