Little Annie Fanny (Dark Horse)

(Dark Horse)
™ and © Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Mined from the dusty pages of Playboy is the second volume dedicated to that big blonde, Annie Fanny. This well-endowed protagonist was created in 1962 by the late Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, and ran from 1970 to its end in 1988.

A monthly three-page installment of uninhibited libido, nudity, and farce, Annie was proof that people read the magazine for the articles (yeah, right). Densely packed and meticulously scripted, the strip (no puns intended) simultaneously appealed to over-stimulated men and exploits their buffoonery. The creators made Annie into a walking Rorschach test, as she elicited gut reactions from everyone she encountered.

Making sure that no subject or public figure was off-limits, the series took delight in skewering sacred cows. However, after an era of free love and women’s liberation, Annie is a cultural relic, dated in both sensibility and style. But don’t get this wrong: Sex still sells. But Annie’s innocent, self-indulgent, and embarrassing window of commentary on social mores is long since past.

— Oliver Chin

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