Page "Al Capp" Paragraph 38

After Capp quit his ghosting job on Ham Fisher's Joe Palooka in 1934 to launch his own strip, Fisher badmouthed him to colleagues and editors, claiming that Capp had " stolen " his idea.

For years, Fisher would bring the characters back to his strip, billing them as " The ORIGINAL Hillbilly Characters " and advising readers not to be " fooled by imitations.

" ( In fact, Fisher's brutish hillbilly character — Big Leviticus, created by Capp in Fisher's absence — bore little resemblance to Li ' l Abner.

) According to a November 1950 Time article, " Capp parted from Fisher with a definite impression, ( to put it mildly ) that he had been underpaid and unappreciated.

Fisher, a man of Roman self esteem, considered Capp an ingrate and a whippersnapper, and watched his rise to fame with unfeigned horror.