Buster Brown
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Created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault of The Yellow Kid fame, Buster Brown could best be described as the Edwardian Dennis the Menace with his outrageous antics alongside his pit bull pal Tige and his sweetheart Mary Jane. The comic strip began in the New York Herald on May 4, 1902. Outcault left for William Randolph Hearst's employ in January 1906, and after a court battle, Outcault continued his strip, now nameless, in Hearst papers, while the Herald continued their own version of Buster Brown with other artists. The latter lasted until January 1911, and Outcault's version until May 13, 1923.
Buster, Tige and Mary Jane would later be known as children's shoe mascots, with the latter entering generic use to describe a particular style of dress shoes worn by girls and women regardless of brand. Buster himself would lend his name to a type of clothing worn by young boys during the early 20th century. Outcault sold the rights to Buster's name and likeness to the Brown Shoe Company who used the character extensively in marketing their line of children's footwear.
- Art Evolution: Earlier renditions of Buster and Tige bore a more or less realistic aesthetic, at times leaning more towards Uncanny Valley territory. By the late 1950s, promotional comic books featuring Buster and Tige's adventures has the two drawn in a more streamlined style typical of the era, and Buster no longer wears bar shoes (which were later named after his sweetheart). The issue "Buster Brown Goes To Mars" has Buster drawn in an even more stylized manner, his proportions leaning more towards a toddler than an eight-to-ten year old. In the 1980s the Brown Shoe Company updated their logo (as seen in this commercial to keep up with the times, with Buster and Tige bearing a more contemporary outfit.
- Brats with Slingshots: Buster.
- Character Title
- Deliberately Cute Child: Buster, occasionally using his effeminate looks to comedic effect.
- Product Placement: By the time the Brown Shoe Company acquired the rights to the characters, comics featuring Buster and Tige would contain an advertisement for Buster Brown shoes, with the dealer's name rubber-stamped on the cover.
- Recycled IN SPACE!: In keeping with the Space Age craze during the 1950s, at least two adventures putting Buster and Tige in a space flight were published and given away for free as premiums in shoe stores–Buster Brown Goes to Mars and Buster Brown in "Out of This World!".
- Named After Somebody Famous: Buster was likely named after Buster Keaton, then a young Vaudeville actor.
- Screwy Squirrel: Not that Buster wouldn't end up getting spanked by his mother, though.
- Spank the Cutie: Buster (and in some instances a few other characters) end up with this for the antics they got themselves into.
- Tuckerization: Mary Jane was named and inspired by Richard F. Outcault's own daughter.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Buster as part of his antics where he would borrow clothes from a girl in jest.
- Wolverine Publicity: The Buster Brown Comics books given away as premiums by shoe stores had Buster and Tige on the covers, but most of the stories did not involve the two at all, though at least some of the stories had the pair as the main protagonists perhaps to further market the brand.