Daddy Warbucks as an emblematic capitalist has been much discussed but his wide ranging group of ethnic allies has not.

Harold Gray has been derided as a conservative, and that he was, but he had a complicated relationship with ethnic figures. He both painted them with limiting stereotypes at the same time as elevating them to heroic status that few other comic strip creators of the era ever did. Whatever Gray’s political beliefs, he clearly was a advocate of tolerance and acceptance of different races, ethnicities, and faiths.

This sample comic strip from 1963 makes Gray’s sentiments on this matter very clear, though may reflect a maturation of earlier views.

A exploration of Harold Gray’s treatment of Daddy Warbucks and his ethnic allies is long overdue. What follows is a brief section devoted to each of his non-white, non-Christian characters and the dates of their appearances in the narrative. In some instances, I only have the months of their appearances listed. These dates are intended to assisted motivated readers to check out individual comic strips in the 16 volume Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie, which follows Annie’s adventures from the strip’s creation in 1924 through 1953.

With a bit more effort, intrepid researchers can read individual installments of the comic strip through newspaper archival sites such as newspapers.com, which require a semi-annual fee for the privilege. Such sources cover the comic strip though the end of Leonard Starr’s excellent (and sadly uncollected) run through 2000. Most of Jay Maeder’s run writing the comic strip is available by subscribing to GoComics.com, as are the further adventures of Annie, Warbucks, Punjab and the Asp in the Dick Tracy comic strip.

Jake, the Jewish Shopkeeper (1931)

Jewish shopkeeper who becomes a successful businessman. Daddy’s second wife, Trixie, becomes incensed when Daddy invests a good deal of money in establishing a partnership with Jake in running a prominent department store. With Wun Wey and Flop-House Bill, Both Jake and Flop-House Bill, the owner of a lucrative chain of flop-houses and also of note a dwarf who is also described as having been “a cripple all of his life,” are portrayed as being among Warbucks’ best friends for several years in the early thirties. All three characters represent Harold Gray’s intentional effort to lift up cultural “outsiders” in his narratives. 3/31-9/31, 11/31-12/31, 5/32-6/32, 8/32, 12/33, 5/34, 10/34-11/34.

Wun Wey, the Chinese Daddy Warbucks (1932)

Wun Wei is an extraordinarily wealthy Chinese merchant descended from a powerful family of mandarins who Annie just happens to meet when checking out a Chinese import shop.

As detailed by Daddy Warbucks in the 1-8-1932 installment of the comic strip, Wun Wey Is “in a way … more than Chinese. He is a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world. He hold degrees from Oxford and from two of our leading universities. He speaks at least eight languages perfectly. And as for being just a store keeper, no one knows how far his business interests extend. He is a great merchant and a great gentleman. He makes his headquarters in that little Oriental shop because he loves to be among the treasures of his own country. Once, while in China, I did what he chose to consider a favor for his family. Such a man never forgets a friend, or an enemy either.”

Wey becomes very fond of Annie as well and his wide circle of contacts provides him with rich intelligence, as does his uncanny sense of when someone is lying to him. Shortly after his introduction, he joins Flop-House Bill in his concern over Warbucks’ recent interest in the former showgirl, Trixie Trinkle. It is gradually revealed that Wun Wey is the “all powerful” head of pan-national society of Chinese loyal only to him. He was captured by a rival Chinese warlord in 1935, but in 1937 it was revealed that the Asp had rescued him. In 1939, Wun Wey joins Punjab, the Asp and a heroic fellow named Puck as four soldiers of fortune assisting Warbucks in his monumental battle against Axel.

In 1942, Wun Wey is seen briefly, but significantly, saving Warbucks, Punjab and the Asp from certain death at the hands of the Japanese somewhere near the Chinese border, perhaps in Indochina. Wun Wey is referenced as “on staff” by Warbucks in 1943, a diminishment in his earlier stature to be sure but an offhand comment at best. Thereafter, Gray appears to have forgotten him, though as later developments would demonstrate, that was not the case.

While Wun Wey has some stereotypical trappings, he is a remarkably positive figure in an era in which the Chinese were portrayed as either “Yellow Menaces” ala Fu Manchu or aphorism spouting fellows like Charlie Chan. (Chan did have his moments, however, as my exploration of his comic strip details.)

Appearances: 1/5/32-3/1/32, 5/5/32-6/26/32, 8/10/32, 11/28/32-12/2/32, 12/33, 5/34, 9/34-11/34, 9/1/35-9/8/35, (ref. 3/4/37), 5/9/39-6/28/39, 12/27/42-12/29/42, (ref. as “on staff” 7/28/43), 12/6/59-1/9/60.

