Little Annie Fanny

Infobox comic strip
title= Little Annie Fanny


caption= "Little Annie Fanny" Volume 2
author= Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder
url=
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status= Concluded
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publisher= Playboy
first= October 1962
last= September 1988
genre= Comedy
rating=
preceded by=
followed by=

"Little Annie Fanny" was a comic strip created by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder for "Playboy" in October 1962. The inspiration for the comic strip was Harold Gray's "Little Orphan Annie". The comic follows the escapades of Annie Fanny, a tall, blonde, amply breasted, round buttocked, curly-haired young female who seems to find herself in trouble and naked in each episode. The comic ran sporadically from 1962 to 1988. It had a short-lived rebirth in 1998.

Creation

After leaving Mad Magazine, Mr. Kurtzman and Mr. Elder with other colleagues created Trump and later Humbug. Both failed. A third attempt at a satirical comic magazine, Help! featured an episode where the main character, Goodman Beaver, attended a night of debauchery at the Playboy Mansion with the characters of Archie Comics. Archie Comics sued and won, but the cartoon caught the eye of Hugh Hefner. The comic was retooled where the male Candide type character of Goodman Beaver was transformed into the ultra-busomy and leggy female, Annie Fanny.

Synopsis

The concept is that the title character is a busty and naïve waif who continually finds herself in various and bizarre situations where lusty men continually attempt to sexually molest or exploit her.

Most storylines would revolve around topical events and popular culture. Thus, a mid-1960s "Annie" episode would satirize Beatlemania, whereas a late-1970s installment might place the heroine inside a glittering disco. Sexual angles in the news, such as streaking, nudist resorts, or gay liberation were invariably pounced upon by Kurtzman & Co.

Publication history

"Little Annie Fanny" made its publication debut in "Playboy" issue of October, 1962.Cite web|last=Don Markstein's Toonopedia|title=Little Annie Fanny|url=http://www.toonopedia.com/anniefan.htm] The strip boasted lavish production values and fully painted panels of great detail, and as such the first fully painted feature in American comics. It was a great success, but very time-consuming for Kurtzman. The amount of work required a steady rotation of assistants. Kurtzman's primary collaborator was fellow "Mad Magazine" alumnus Elder, but over the years, artwork was also provided by Jack Davis, Russ Heath, and Al Jaffee (all of whom also worked at "Mad"), as well as Larry Siegel, Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton. Most consisted of the group of artists that had worked together on "Trump," a lavish, short-lived humor publication that had been fleetingly bankrolled by Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner.

"Little Annie Fanny" initially started as a monthly feature in 1962 and 1963, but quickly fell off, publishing six to seven episodes per in year in the late sixties. By the 1970s, only four to five episodes were published annually in the monthly magazine and only one to two per year in the eighties. Kurtzman ended the strip in 1988 when he felt he had run out of story material.. However, "Little Annie Fanny" stories were based upon current pop-culture, topical political issues and topics of the time. Therefore, it is hard to argue he ran out of story material when plenty was happening in the American political arean, cultural stage and daily events. The comic attempted a revival in 1998 with art by Ray Lago and Bill Schorr, but was not popular and was not continued.

Episodes

1962

* October - Madison Avenue
* November - Playing Doctor
* December - Christmas Office Party

1963

* January - Sugardaddy Bigbucks
* March - Flims, Italian Style
* April - The Unhappy Comic
* May - Kennedy Jokes
* July - Fifty Mile Hike
* September - The Artist
* November - The Talent Contest
* December - Yuletide One-Upmanship

1964

* January - The Set Jets to South America
* April - Annie Joins the Peace Corps
* July - Alone on a Desert Isle
* September - Lost at Sea
* October - Gun Fun
* December - Astronaut Annie

1965

* January - From Annie with Love
* February - Thunderballing
* May - The Topless Suit Case
* July - The Surfers
* October - Seven Days with Mae
* December - Annie Meets the Bleatles

1966

* January - Battbarton's Holiday Spirit
* March - On the Brooklyn B.M.T
* May - Annie in TV Wasteland
* July - Annie Under the Sheets
* September - Euphoria-in-the-Pines Resort
* October - Hoopadedoo Show
* December - Greenback Busters

