Little Lotta #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLittle Lotta #4 (May 1956) is a fourth-quarter entry in one of Harvey Comics' most culturally distinctive original series — a title that gave the medium one of its few superheroic female leads built entirely around a body-positive, strength-from-appetite concept rather than looks or magic. Where contemporaries like Tubby in Little Lulu leaned into the 'awkward fat kid' trope, Lotta was written throughout as genuinely admired, competent, and socially central, making the early run of her solo title a quiet corrective to mid-century comic stereotypes. Issue #4 also continued the cross-promotional format — pairing Lotta with Richie Rich backup stories — that cemented Harvey's shared universe approach years before that strategy became industry standard. The series this issue belongs to ran an unbroken 120 issues, demonstrating that the character's comedic formula, first locked in during these early numbers, was durable enough to sustain a twenty-year publication run.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Little Lotta Plump debuted as a back-page feature in Little Dot #1 (September 1953), sharing her premiere issue with the first appearance of Richie Rich, Harvey's most commercially successful property. Her popularity earned her a solo title beginning in November 1955, with issue #4 arriving in May 1956, only six months into that run. Stories were written by Warren Kremer and Howard Post, with interior art primarily by Sid Couchey and Dom Sileo; Kremer — Harvey's art director for 35 years and the creative force behind much of the publisher's house style — pencilled, inked, and colored the vast majority of the humor line's covers, establishing the bold, animation-influenced visual identity that defined the Lotta books from the outset.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 1956 by Harvey Comics as the fourth issue of the Little Lotta solo series, which launched in November 1955.
- Contains nine stories totaling 32 full-color pages, including the lead Lotta stories 'Ham Bake' (5 pages) and 'Ballet Who' (5 pages), plus 'Father's Little Helper' (5 pages).
- Both Little Lotta (Lotta Plump) and Little Dot (Dot Polka) appear in the issue, reflecting Harvey's practice of cross-featuring its 'Harvey Girls' across titles.
- Includes a Richie Rich backup story ('To Ski or Not to Ski') featuring regular antagonist Reggie Van Dough — a consistent structural element across the entire early run of the series.
- A one-page Lotta story from this issue was later reprinted in Richie Rich Dollars and Cents #15 (October 1966), confirming Harvey's active reprint program for early-series material.
- Stories in the issue were written by Warren Kremer and Howard Post; interior art was primarily handled by Sid Couchey and Dom Sileo throughout the series' run.
- Warren Kremer — who created or co-defined most major Harvey characters including Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, and Casper — served as Harvey's top artist and art editor for 35 years, shaping the visual language of every Lotta cover.
- The Little Lotta series this issue belongs to ran for 120 issues through March 1976, spawned the spin-off Little Lotta Foodland (1963–1972, 29 issues), and was revived in reprint form in 1992 for four issues.
Reprints
↩ Reprints Junior Funnies #13 (1952), Little Audrey #32 (1953)
Reprinted in Richie Rich Dollars and Cents #15 (1966), Richie Rich Vacations Digest #3 (1979), Funny Favourites Jumbo Edition #R2442 (1982)
Key issues in Little Lotta
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