Punjab, Daddy Warbuck’s Right Hand Man (1935)

Punjab is a South Asian turbaned giant, roughly eight feet tall, with mystical powers including the ability to make anyone or anything disappear or reappear to the land of the genii (later referred to the land of the magi). His turban and large sword suggest Punjab might be a Sikh, but Punjab also makes references to Alla, alternatively suggesting he might be Muslim. It does seem clear he is from India.

When first seen in the narrative in 1935, Punjab was a servant of Henry Morgan, a fellow adventurer Daddy Warbucks met in Burma, but when next seen in 1937 he is a trusted associate of Warbucks. At that time he appears on via a new technology, television, from Warbuck’s Singapore office. Asked to protect Annie from the very start, Punjab gives Annie a dragon whistle that can summon him to her side from anyplace on the globe. Among numerous other abilities, Punjab has the power to transport himself across thousands of miles in a twinkle of the eye.

When Punjab is next seen, in 1939, he has arrived in a Chinese city to meet up with Wun Wey, who he embraces as an old friend. Together with the Asp, they are gathering to join Warbucks in his struggle against the foreign agent Axil and his gang. From 1942 to 1943 Punjab joins now General Warbucks overseas in fighting Axis forces. In 1944 he is seen briefly ferrying Warbucks to meet death on his personal River Styx.

In 1950, the Asp and Punjab were key to undoing the communist schemes of Ivan. The following year they were sent by Warbucks to finish off Nikoli, another Russian communist. In 1952, Punjab and the Asp assist Warbucks and the Maharaja of Metaphor in defeating his enemy, the General. In 1953, Punjab summoned an ancient friend named the Healer to cure a young friend of Annie’s of a serious illness. In 1954, Punjab and the Asp watch over Warbucks as he recovers from brainwashing only to see him killed. The two leave Annie behind as they go to work on behalf of their master’s global associates.

In 1971, Punjab plays a central and extended role as Annie’s companion and protector as they travel together to El Dorado without Daddy, where they face the menace of Cap’n Ahab and the beastlike Krogs. The Krogs ultimately come to believe that Punjab is their god.

In 2008, the Asp and Punjab were blown up and presumed killed by one of Warbucks’ newest arch enemies, the disembodied Xaxos. But in subsequent DIck Tracy narratives, both Punjab and the Asp are shown healthy and well.

Appearances:: 2/10/35-9/4/35, 4/4/37-4/6/37, 4/30/39-8/8/39, 3/2/41-12/14/41, 5/3/42-5/15/42, 9/13/42, 12/27/42-12/29/42, 6/20/43-7/31/43, 12/26/43, 7/24/44-7/31 & 8/20/44, 7/22/45-8/22 & 12/30/45-1/22/46, 1/6/48-3/28/48, 3/12/50-7/2/50, 5/20/51-6/12/51, 4/30/52-6/3 & 8/3-10/25/52, 5/31/53-6/13/53, 5/13/54-7/23/54, 3/55-4/55, 4/58-5/58, 2/62-4/62, 2/64-3/64, 9/66-10/66, 7/67-9/67, 1/69-5/69,  8/69-12/69, 4/70-9/70, 1/12/71-4/22/71, 6/72-7/72, 10/72-12/72, 4/81-8/81, 11/83-4/84, 6/85-1/86, 11/86-8/87, 5/1/88-6/89, 8/90-12/90, 6/93,  6/97, 2/26/07-5/8/07, 12/8/07-3/10/08.

The Asp, the Turkish Assassin (1937)

Annie first meets the sinister appearing Asp after Daddy Warbucks returns to her in 1937 after one of his long absences. His exceptionally dark eyes, receding hairline and pointed ears give him a demonic appearance. But it is Warbucks that the Asp calls “master.”

“Brrr–that guy gives me chills,” Annie tells Daddy upon first meeting him. “I tell yuh Daddy, he’s dangerous!”

Daddy only laughs. “Dangerous, eh? That’s putting it mildly. He’s complete disaster to our enemies, but the best life insurance policy you and I could have!”

Not long after, the immortal Mr. Am enters the narrative. The Asp recalls how he first saw Mr. Am thirty years ago and his appearance “then was just as now.” As Annie questions the possibility of Am being centuries old, the Asp adds that his grandfather “often spoke of the time when he was a child and first beheld Am the same then as now.”

