Little Dot
Encyclopedia
Little Dot was a comic book
character published by Harvey Comics
between 1949 and 1982, and then sporadically until 1994. A little girl obsessed with dot
s, spots, and round, colorful objects, she first appeared in 1949 as a supporting feature in Sad Sack
and by 1953 was given her own series, joining Harvey's growing cast of child-oriented comedy characters. The title lasted almost three decades and introduced several other popular headliners (including Little Lotta
and Richie Rich) as back page fillers. Another spinoff title which ran for thirteen years was Little Dot's Uncles & Aunts, about the adventures of Dot's impossibly extended family, each with an obsessive interest or quirky personality trait of their own.
A number of sources - including Don Markstein's Toonopedia - have described Little Dot as a 'one note character,' citing the strip's apparent reliance on formulaic gags and repetitious images (i.e. Dot's dots). Her stories also involved a considerable amount of slapstick humor and domestic comedy. The character's signature theme only became apparent in 1953, after she was redesigned to conform to the company's emerging house style. Consequently, as Dot became a virtual clone of Famous Studio's Little Audrey
(which Harvey was licencing at the time), the 'Dotty' aspect was emphasized so that the two characters wouldn't appear too similar (Markstein, Little Dot).
Dot's obsessive nature presaged the development of Harvey's quirky child-friendly characters, many of which deviated from the Audrey model by incorporating fantasy elements (Hot Stuff
, Spooky
), or oddball behavior (Little Lotta
). On the other hand, generation-based humor always played an important role in Little Dot's storylines. Like her in-house contemporaries, Dot frequently found herself at odds with parents, teachers and other representatives of DotTown's adult population. In addition, Dot made regular crossovers with Little Lotta from the beginning of the sixties, usually with disastrous consequences (although Dot's fixation and Lotta's insatiable appetite often played only a peripheral role in such pairings).
Like most of the so-called "Harvey Girls", appearing also in the Richie Rich Girlfriends title, Dot reached her peak between the mid-fifties and the late sixties, eventually eclipsing Audrey in terms of sales. Her popularity began to wane during the 1970s as an industry-wide distribution slump began forcing child-oriented comics off the newsstands. Dot's eponymous title stalled between 1982 and 1986, before being permanently discontinued in 1994. Unlike many Harvey properties, she was never adapted into animated form, but the character continues to live on in merchandise such as T-shirt
s and a 2003 maquette statue, limited to 500 editions - most probably for trademark
purposes. Some decades later, on an episode
of The Simpsons
, Marge suggested Bart rip off Little Dot when he had to create a cartoon character for class, thinking no one would remember the once popular character.
Apart from the main title, Little Dot, the main character's screwball relatives proved popular enough to rate their own series: three issues of Harvey Hits in 1957, '58 and '59; and a "king-sized" comic titled Little Dot's Uncles & Aunts, published between 1961 and 1974.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character published by Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
between 1949 and 1982, and then sporadically until 1994. A little girl obsessed with dot
Dot
- Typography :* Full stop, also called period in American English, used as a sentence terminator and as a decimal separator in numerals - Typography :* Full stop, also called period in American English, used as a sentence terminator and as a decimal separator (decimal point) in numerals -...
s, spots, and round, colorful objects, she first appeared in 1949 as a supporting feature in Sad Sack
Sad Sack
The Sad Sack is an American fictional comic strip and comic book character created by Sgt. George Baker during World War II. Set in the United States Army, Sad Sack depicted an otherwise unnamed, lowly private experiencing some of the absurdities and humiliations of military life. The title was a...
and by 1953 was given her own series, joining Harvey's growing cast of child-oriented comedy characters. The title lasted almost three decades and introduced several other popular headliners (including Little Lotta
Little Lotta
Little Lotta is a fictional character published by Harvey Comics from 1953 to 1972, and then sporadically until 1993. A contemporary of Little Audrey, Little Dot and Wendy the Good Little Witch, she was one of Harvey's best-known female characters during the 1960s and featured in many of the...
and Richie Rich) as back page fillers. Another spinoff title which ran for thirteen years was Little Dot's Uncles & Aunts, about the adventures of Dot's impossibly extended family, each with an obsessive interest or quirky personality trait of their own.
A number of sources - including Don Markstein's Toonopedia - have described Little Dot as a 'one note character,' citing the strip's apparent reliance on formulaic gags and repetitious images (i.e. Dot's dots). Her stories also involved a considerable amount of slapstick humor and domestic comedy. The character's signature theme only became apparent in 1953, after she was redesigned to conform to the company's emerging house style. Consequently, as Dot became a virtual clone of Famous Studio's Little Audrey
Little Audrey
Little Audrey is a fictional character, appearing in Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios cartoons from 1947 to 1958. She is considered a variation of the better-known Little Lulu, devised after Paramount decided not to renew the license on Marjorie Henderson Buell's comic strip character...
(which Harvey was licencing at the time), the 'Dotty' aspect was emphasized so that the two characters wouldn't appear too similar (Markstein, Little Dot).
Dot's obsessive nature presaged the development of Harvey's quirky child-friendly characters, many of which deviated from the Audrey model by incorporating fantasy elements (Hot Stuff
Hot Stuff the Little Devil
Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a comic book character who first appeared in Hot Stuff #1, published by Harvey Comics in October 1957. The character didn't first appear as a back-up feature in another book or receive a trial run in Harvey Hits...
, Spooky
Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost
Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost is a fictional character that appeared in titles published by Harvey Comics. Spooky first appeared in Casper the Friendly Ghost #10 . He is, according to canon, the cousin of Casper, though how they are exactly related is never really clear...
), or oddball behavior (Little Lotta
Little Lotta
Little Lotta is a fictional character published by Harvey Comics from 1953 to 1972, and then sporadically until 1993. A contemporary of Little Audrey, Little Dot and Wendy the Good Little Witch, she was one of Harvey's best-known female characters during the 1960s and featured in many of the...
). On the other hand, generation-based humor always played an important role in Little Dot's storylines. Like her in-house contemporaries, Dot frequently found herself at odds with parents, teachers and other representatives of DotTown's adult population. In addition, Dot made regular crossovers with Little Lotta from the beginning of the sixties, usually with disastrous consequences (although Dot's fixation and Lotta's insatiable appetite often played only a peripheral role in such pairings).
Like most of the so-called "Harvey Girls", appearing also in the Richie Rich Girlfriends title, Dot reached her peak between the mid-fifties and the late sixties, eventually eclipsing Audrey in terms of sales. Her popularity began to wane during the 1970s as an industry-wide distribution slump began forcing child-oriented comics off the newsstands. Dot's eponymous title stalled between 1982 and 1986, before being permanently discontinued in 1994. Unlike many Harvey properties, she was never adapted into animated form, but the character continues to live on in merchandise such as T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and a 2003 maquette statue, limited to 500 editions - most probably for trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
purposes. Some decades later, on an episode
I Am Furious Yellow
"I Am Furious " is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on April 28, 2002. In the episode, Bart creates a comic book series based on his father Homer's anger problems, which turns into a popular Internet cartoon series...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Marge suggested Bart rip off Little Dot when he had to create a cartoon character for class, thinking no one would remember the once popular character.
Apart from the main title, Little Dot, the main character's screwball relatives proved popular enough to rate their own series: three issues of Harvey Hits in 1957, '58 and '59; and a "king-sized" comic titled Little Dot's Uncles & Aunts, published between 1961 and 1974.