Comics and Cartoons Trivia Quiz

Answer: Li'l Abner

"Li'l Abner", by Al Capp, ran from 1934 to 1977. Mostly about a group of hillbillies living in Dogpatch, USA, the Schmoo was found by Li'l Abner in a hidden valley. They have the appearance of bowling pins used in Duck Pin Bowling with stubby legs. They may not sound like they would fit into a hillbilly comic strip but the world went crazy for them; there were all kinds of Schmoo toys and merchandise.

Answer: The Woodleys

The Woodleys have always been best friends with the Bumsteads, although Herb Woodley sometimes does things that annoy Dagwood, like failing to return power tools. The cartoon strip was started by Chic Young in 1930. Upon his death in 1973 his son Dean took it over and works with other artists to continue the storyline.

Answer: Helen Kane

Fleisher started the Betty Boop character in 1930, originating her as an anthropomorphic French poodle. Within a year Fleisher changed her to fully human, making her a caricature of singer Helen Kane. Kane sued for infringement of her image and mannerisms but the suit was ultimately decided in Fleisher's favor.

Answer: Dick Tracy

Perhaps using U.S. Treasury Agent Eliot Ness as an inspiration, Chester Gould created police detective Dick Tracy in 1931. After several years of crime-fighting, Tracy needed to relax a bit and so Gould gave him some home life, with a wife, Tess (Trueheart), a son, Dick Jr. and a baby daughter, Bonny Braids. Tess didn't last long in the comic strip but appeared in several Tracy TV shows and films over the years, including the 1990 film "Dick Tracy" starring Warren Beatty as Tracy and Glenne Headley as Tess.

Answer: Otto

In 1924, Harold Gray offered an idea for a new cartoon strip to the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, to be called "Little Orphan Otto", who lived by his wits on the streets. An editor suggested using a girl instead of a boy. Gray had originally gotten the idea for the title and probably the storyline from an 1885 poem by James Whitcomb Riley, "Little Orphant Annie" so he didn't have to make too many changes.

Answer: Edward Nigma

The Riddler is one of the recurring villains in the "Batman" mythos. He first appeared in a "Batman" comic book in 1948. A sufferer of obsessive-compulsive disorder he always included puzzles and riddles in his schemes. His name, Edward Nigma, was a pun itself: E.Nigma - get it?

Answer: The Howdy Doody Show

"Howdy Doody" was an early TV show in the United States in the 1940s and became the model for several others. The show had a Western theme and one of the characters was Chief Thunderthud from a Native American tribe, although we didn't know which one. One of his favorite sayings was "kowabonga" and he started every sentence with it.

In the late 1950s it was adopted and changed a bit by the California surfing culture. In the 1980s, Cookie Monster on "Sesame Street" picked it up and a few years later so did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Answer: The Beagle Boys

Scrooge McDuck originated as a one-time character for Disney's "Donald Duck" series but fans liked him so much he became a regular character. Deciding he needed some antagonists, the animators came up with the idea of a criminal gang who were always to rob Scrooge of his money.

They are supposed to be beagle criminals; they don't look like beagles but they do all look alike. The gang consists of three, or six, or ten, depending on the story. They have been seen in the comics and also the Disney animated series "DuckTales".

Answer: Alice

"Dilbert" was first published in 1989. It concerns the goings-on in an office atmosphere with people of several personality types. Alice is the highest paid engineer in the company, very intelligent but without much of a sense of humor. She is supposedly modeled after someone series creator Scott Adams worked with at one time.

Answer: Belle

Charles M. Schulz started the "Peanuts" comic strip on October 2, 1950. Snoopy came along two days later and quickly became a main character. Over time we learned that he has five brothers and two sisters. Belle lives in Kansas City and appeared infrequently in the comic strip. Snoopy has another sister, Molly, but she only appeared in the TV show "Snoopy's Reunion" (1991).