Based out of Istanbul, in 1939, when the Asp gets word of Annie and Daddy’s troubles with the evil Axel, men there like a fellow named Kemal refer to the Asp as their master. Known for his ability to dispatch an opponent with finality, the Asp was also known in his country as the Grim Reaper.

In his second appearance, in 1939, the Asp joins Warbucks, Punjab and Wun Wey in a critical battle against the malevolent Axel. He is mostly seen working in concert with Punjab and Warbucks thereafter. In 1942 the Asp is part of a military force commanded by “General” Warbucks. In 1945, the Asp and Punjab appear to take Daddy away on small vessel to meet his death.

In 1950, the Asp and Punjab were key to undoing the communist schemes of Ivan. The following year they were sent by Warbucks to finish off Nikoli, another Russian communist. In 1952, Punjab and the Asp assist Warbucks and the Maharaja of Metaphor in defeating his enemy, the General. In 1954, the Asp rents a rustic cabin for his master to recover from brainwashing, his appearance creating alarm among the cabin owners and their neighbors.

During Leonard Starr’s portrayal of the Asp, it was suggested that his original name may have been Yen Jing Sher, which is Chinese for asp. The Asp is now shown working independently of Punjab in most instances. In 1981, the Asp saves Annie from another assassin, the arrogant Skip Smith. In 1982, 1998 and 2000, the Asp assists Warbucks in countering the menace of his evil niece, Stella Han. Ultimately, in 2000, the Asp takes his niece into space, with the intention to insure she will never threaten Annie, Daddy or the world again. Somehow the Asp returns to earth, apparently without Han, only to be blown up with Punjab and presumed killed in 2008 by one of Warbucks’ arch enemies, the disembodied Xaxos. But the Asp is hard to kill and has since reappeared, healthy and as deadly as ever, in narratives featured in the Dick Tracy comic strip.

Appearances through 1979: 2/21/37-6/12/37, 5/10/39-8/8/39, 3/2/41-6/29/41, 10/13/41-12/14/41, 5/3/42-5/15/42, 9/13/42, 12/27/42-12/29/42, (ref. to as “on staff” 7/28/43), 7/31/44 & 8/20/44, 7/22/45-8/5/45, 12/30/45-1/27/46, 2/24/48-3/15/48, 3/12/50-7/2/50, 4/29/51-6/12/51, 5/1/52-6/3 & 8/2-10/26/52, 4/9/54-7/23/54, 3/55-4/55, 4/58-5/58, … 3/70-4/70, 3/72-6/72, 12/79-3/80, 1/11/81-8/81, 8/82-2/83, 1/85-6/85, 11/86-3/87, 6/25/91-9/29/91, 5/22/94-11/94 & 5/95-7/95, 8/97-4/23/98, 1/24/00-2/20/00, 12/01, 3/3/07-5/17/07, 11/26/07-3/10/08.

Dona Dolores, the Latina Double Agent (1939)

Beautiful Latina woman who pretends to be in the employ of the evil Axel but actually her parents were killed by Axel as part of a foreign revolution Axel engineered. She seeks vengeance for her people. When Axel is defeated, Dona has the option to stay at the hacienda but she opts to marry a brave and loyal World War I veteran named “Tuck” Buckles and the two seek  and seek a life elsewhere.

Appearances: 4/39-7/39.

Sinsin the Swami (1944)

Sinsin is able to read minds. A slender, normal sized man, Sinsin otherwise wears similar attire and turban to that of Punjab, and who it soon emerges is both a friend of Punjab and one of the many ethnic allies of Daddy Warbucks. Sinsin’s primary role in 1944 is to see Annie safely transported to the side of the dying Warbucks. Sadly, he is killed immediately after completing his mission.

Appearances: 5/7/44-7/31/44.

Gypsy Belle and her Crystal Ball (1949)

Large old gypsy with wild gray hair who lives in a deserted rock quarry and has a crystal ball with which she can catch glimpses of the future. She befriends Annie, giving her a golden whistle and magic gem. When Annie discovers a fortune, Gypsy Belle muses, “There can be danger and pain in wealth, when it is popular to believe wealth is sin. Look out, my little one. Look out!” Annie’s new wealth is subsequently stolen from her.

Appearances: 1/49-4/49.

Seeress Khan-Khan and Men’s Minds (1950)

An attractive young woman who wears a white veil and head covering, the Seeress Khan-Khan is one of many allies of Daddy Warbucks who possesses mystical abilities. Residing in Baghdad, the Seeress has powers far-exceeding normal hypnotism. She can look in a man’s eyes and know all of his secrets and can compel him to tell them, as she did with the evil Ivan. The Seeress can also place a man into a catatonic state. Seeress Khan-Khan is apparently a close associate of Punjab and enjoys a motherly relationship with his nephew, Funjab.  Punjab tells Daddy that “she sees even your life as an open book. That is why she works for you, sahib.”

