Wee Pals is an American syndicatedcomic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Gang".[2]
When cartoonist Morrie Turner began questioning why there were no minorities in the comic strips, his mentor, Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, suggested he create one.[3] Morris' first attempt, Dinky Fellas, featured an all-black cast, but found publication in only one newspaper, the Chicago Defender.[4] Turner integrated the strip, renaming it Wee Pals, and on February 15, 1965, it became the first American syndicated comic strip to have a cast of diverse ethnicity.[5]
As the comic strip's popularity grew, Turner added characters. He included children of more and more ethnicities, as well as a child with a physical disability. He also added a weekly section called "Soul Corner", which profiled notable African Americans from history.[3]
Nipper — An African-American boy who always wears a blue or grey American Civil War kepi, and has a dog named General Lee. Turner based Nipper on himself as a child.[3]
Connie — A athletic white girl who frequently clashes with Ralph over his misogyny and racism, despite that she herself expresses chauvanistic and misandrist views. She's an outspoken member of the neighborhood "Girls' Lib" organization (a play on the Women's Liberation Movement).
Sybil — African-American girl who is also in the Girls' Lib organization. She is a very nice and respectful young girl who has a very good relationship with Connie.
Oliver — A chubby, bookish white boy with glasses.
Diz — An African-American boy who's never without his sunglasses and beret. He plays trumpet like his namesake Dizzy Gillespie and often narrates the "Funky Fables" strips.
Charlotte — A white bespectacled girl who uses a wheelchair. She has a pet parrot named Polly Esther.
Randy (African-American) The second in command of the Rainbow Club who is very good friends with Oliver. He also has a one-sided friendship with Ralph.
Pablo (Chicano/Mexican-American) A happy carefree young boy who is very good friends with Randy and Jerry. He is often shown to be the pacifist of the group.
Mikki (African-American; about four years old) A young girl who has a very big imagination. She is mainly seen with Jerry and Trinh.
Rocky (Native American) A respectful kind young boy who is very proud of his racial background. He is good friends with Randy and Nipper.
George (Asian-AmericanofChinese origin) A quiet young boy with a vivid imagination who often discusses Chinese parables. He has a good relationship with Oliver, Nipper, and Jerry.
Jerry (Jewish) An upbeat, happy, loyal young man with a very big heart. He is very good friends with Nipper, Oliver, Diz, Randy and Trinh. It's shown that he might have feelings for Sybil.
Trinh (Vietnamese) A kind-hearted little boy[8] who is very good friends with Mikki.
Sally (ethnicity unstated, but deaf-mute) A respectful young girl with a very kind heart. She appears in the later strips in the series.
Wellington (ethnicity unstated, dark hair covering eyes) A hip young boy who is mainly shown with Diz. It's shown in a earlier strip that he wears glasses underneath his bangs.
Wee Pals: Funky Tales (New American Library, 1975) ASIN B00072KLVE
Wee Pals: Welcome to the Club (Rainbow Power Club Books, 1978) ASIN B003VC7JQW
Choosing a Health Career: Featuring Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang (Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, 1979), ASIN B0006XCLLC
Wee Pals: A Full-Length Musical Comedy for Children or Young Teenagers (The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1981) ASIN B0006XW1I0
Wee Pals Make Friends with Music and Musical Instruments: Coloring Book (Stockton Symphony Association, 1982) ASIN B00072YGD8
Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang: Thinking Well (Ingham County Health Department, 1983) ASIN B0007259DY
Wee Pals Doing the Right Thing Coloring Book (Oakland Police Department, 1991) ASIN B0006R4G98
Explore Black History with Wee Pals (Just us Books, 1998) ISBN0940975793
The Kid Power Gang Salutes African-Americans in the Military Past and Present (Conway B. Jones, Jr., 2000), ASIN B0006RSDC4
During the 1972–73 television season, Wee Pals was animated as Kid Power, a series produced by Rankin/Bass with animation done in JapanatTopcraft.[9] It aired in the United StatesonABC television on Saturday mornings.
All of Turner's characters were featured, united through the coalition the characters dubbed "Rainbow Power." In The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlutter says, "The same broad ethnic mix [as the comic], making it one of the first television animation programs aimed at children to accurately reflect the racial diversity of America and thus providing for many others to follow."[10]
A total of 17 episodes were made, most of which aired from September 16, 1972, to January 6, 1973, followed by reruns. In the following year, a few new episodes that were unfinished during the first season aired on Sunday mornings (combined with reruns) until September 1, 1974.[11]
During the same 1972–73 television season, Wee Pals on the Go was aired by KGO-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated station in the San FranciscoBay Area. This live-action Sunday morning show featured child actors who portrayed the main characters of Turner's comic strip, Nipper, Randy, Sybil, Connie, and Oliver.[citation needed]
^ abJones, Steven Loring. "From 'Under Cork' to Overcoming: Black Images in the Comics," Ethnic Images in the Comics (The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, 1986), p. 27.
^ ab"About Morrie Turner". Creators Syndicate. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014. Within three months of King's death, the strip was appearing in over 100 newspapers nationwide.
^Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 337–338. ISBN978-1538103739.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 468–469. ISBN978-1476665993.
