(Li'l Kids#10/4) - Leopold asked
Calvin why he was
writing slowly and Calvin explained it was for his cousin, who was a
slow reader.
CALVIN
Real Name: Calvin (last name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: Student
Group Membership: Students at his school
Affiliations: Angus, Darrell, Fat Fillmore,
Leopold, Linda, Terrie, pigtailed girl (name unrevealed)
Enemies: Claremont
Crushers (Boo-Boo, others),
Ralph (dog)
Known Relatives: cousin (name unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed town,
presumably in the USA
First Appearance: Li'l Kids#10/1 (February,
1973)
Powers/Abilities: Calvin is an average child,
often quick thinking, adventurous and sociable, who is a fast runner in
his school's
American football team. Calvin has a distinctive large afro haircut.
Height: 3'8"
(by approximation)
Weight: 40 lbs. (by
approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Li'l Kids#10/1) - Calvin invited his buddy Angus on
a trip to the shop, promising him a root beer soda at the end. But once
having been served the treats, Calvin couldn't find his money and the
drinks were taken away. The duo retraced their steps, through an empty
log, on top of a fence, evading the fierce dog Ralph until eventually
falling off a plank dislodged the coins from Calvin's ample afro
haircut. They ran back to the soda shop only to find it was now out of
root beer. Angus angrily chased Calvin down the street.
(Li'l Kids#10/2) - Calvin was stuck under a crate and
asked for help from Angus, who then asked a confused Leopold to help
move the crate.
(Li'l Kids#10/3) - Calvin's friend Terrie asked him
about his report card as he walked home from school. He told her it was
"underwater": below "C" level!
(Li'l Kids#10/4) - Leopold asked
Calvin why he was
writing slowly and Calvin explained it was for his cousin, who was a
slow reader.
(Li'l Kids#10/5) - Calvin's pigtailed female friend
asked him why he had his eyes closed. He told her he saw purple spots,
not a doctor.
(Li'l Kids#10/6) - Calvin hid
behind a thin tree, unaware his big afro hair stuck out widely. Several
friends greeted him as they passed, leaving him puzzled how they knew
he was hiding there.
(Li'l Kids#10/7) - Calvin sold lemonade with "all you
can drink" signage. Friend Darrell took up the offer but was told he
had to pay for the next round as Calvin deemed the first glass was all
he could drink.
(Li'l Kids#11/1) - Bored, Calvin was about to nap
when his friend Leopold encouraged him on an adventure at the carnival.
Affording enough for only one entry, they sneaked in. The duo caused
mishaps like rammed dodgem cars, a stuck Ferris wheel and an
out-of-control spinning carriage ride that all resulted in the carnival
closing for repairs.
(Li'l Kids#11/3) - Having just
scored a new in-ground swimming pool, Calvin asked his bored friends if
they wanted to go for a swim and he was trampled underfoot as they
rushed to his place. They all enjoyed the water until Fat Fillmore
charged through the garden bushes. They quickly evacuated the pool as he dived in,
his weighty impact causing the pool to suddenly empty of water.
(Li'l Kids#11/5) - Leopold asked about Calvin's
bandaged, injured foot. Calvin said it was something big and heavy,
eventually admitting it was buddy Fat Fillmore.
(Li'l Kids#11/6) - Seeing Calvin lying face down on
the grass, Angus asked if he had an accident. Joking, Calvin replied he
already had one and didn't want another.
(Li'l Kids#11/7) - Terrie asked Calvin what he knew
of America's first president and was taken aback when he promptly
replied he knew the man was dead.
(Li'l Kids#11/8) - Calvin was
surprised at proud
Linda's new shiny ring and seeming diamond until she told him that she
hoped she hadn't been gyped out of 10 cents.
(Li'l Kids#12/1) - Calvin and three friends were
roughly playing American football and caught in a scrum, but Calvin
speedily dodged past them with the ball. Boo-Boo, leader of their
rivals the Claremont Crushers, mocked Calvin and his group, and
challenged them to a 5-a-side game the next morning. Despite his
friend's misgivings, Calvin agreed and called in their heavy fifth
player, Fat Fillmore. The next day, Fillmore's unstoppable force and
Calvin's speed won the game.
(Li'l Kids#12/2) - Calvin's pigtailed female friend
asked Calvin about his sizable afro haircut. Calvin replied it was
protective; coincidentally a football bounced off his hair seconds
later.
