Sunday Comics #12: Marge's Tubby

Marjorie Henderson "Marge" Buell's Little Lulu first appeared as a replacement to the comic panel "Henry" in the February 23, 1935 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. "Little Lulu" ran in the Post from 1935 until 1944 and then as a nationally syndicated comic strip from 1944 until 1969. "Little Lulu" continued as a comic book series from 1948 until 1984, a theatrical short series lasting 26 shorts between 1943 and 1948, and two television series--one on ABC from 1976 to 1977 and HBO from 1995 to 1999. Introduced in 1941, Tubby Tompkins became Lulu's portly, misogynistic friend. Tubby was so popular that he got his own comic book series from 1952 to 1961.

Tubby can best be described as the 1950s version of Eric Cartman, less bigoted and murderous but equally misogynistic. Tubby, as leader of The Fellers, his neighborhood boy gang, routinely kept girls away from their clubhouse, insulted them, made them cry, made them feel less than people and was just basically a mean ol' jerk to them. Thankfully, Tubby usually got what was coming to him in the form of public embarrassment or child abuse (re: constant spanking).

Most stories featuring Tubby were about him trying to do something fun and having it backfire causing hijinks to ensue or being a lazy piece of crap. One of my favorite stories that I have read has him doing latter. Trying to keep from practicing his violin.