Appearances: 6/11/50-7/2/50.

Funjab, Punjab’s Nephew

Punjab’s somewhat rebellious nephew and eighth grade assistant. Like his uncle, Funjab wears a turban and can apparently teleport himself and others. Annie first meets Funjab (who is roughly her age and height) when he appears rather than Punjab when she blows her magical green dragon whistle. In his second appearance, Funjab transports Seeress Khan-Khan from Baghdad to help Warbucks. In 1955, Funjab assists his uncle and Warbucks in their battle against the Duke de Sangre. Another of Punjab’s nephews, Punjee appears in 1995 through 1999.

Appearances: 6/49-x/49, 6/11/50-7/2/50, 3/55-4/55.

The Maharajah of Metaphor: Glimpsing the Future (1952)

The Maharajah of Metaphor is old friend of Daddy Warbucks, who calls him Met for short. The Maharajah is a chubby fellow with a gift of the ability to see the future. Dethroned from his own country, Met could easily make his fortune back at gambling parlors and does so to a limited degree, only enough to keep himself in some degree of the comfortable lifestyle he became accustomed to.

Appearances: 8/24/52-8/31 & 10/21-10/26/52.

The Healer, Punjab’s Arab Friend? (1953)

The Healer is a benevolent gray-bearded figure who has an apparently mystical ability to heal people. He wears a headdress and appears to be Arab. When asked, he states that he resides in an ancient land, possibly hailing from Baghdad. The Healer is a longstanding friend of Punjab’s.

Appearances: 6/11/53-6/28/53.

Wun Wey’s Magnificent Return (1959)

Longtime readers of Little Orphan Annie could be forgiven for thinking that Harold Gray had entirely forgotten Warbucks’ Chinese friend. But then, in 1959, at a time when Warbucks is facing certain financial disorder, Wun Wey returns to save him from financial ruin. Wun Wey is sophisticated as ever, wearing a tuxedo, even though he poses as a poor Chinese laundryman by day, following the proverbial wisdom, “Draw attention and one draws trouble.”

At this time Wey is shown to have agent subordinates of his own, Cheng and Huang, adept at physical conflict but also more. In conversation with Warbucks, Wun Wey describes them as “excellent boys and devoted friends.” One senses that Wun Wey is every bit the imperialist that Warbucks is, one of his few equals in every sense of the word.

Appearance in this narrative: 12/6/59-1/9/60.

Lily Hu She, the Psychic from Singapore (1962)

A self-styled “Oriental mystic” from Singapore, Lily Hu She accepts a job at a carnival at which Annie has been working, only to find it out of business. Independently wealthy, Lily takes Annie under her wing and becomes the rare, larger than life female figure in her life. Lily Hu has genuine powers of E.S.P. and can discern further truths through the use of her crystal ball. She also seems to have a special affinity with animals and also seems able to sense when Annie’s in danger. Among her minor accomplishments is discerning in 1964 that Annie’s until then unknown birthday as February 29^th. In 1966, sensing Annie is in danger, she joins Warbucks in helping rescue Annie from an alligator-infested swamp. In 1968, Lily picks up Annie in one of her expensive vehicles and races to get her to the side of an ailing Warbucks.

Lily is an attractive woman who wears a wide variety of beautiful long silk dresses, often with a floral print on the bosom. Lily admires the character of and appears attracted to Hairy Wolf. She and Daddy Warbucks also seem to share a mutual attraction, though neither acts of it, other than Daddy often asking her to join him on his next adventure or inviting her to visit the following Christmas. But it is increasingly apparent that like Daddy, she serves a greater global good and rushes off to deal with an important, unspecified matter in the Himalayas. Lily Hu She rates as a faithful ally of Annie and Daddy Warbucks, but like Wun Wei clearly has a fully fleshed out life separate from them, unlike Punjab and the Asp.

Appearances: 11/11/62-4/7/63, 12/7/63-2/29/64, 8/11/66-9/3/66, 7/4/68-7/19/68.

Grandmother Primrose

Primrose is an older Native American woman who has an almost supernatural knowledge of healing herbs and rituals capable of dispelling evil spirits causing an illness of Annie’s that she was suffering at the time. Primrose’s son is Hairy Wolf.

