Little Plum
Encyclopedia
Little Plum is a fictional character
in the UK
comic
The Beano
.
The eponymous hero and his friends Chiefy, Pimple and Hole-in-um-Head are members of the "Smellyfeet" American Indian
tribe, who spend much of their time clashing with their rivals the "Puttyfeet" tribe. Other characters include Dr. Kildeer (the tribal medicine-man), Treaclefoot (Plum's faithful horse) and Pudding Bison
(a 'marvellous' creature who eats anything - also featuring in spin-off strips Baby Face Finlayson
and The Three Bears).
created Little Plum in 1953 as a puny cartoon character in a dangerous cartoon world. The cartoon strip was initially given the working title Booster before the name Little Plum was decided on. It first appeared in issue 586, dated 10 October 1953.
drew a few strips before Ron Spencer
took over that same year.
The strip originally finished in 1986, but it continued to appear in the Beano annuals up to 1994, and reappeared for a short time in 1998 under the name 'The Legend of Little Plum', drawn by Tom Paterson
.
. The strip was finally dropped in 2006 when Hunt Emerson started drawing Ratz
, though he has since appeared in BeanoMAX
and in the 2009 Beano Annual.
The comic strip employed a caricature of English language spoken by American Indians
, notably replacing the word "the" with "um".
In the 1994 Beano Annual, Little Plum said that American Indians
are often named after what they do or something commonly associated with them. He says he gets his name because his full name is "Little Plum Stealing Varmint".
In Issue 3566, Little Plum returned to the comic once again, as reprints of Hunt Emerson's strips. However, all uses of the word "um" present when the strips originally appeared were removed in the reprinted versions.
with their character "Little Plumber".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic
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...
The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
.
The eponymous hero and his friends Chiefy, Pimple and Hole-in-um-Head are members of the "Smellyfeet" American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribe, who spend much of their time clashing with their rivals the "Puttyfeet" tribe. Other characters include Dr. Kildeer (the tribal medicine-man), Treaclefoot (Plum's faithful horse) and Pudding Bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
(a 'marvellous' creature who eats anything - also featuring in spin-off strips Baby Face Finlayson
Baby Face Finlayson
Baby Face Finlayson was a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1553, dated 22 April 1972...
and The Three Bears).
Leo Baxendale Strips (1953 - 1962)
Leo BaxendaleLeo Baxendale
Leo Baxendale is a British cartoonist, who was the creator of the classic Beano strips Little Plum , Minnie the Minx , The Bash Street Kids and The Three Bears .Leo Baxendale was at the end of his National Service days in the RAF, when he decided he...
created Little Plum in 1953 as a puny cartoon character in a dangerous cartoon world. The cartoon strip was initially given the working title Booster before the name Little Plum was decided on. It first appeared in issue 586, dated 10 October 1953.
Ron Spencer Strips (1962 -1986)
After Baxendale left The Beano in 1962, Robert NixonRobert Nixon (artist)
Robert Nixon was an artist who worked on several British comics.Bob was born in South Bank, Middlesbrough, in North Yorkshire on July 7, 1939. He was the fifth of six children born to Arthur Nixon and Phylis Thompson. Robert's mother Phylis worked as a housewife while his father worked locally...
drew a few strips before Ron Spencer
Ron Spencer
Ron Spencer is an illustrator whose most famous work has been for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.- Early life :Ron Spencer grew up on a farm in Aurora, Nebraska. As a child, his reading material included such Marvel Comics as Conan the Barbarian.- Artwork :Spencer is primarily...
took over that same year.
The strip originally finished in 1986, but it continued to appear in the Beano annuals up to 1994, and reappeared for a short time in 1998 under the name 'The Legend of Little Plum', drawn by Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson is a Scottish comic artist who drew characters for Fleetway in 1973–1990, and D.C Thomson from 1986-onwards. He lives in Leith, with three kids, and is a Hearts supporter.He is famous for drawing comics such as:-Fleetway:...
.
Hunt Emerson Strips (2002 - 2006)
From 2002 it has returned again under its original name, drawn by Hunt EmersonHunt Emerson
Hunt Emerson is a cartoonist living and working in Birmingham, England. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s...
. The strip was finally dropped in 2006 when Hunt Emerson started drawing Ratz
Ratz
Ratz , officially the Movement for Civil Rights and Peace was a left-wing political party in Israel from 1973 until its formal merger into Meretz in 1997.-Background:...
, though he has since appeared in BeanoMAX
BeanoMAX
The BeanoMAX is a monthly British comic published by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd It is a spin-off of the UK comic, The Beano. Each issue has 44 pages and costs £3.50.The first issue was published on February 15, 2007 and was a Comic Relief special.- Strips :...
and in the 2009 Beano Annual.
The comic strip employed a caricature of English language spoken by American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, notably replacing the word "the" with "um".
In the 1994 Beano Annual, Little Plum said that American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
are often named after what they do or something commonly associated with them. He says he gets his name because his full name is "Little Plum Stealing Varmint".
In Issue 3566, Little Plum returned to the comic once again, as reprints of Hunt Emerson's strips. However, all uses of the word "um" present when the strips originally appeared were removed in the reprinted versions.
Miscellaneous
Little Plum was parodied in adult comic VizViz
Viz. and the adverb videlicet are used as synonyms for "namely", "that is to say", and "as follows".-Etymology:...
with their character "Little Plumber".