Li'l Jinx

Archie Comics character
name = Li'l Jinx


caption = Li'l Jinx
debut = "Pep Comics" #62, 1947
creator = Joe Edwards
full name =
gender = Female
hometown = Riverdale, CA
job = Riverdale Elementary student
hair = blonde
age =
birthday =
height =
relatives =
radio voice =
cartoon voice=

Li'l Jinx is a fictional comic book character published by Archie Comics since the late 1940s. A high-spirited little girl who has humorous misadventures with her neighborhood friends, she was created by cartoonist Joe Edwards, first appearing in "Pep Comics" # 62 (July 1947).

She appeared in backup featurettes before landing her own title from 1956 to 1957. During her peak period, Jinx's stories ranged from three-panel blackout gags to seven-page stories. Jinx was normally depicted as a lovable but mischievous little girl, engaged in a comical battle of wills with her long-suffering father. Like most of Archie Comics' strips of the period, Jinx offered insights into family relationships and children's perceptions of the adult world.

Jinx was the daughter of Hap and Merry Holliday, earning her unusual name by virtue of being born on Halloween. Creator Edwards based Jinx's adventures on his own experiences as a parent. While "Li'l" is not part of her given name, everyone always calls her "Li'l Jinx" in the comics' dialogue, similar to the title character of "Little Archie".

Jinx's friends included Charley Hawse (later called Fat Charley and then just Charley) who was a bit of a bully; Greg, who sometimes appeared to be a childhood boyfriend of Jinx; Gigi, who was rich and a bit selfish, but still a good friend; and Mort the Worry Wart, who was known to have an inferiority complex. Following the civil rights movement, Li'l Jinx's friends also included African-American kids Russ and Roz.

Besides having appeared in two of her own series ("Li'l Jinx", 1956-1957; "Li'l Jinx Giant Laugh-Out", 1971-1973), Li'l Jinx also appeared in numerous Archie titles, including the double-sized "Little Archie".

Li'l Jinx strips have been reprinted in the various Archie-published digest magazines (both single-page strips and 5- to 6-page strips) at least since the 1980s. One "That Wilkin Boy" story reprint featured Li'l Jinx crossing over briefly (though the artwork was actually edited so that Li'l Jinx replaced an unnamed child that appeared in the original printing of that story). She also made a cameo appearance in the 2007 story, Civil Chores Part 3, in Tales of Riverdale # 24.

References

* [http://www.toonopedia.com/liljinx.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Li'l Jinx]
* [http://lambiek.net/artists/e/edwards_joe.htm The Lambiek Comiclopedia: Joe Edwards]
* [http://www.mycomicartcollection.com/jinx.htm Lil Jinx at MyComicArtCollection.com]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/arts/design/20edwards.html?ref=obituaries Associated Press via "The New York Times" (Feb. 20, 2007): "Joe Edwards, 85, Artist for Archie Comics, Is Dead"]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/02/14/joe-edwards-obit.html CBC (Feb. 20, 2007): "Archie Comic Artist Joe Edwards Dead at 85"]