Appearances: 4/28/63-5/14/63, 9/22/63.

Hairy Wolf: Becoming a Pueblo Millionaire (1963)

Hairy Wolf is an Oxford educated Pueblo Indian and former major in the military, he went to England on a mixed athletic and . He was an associate of an “India Indian,” namely Punjab during the war. He is Primrose’s son and has a nephew Annie’s age named Tom-Tom. Once he secures the vast mineral rights that a scoundrel was trying to cheat him out of, he makes a business contract with Warbucks and becomes a millionaire himself. A few months later he is summoned by Lily Hu She to see if he can help Annie regain her memory. Wolf, in turn, contacts Daddy Warbucks.

Appearances: 5/26/63-10/20/63, 12/30/63-1/11/64.

How Kum, Healer of Broken Minds (1964)

How Kum is Lily Hu She’s favorite uncle who lives in a small village in Indochina. One senses that How Kum instructed Lily in the development of her skills. How Kum, elderly but in good health, knows hypnosis, talks readily with animals, and has a special gift for healing injured minds.

Appearances: 2/3/64-2/24/64.

Om Ni, Man of a 1000 Faces (1969)

Om Ni is an East Asian “genius at impersonation,” an agile and athletic showman who appears on stage billed as “the Man of a 1000 Faces.” Om Ni is an old friend of Punjab, who calls on Om Ni to assist Warbucks in his struggle against Dr. Zzyz. He does so by impersonating the mogul at his request. Later he poses as Dr. Zzyz. After the villain is dispatched the plan if for the Asp and Om Ni to look after Annie but as always as the case, Annie ends up on her own. The following year Om Ni appears briefly as a living scarecrow for Annie’s delight at seeing Daddy, Punjab and the Asp again atop the roof of his skyscraper headquarters, which he has made to resemble a rustic farm.

Appearances: 2/4/69-5/25/69, 1/1/70.

The Significance of Daddy Warbucks and his Ethnic Allies

With our current mindset, the portrayal of many of these characters can be seen–rightly–as embodying many an ethnic stereotype. Asian characters are portrayed as exotic, and with the exception of Wun Wey, as mysterious figures from an ancient past. And despite the significant agency and effectiveness of Punjab and the Asp as independent agents, their subservience to Daddy Warbucks and referring to him as “master” has clear and unfortunate echoes of an imperialistic past that was still very much alive in the 1930s, 1940s and beyond. Names like Wun Wey, Hu She, and How Kum didn’t help. They are treated with considerable more dignity in the stories of Leonard Starr in the 1980s and 1990s, but that will be a subject of another article.

All that said, other comic strips and comic books trafficked with all of these stereotypes and never elevated Asian and Asian American characters with positive qualities such as heroism, abiding friendship, honor, intelligence and tenacity. In that sense, Gray’s characters of Punjab and the Asp were admirable if imperfect advances in such portrayals. And Wun Wey and Lily Hu She were far more independent and modern, less constricted by the worst of these stereotypes.

The figures of Jake the Jewish Shopkeeper and Hairy Wolf, a Native American man, embodied similar strengths and drawbacks. After World War II, Gray began to feature more formidable female figures from diverse ethnicities. Seeress Khan-Khan had clear potential and seemed intended for return appearances that never came to pass. Lily Hu She is in many ways a second iteration of the character that was far more successful.

Atropa, the Evil Counterpart of Daddy Warbucks (1972)

As a sort of postscript, it is interesting to briefly consider one of Elliot Caplin’s few significant contributions to the comic strip. Caplin, the brother of Al Capp of Li’l Abner fame, took over the writing chores of Little Orphan Annie with the death of Harold Gray of cancer in 1968. The character in question was named Atropa, clearly created as an evil female counterpoint to Daddy Warbucks, complete with loyal agents all her own.

Atropa, as written by Caplin, was a mysterious female figure whose face is obscured by a cloth covering her face and matching headdress. Atropa has forces nearly the equal to Warbucks’, including a sinister Arab chieftain and a powerful bodyguard named Sahara who nearly beats Punjab in hand-to-hand combat. Atropa sends Warbucks into a month-long stupor by exposing him to the scent of the mysterious madragora plant, whose leaves take the shape of a female face. In his stupor, all Warbucks can do is repeat the word, “Madragora.” While Atropa is defeated, as any Warbucks enemy surely must, she was a rare example of a formidable Asian individual who called no one “master.”

Appearances: 10/72-12/72.

For a comic strip from the 1940s that features an Asian American hero as its star, see Charlie Chan.

Mark Carlson-Ghost