 | Little LottaOriginal Medium: Comic books Published by: Harvey Comics First Appeared: 1953 image: © Harvey Entertainment. |
Little Lotta's first appearance was in the same comic as that of Richie Rich. Both were introduced as back-up features when Little Dot got her own comic, in 1953. And both went on to star in long-running comics of their own, but Lotta's success was not as stellar as Richie's.
All three were typical "high-concept" Harvey Comics characters. Lotta's schtick, which
pretty much summed up the driving force of most stories about her,
was that she ate to excess. Her figure showed it, too — but
that was the only normal effect of her dietary
habits. Instead of sluggishness and high blood pressure, Lotta's
overeating gave her immense strength; and instead of being called
ugly names by the other kids, Lotta was lionized for her muscle
power.
For these reasons, Little Lotta is considered by many to be one of the worst role models in comics.
Nonetheless, Lotta quickly moved on to stardom. By 1955, she was anchoring a comic of her own, which she retained steadily until 1972, then again from 1974-76 and 1992-93. In addition, she starred in the giant-size Little Lotta Foodland from 1962-68, and appeared regularly in Little Dot's and Richie Rich's comics. And the tenth issue of Harvey Hits (June, 1958) had "Little Lotta's Lunch Box" as its theme.
Little Lotta never made it big outside of comic books; and since 1994, the comics themselves have been gone. But she still turns up occasionally in magazines and Web sites that Harvey uses to keep their characters at least minimally in the public eye; and should the company succeed in its plans to exploit these franchises in the new century, Lotta will undoubtedly be among them.
