Editing Al Capp (section)

==Legacy==
"Neither the strip's shifting political leanings nor the slide of its final few years had any bearing on its status as a classic; and in 1995, it was recognized as such by the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]]", according to ''Toonopedia''. ''Li'l Abner'' was one of 20 American comic strips included in the [[Comic Strip Classics]] series of USPS [[commemorative stamp]]s. Al Capp, an inductee into the [[National Cartoon Museum]] (formerly the International Museum of Cartoon Art), is one of only 31 artists selected to their [[Hall of Fame]]. Capp was also inducted into the [[Will Eisner Award]] Hall of Fame in 2004.

[[Sadie Hawkins Day]] and [[:wikt:double whammy|double whammy]] are two terms attributed to Al Capp that have entered the English language. Other, less ubiquitous Cappisms include [[skunk works]] and [[Lower Slobbovia]]. The term [[shmoo]] also has entered the [[lexicon]], defining highly technical concepts in no fewer than ''four'' separate fields of science, including the variations [[Mating of yeast|shmooing]] (a [[microbiological]] term for the "budding" process in yeast reproduction), and [[shmoo plot]] (a technical term in the field of [[electrical engineering]]). In [[socioeconomics]], a "shmoo" refers to any generic kind of good that reproduces itself, (as opposed to "[[widget (economics)|widget]]s" which require resources and active production). In the field of [[particle physics]], "shmoo" refers to a high energy survey instrument, as used at the [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] to capture subatomic [[cosmic ray]] particles emitted from the [[Cygnus X-3]] [[constellation]]. Capp also had a knack for popularizing certain uncommon terms, such as [[List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom|druthers]], [[schmooze]], and [[-nik|nogoodnik, neatnik, etc.]] In his book ''[[The American Language]]'', [[H.L. Mencken]] credits the postwar mania for adding "-nik" to the ends of adjectives to create nouns as beginning—not with [[beatnik]] or [[Sputnik]]—but earlier, in the pages of ''Li'l Abner''.

Al Capp's life and career are the subjects of a new life-sized [[mural]] commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth. Created by resident artist [[Jon P. Mooers]], the mural was unveiled in downtown [[Amesbury, Massachusetts|Amesbury]] on May 15, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newburyportnews.com/news/local_news/town-to-honor-famous-cartoonist-who-lived-worked-in-amesbury/article_57103373-3bee-5328-8770-434d1d9b115d.html|title=Town to honor famous cartoonist who lived, worked in Amesbury|first=Lynne|last=Hendricks|website=The Daily News of Newburyport|date=April 20, 2010 |access-date=October 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/05/15/amesbury_gives_lil_abner_his_due/?page=full|title=Amesbury gives 'Li'l Abner' his due|first=James|last=Sullivan|newspaper=Boston.com|date=May 15, 2010|access-date=October 29, 2020|via=The Boston Globe}}</ref> According to the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' (as reported on May 18, 2010), the town has renamed its amphitheater in the artist's honor, and is looking to develop an Al Capp Museum. Capp is also the subject of an upcoming [[WNET-TV]] ''[[American Masters]]'' documentary, ''The Life and Times of Al Capp'', produced by his granddaughter, independent filmmaker Caitlin Manning.

Since his death in 1979, Al Capp and his work have been the subject of more than 40 books, including three biographies. [[Underground comix|Underground cartoonist]] and ''Li'l Abner'' expert [[Denis Kitchen]] has published, co-published, edited, or otherwise served as consultant on nearly all of them. Kitchen is currently compiling a biographical [[monograph]] on Al Capp.

At [[San Diego Comic-Con]] in July 2009, [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] announced the upcoming publication of ''Al Capp's Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies and Color Sundays'' as part of their ongoing [[The Library of American Comics]] series. The comprehensive series, a reprinting of the entire 43-year history of ''Li'l Abner'', spanning a projected 20 volumes, began on April 7, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.libraryofamericancomics.com/catalog/series/1101/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511032402/http://www.libraryofamericancomics.com/catalog/series/1101/|url-status=dead|title=IDW Library of American Comics|archive-date=May 11, 2010|access-date=October 29, 2020}}</ref>