Salomey was the Yokums' beloved pet pig in the classic comic strip ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'', by cartoonist Al Capp. Salomey, whose name was a pun on both

salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...

and Salome, was supposedly the last female ''Hammus alabammus''—an adorable species of pig, which led to a number of

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...

s. Cute, lovable, and intelligent (arguably smarter than the male Yokums, Li'l Abner and Pappy), she was accepted as part of the family. One story from 1942 concerned the kidnapping of Salomey by "the world's greatest sportsman hogbreeder" J. R. Fangsley, who wanted to breed her with the last male Hammus alabammus, "Boar Scarloff" (a pun on actor

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

). In 1947 Salomey was again kidnapped, this time by Bounder J. Roundheels, who wanted to use Salomey to create a unique dish that would gain him entrance into an exclusive

Gourmets Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

' Club. And in "Porknoy's Complaint" (1969), pork tycoon J. Roaringham Fatback desired her for his favorite dish—pork and beans " Buckingham Palace style". In the 1960s, Salomey traveled to "Boarkley" (

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

) to undergo her " boar mitzvah." There she encountered Capp's burlesque of the

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

: ''S.W.I.N.E.'' (Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything) was a parody of student movements, specifically the S.D.S. (Students for a Democratic Society). Capp, who lived right outside Harvard in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

, received criticism from the Left.Letters page April 18, 1969 - TIME
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Footnotes

Li'l Abner characters Characters created by Al Capp Comics characters introduced in 1934 Fictional pigs Male characters in comics {{Comics-char-stub