The emotional bonds that unite these characters are established almost instantaneously. Compared to the elaborate and carefully-conceived novel-length narratives Gray created in the 1930s and 1940s, the early Annie strips might seem a bit crude: the drawings are roughhewn (although his line fluid), the plotting has a shambling, seat-of-your-pants haphazardness, and there are occasional longueurs as Annie dawdles around while Gray waits for the next bit of inspiration to hit. The trick for Annie is to keep watchful and alert, with an eye out for opportunities, a willingness to speak out when necessary, and a heart stout enough to fight for what’s right.įrom the very first strip, which debuted today, ninety six years ago in the New York Daily News, Harold Gray established the emotional tenor that would distinguish Little Orphan Annie.
If today you’re eating gruel and being pushed around, the next day might deliver something better, as it does for Annie when she’s taken under the wings of the good-hearted Miss Fair and, eventually, “Daddy” Warbucks, her long-term guardian and perennial savior. She lives a day-to-day existence but is always hopeful for what tomorrow might bring. An orphan, without even the luxury of a family name (“just Annie” as she’s quick to say), constantly under the stern glare of the orphanage’s bullying headmistress (the prune-faced Miss Asthma), forced to eat mush and scrub the floors, Annie remains not just resilient but even buoyant and chipper as she prays for some nice adopted parents.
When we first meet her, Annie is, appropriately enough, in a tight and uncomfortable spot, as she’ll be time and again for the duration of her event-filled existence.
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