| Shmoo | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
None (Species) |
|
First Appearance |
Lil' Abner (August 31 1948) |
|
Original Publisher |
United Feature Syndicate |
|
Created by |
Al Capp |
Origin[]
The Shmoo is a race of mysterious, animalistic creatures shaped like a plump bowling pin with stubby legs, smooth skin or fur, and sparse whiskers. Despite their physiology lacking arms, they highly expressive and mobile.
Shmoos reproduce asexually at a rapid rate, and exist solely to provide consumption for human needs. They produce eggs and bottles of Grade A milk instantly, and their bodies can replicate various types of meats depending on cooking methods. Their hides can serve as fine leather, their eyes for buttons, and whiskers as toothpicks. If looked upon with hunger, the Shmoo will die of ecstasy in order to be used.
Despite their convenience, the introduction of Shmoos into human society posed a threat to the capitalist economy by eliminating the need for livestock, labor, and commerce. This led to their extermination by various industrialists, fearing economic collapse.
Notes[]
- No Lil' Abner comics were renewed until the backlog of strips to be renewed reached a point after the debut of the Shmoo
- Following the Shmoo's entry into the public domain in the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera released a series called The New Shmoo, which depicted the Shmoo as a single shapeshifting character without suicidal or food-producing tendencies, in a rehash of the Scooby-Doo formula with nothing to do whatsoever with Lil' Abner. The Shmoo would later be a major crossover character in The Flintstone Comedy Show, and make a minor cameo in an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, produced by Hanna-Barbera's successor studio, Cartoon Network Studios.
- The debut of the Shmoo resulted in a massive marketing frenzy, almost akin to an early pop-cultural meme, to the point that it replaced Mickey Mouse as the mascot of the United States Treasury's Children's Savings Bond. Despite this, the character faded into obscurity due to Lil' Abner being pulled from newspapers after Al Capp had been convicted on multiple sex-related charges, following a spiral of the comic implementing radical right-wing social commentary.
- The character of the Shmoo - a creature that takes exploitation in stride to the point where it renders anyone else's labor irrelevant - was criticized by both, left-wing audiences that believed the Shmoo was a criticism of communism, and right-wing audiences who believed the Shmoo was a criticism of capitalism. Al Capp stated in response to this analysis that the Shmoo was simply intended as an apolitical morality story, and remarked "If the Shmoo fits, wear it!"