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241. The Shmoo from Li'l Abner (2002).
The lovable Shmoo was a boon to
mankind, or so it seemed when Li'l Abner discovered the
Valley of the Shmoon in an unforgettable 1948 sequence. A Shmoo
not only laid eggs and bottled grade A milk, it so loved mankind
that it would drop dead at your feet and turn into a sizzling
steak if you looked at it hungrily. Its eyes made perfect buttons,
its skin was fine leather and even its whiskers made excellent
toothpicks. And Shmoos reproduced
faster than rabbits. With a Shmoo a family could be self-reliant.
And that was the problem.
American business ---and society--- began
to grind to halt as Shmoos spread from Dogpatch across the country.
The U.S. government was forced to kill every single Shmoo
(using Shmooicide Squads) in order to save humanity! But their
tragic ending in the comic strip didn't stop Americans from embracing
the Shmoo. It became an overnight merchandising sensation. Unlike
today's media-driven merchandising with millions of dollars of
advertising, the Shmoo phenomenon was driven only by a few weeks
of continuity in Al Capp's popular Li'l Abner newspaper
strip.
See Li'l
Abner Meets the Shmoo (Volume
14 from Kitchen Sink's series) for the complete origin story
plus articles and pictures describing the countless toys and
media attention, available from this web store. We also have
Shmoo postcards and Shmoo
Pins. See also our Shmoo
Facts Sheetfor some amazing statistics about this character's
popularity.
Kitchen Sink Press published twenty-seven
12" x 9" volumes
of Li'l Abner Dailies, many of which are still available
in this web store. This is the 6th of 7 Li'l Abner buttons
created by DKAA, the agency which represents Capp Enterprises,
Inc. It is intended for promotional purposes only but, while
supplies last, you can acquire this advertising item for $2.50.
1.25 inch diameter
One note, for serious button collectors,
you may want to read the KSP
BUTTON TEXT which explains the numbering systems for
identifying the various buttons produced over the last 30 years,
or see the COMPLETE
KSP BUTTON LIST. The list is VERY long, so be patient
while it loads.
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