On June 12, the sun will not come out tomorrow. Because after 85 years, Little Orphan Annie will come to an end as a comic strip. It’s inevitable, as will be the eventual deaths of Dick Tracy, Blondie, and other great comic strips that began in the 20’s and 30’s.
I already had something to say about the original run of Little Orphan Annie at this link. As critical as I may be about Harold Gray’s odd mixture of sentimentality and intolerance, I have read several collections from the 30’s, and I enjoyed them a lot, because no other comic strip conveys as much a sense of the Depression. Something I haven’t seen anybody else say, so maybe I’m off-base saying it, is that I think Robert Crumb borrows from Harold Gray in his style of inking and in his depiction of people.
I think ‘Annie’ runs in fewer than 20 papers.
I had no idea it was still running, and you’re right, Crumb DID borrow from Gray’s style. And it goes without saying that I loathe that song … 😉