themes again and again in Fearless Fosdick. Supporting characters and villains Fearless Fosdick soon developed its own regular supporting cast, separate from Li'l Abner and the rest of the Dogpatch characters. Joining Fosdick's intermittent adventures were:The Chief - Fosdick's bloated, abusive and cheerfully corrupt superior.Prudence (ugh!) Pimpleton - Fosdick's homely, long-suffering fiancée (formerly known as "Bess Backache." Both names were a direct parody of Dick Tracy's sweetheart, Tess Trueheart.) They were perpetually "engaged for 17 years," throughout the entire 35-year run of Fearless Fosdick. Prudence always hoped that Fosdick would get a promotion and a subsequent pay raise of $10.00 to $32.50 per week-so he would have enough salary to support her in marriage-but Prudence was doomed to disappointment. A running gag is Prudence Pimpleton literally kicking Fearless Fosdick out of her house into the street. The nearest Prudence ever came to marriage is with Fosdick in a "dream sequence" nightmare Fosdick had-which ironically led to Li'l Abner Yokum finally marrying Daisy Mae Scragg after nearly 20 years of engagement in 1952. In another episode she was heroine when she saved the earth from destruction by uniting two lovesick machines "Solomon" and "Sheba" although it nearly cost her her life [1960]. Another time Fosdick saved Prudence from unknowingly marrying his evil twin brother, Jerry J. Fosdick, in 1975.Mr. and Mrs. Pimpleton - Prudence's frustrated parents, who were miffed about feeding the freeloading Fosdick.Mrs. Flintnose - Fosdick's mercenary, hatchet-faced landlady.Cousin Sebastian - The Chief's idiot relation, who periodically replaces Fosdick on the police force and is beaten up in place of Fosdick after Fosdick gets fired.Purity Pinchwolf - a pretty policewoman of the Anti-Masher Squad (1960); after Fosdick made a vow not to use violence against criminals, his girlfriend Prudence Pimpleton kicked Fosdick out of her house and refused to feed him (as she had been doing for the past 17 years hoping he would marry her). Fosdick whistled about her, which was mistaken for a wolf whistle at Pinchwolf, who bonked Fosdick on the head; Fosdick falls in love with the fact that as the daughter of a supermarket owner she has a reserve supply of steaks. Later Purity had to defend herself against Mayor Smellgood.Lester Gooch - Supposedly Fosdick's cartoonist "creator"—a broadly-drawn caricature of real-life Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould. The chronically overworked Gooch battles both his venal, exploitative comic strip syndicate and occasional bouts of temporary insanity. His