1967

* January - High Camp
* May - Las Vegas Kidnapping
* August - Americans in Paris
* September - The Ultimate Kick
* December - Booby Doll

1968

* January - The Master-tester Institute
* March - Unionized Cruise Ship
* June - Annie at the Olympics
* December - The Real Howard Hews

1969

* February - Discotheques
* April - Annie the Actress
* July - See-Through Dress
* October - Living Theatre
* December - Astrology

1970

* January - Marijuana
* May - Nude Therapy
* July - Underground Press
* September - Women's Lib
* October - Unisex
* December - Aphrodisiacs

1971

* January - Hippie Commune
* April - This Exploits Women
* June - Burglar Alarm
* September - Health Spa
* December - Body Language

1972

* June - Swingers
* September - Violence in America
* November - Ralph Raider

1973

* January - Bachelor Pad
* June - Watchdog
* August - Bobby Fishey
* November - Henry Kissingbug

1974

* January - Mafia
* June - Freak Rock
* December - Singles Apartments

1975

* March - Acupunture
* May - St. Tropez
* August - Ecology

1976

* January - The Gay Scene
* August - Tennis
* December - Headstone, Part I

1977

* January - Headstone, Part II
* April - Disco Music
* August - Sex Shop
* December - Muscle Builders, Part I

1978

* January - Muscle Builders, Part II
* March - C.B. Radio
* May - Van-In
* August - Jogging
* October - Special Effects

1979

* January - The Ski Lodge
* April - Topless Bar
* August - Frisbee Golf
* November - Pluto's Retreat
* December - Studio Fifty-Fourplay

1980

* January - Dallas Cowgals Cheerleaders
* May - Skydiving
* August - 1980 Democratic National Convention

1981

* January - Male Strippers
* April - Gilley's Club
* December - Computers

1982

* January - Isolation Tanks
* March - Jamaica
* June - Mud Wrestling
* October - Annie's Twentieth Anniversary
* December - Love Boat

1983

* January - Hot Tubbing
* August - Loveland

1984

* January - Raiders of the Temple of Voom

1985

* January - Opera Diva
* September - Cohan the Barbarian

1986

* May - Pro Wrestling

1987

* January - Massage School
* June - Aliens

1988

* January - Jimmy and Tammy
* September - Woodsy Alvin

1998

* August - The Unnatural Enquirer

Attempted adaptations

The December, 1978 issue of "Playboy" mentioned a "world-wide search for the actress who will portray Little Annie Fanny in a live-action movie..." but no film was ultimately made.

In 2000 Mainframe Entertainment was approached by "Playboy" to create a CGI animated series based on "Little Annie Fanny", but no actual series was produced. [Cite web|last=Playback|title=Film and Television Production|url=http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/20000417/28751.html?page=2|April 17, 2000] As of 2008 its unknown the CGI animated series would be made.

Links to other comics

* The feature's logo was an imitation of the one used in Sunday installments of "Little Orphan Annie". Two of the supporting characters — Sugardaddy Bigbucks and the Wasp — were direct parodies of Daddy Warbucks and his longtime henchman, the Asp.

* In 1969, the British edition of "Penthouse" magazine launched the strip "Oh, Wicked Wanda" which was similar in vein, featuring storylines of a sexual and satirical nature. A character resembling Annie Fanny often appeared: in the opening episode she can be seen chained to a wall, one of her breasts blowing out like a balloon after being pierced by Wanda's lesbian lover Candyfloss.

* In an article in "Mad Magazine" presenting hypothetical magazines from other planets, a spoof of "Playboy" includes a cartoon feature: "Little Annie's Seven Fannies"

Book collections

* "Playboy's Little Annie Fanny: Volume 1, 1962-1970". Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Comics, 2001, ISBN 1-56971-519-X
* "Playboy's Little Annie Fanny: Volume 2, 1970-1988", Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Comics, 2001, ISBN 1-56971-520-3

References

External links

* [http://www.animationarchive.org/2007/03/pinups-kurtzman-and-elders-little-annie.html ASIFA - Hollywood Animation Archive: Pinups: Kurtzman and Elder's Little Annie Fanny ]