Neither of these two tales are models of cutting satire. In the Slobbovia tale, for instance, we're introduced to the Bald Iggle, a creature so preternaturally cute that whoever clasps eyes on it is driven to tell the truth. So whom does Capp unleash this fabulous creature on? Politicians, lawyers and salesmen (including - hold onto your hats! - a used car salesman!) The Wrecker continuity is even more quaint, driven as it is by a premise most readers today would find extremely suspect: the femme fatale's secret lies in the way she wiggles her posterior, something none of the Dogpatch gals notice because, we're told, "A woomin watches another woomin's face to see if she's flirty! But wif men, it's diff'runt!" Men and woomen sure are diff'runt, ain't they?
But Capp's knack for goofy complications and cartoon inventiveness still hold strong, even if his satiric commentary doesn't. One of the geniuses of "Li'l Abner" resides in its erection of a world of dynamic caricatures - dopey man/child Abner, long-suffering wife Daisy Mae, self-righteous and powerful matriarch Mammy Yokum, weaselly Pappy Yokum plus all the other Dogpatch Denizens - and their larger-than-life comic struggles. No other cartoonist has consistently made misanthropy so much fun - and, with Frazetta on board, so attractive either. . .
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