(Li'l Kids#12/4) - During snow season, Calvin found a
door and suggested using it as a sled to his friends Leopold, Angus and
Darrell. Quickly seeing the danger, Leopold backed out. Calvin
stubbornly persisted and the adventurous trio rode the sled down a snowy
hill. Calvin initially seemed in control but soon lost it, accidentally
knocking over Boo-Boo (coincidentally walking nearby) on the way, then
hit a fence and the dazed trio were left in a pile of snow and rubble.
Leopold smugly walked up to them.
(Li'l Kids#12/6) - Seeing Angus looking ill, Calvin
asked if he had eaten anything unusual. Angus admitted to trying frog;
Angus laughed it off, saying cooked frog was harmless until Angus
showed surprise that it should be cooked.
Comments: Created by Kevin Banks.
Very little is
known of creator Kevin
Banks. Apparently he was a teen-aged intern/young staffer at Marvel who showed
promise, but he seems to have disappeared after his Calvin
strip ended. If comic character Calvin ever receives a surname, I
think it should be "Banks" to honor the creator.
This profile was completed 06/19/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Calvin has no known connections to:
Angus was a good friend of Calvin. He joined Calvin
on an errand along an adventurous walk with the promise of a root beer
soda at the end, but Calvin had lost his coins and couldn't find them
until it was too late get the treats. Later, Calvin got stuck under an
empty crate and asked Angus for help, but he needed extra assistance from a
confused Leopold. At Calvin's pool party, Angus was the first to dive
in, not realizing the new pool was still empty. Calvin and all the
other friends later fled the filled pool when Fat Fillmore suddenly ran and
dived in, his weighty mass emptying the pool of water. Later, Angus was part of
Calvin's amateur football team challenged by the arrogant Claremont
Crushers; he was sure of losing until Fillmore's unstoppable force and
Calvin's speed won the game. During snow season, Angus joined Calvin
and Darrell on a makeshift sled made from a door. Calvin soon lost
control and they crashed in a pile of snow and rubble. Later, Angus was
ill and Calvin asked if he had eaten anything unusual. Angus admitted
to trying frog; Angus laughed it off, saying cooked frog was harmless
until Angus showed surprise that it should be cooked.
--Li'l Kids#10/1 (10/2, 10/6, 11/3, 11/6, 12/1, 12/4,
12/6
Boo-Boo was star quarterback player of junior
American football team the Claremont Crushers. Seeing Calvin's friends'
terrible training session, he challenged them to a game the next day.
However, Calvin brought in his friend Fat Fillmore, whose unstoppable
force, combined with Calvin's speed, won the game. Later, during snow
season, Calvin rode a door as a sled; out of control, Calvin
accidentally knocked Boo-Boo over and Boo-Boo angrily gave futile chase.
--Li'l Kids#12/1 (12/4
The Claremont Crushers were a small team of amateur
but keen junior American football players led by quarterback Boo-Boo,
who challenged his rival Calvin and friends to a 5-a-side match. But
Calvin brought in his friend Fat Fillmore, whose unstoppable force,
combined with Calvin's speed, won the game and left the Crushers as the losing side.
--Li'l Kids#12/1
Darrell was another friend of Calvin. On one warm
day, Calvin sold lemonade with "all you can drink" signage. Darrell
took up the offer but was told he had to pay for the next round as
Calvin deemed the first glass was all he could drink. He later joined
in Calvin's daytime pool party, still wearing his distinctive cap even
in the water, but jumped out with the others when Fat Fillmore dived
in, his weighty mass causing the pool to empty of water. During snow season,
Darrell joined Calvin and Angus on a sled made from a door.
Calvin soon lost control and they crashed, dazed, ending up in a pile
of snow and rubble.
--Li'l Kids#10/7 (11/3, 12/4
Fat Fillmore was the large and clumsy friend of
Calvin, usually turning up late. He was invited to Calvin's pool party;
arriving late, he
excitedly ran and dived in, but his weighty mass emptied the pool of water,
which his friends had already evacuated with the ominous rumbling sound
of his heavy charge. At another point, Fat Fillmore injured Calvin's
ankle. Later, after being challenged by the bullying Boo-Boo and his
junior American football team the Claremont Crushers, Calvin brought in
Fillmore as his secret weapon. Although arriving late to the 5-a-side game, he
was crucial to Calvin's side's victory, his weight and momentum proving
to be an unstoppable juggernaut in the football game, combined with
Calvin's speed.
--Li'l Kids#11/3 ([11/5], 12/1
Leopold was a good friend of Calvin. At one point,
Calvin got stuck under an empty crate and was confused when Angus told
him that Calvin wanted the box moved. Calvin later told Leopold he was
writing a letter slowly because his cousin was a slow reader. Leopold
encouraged Calvin to join him at the local carnival where they caused
mayhem and damage on several rides until the carnival had to shut for
repairs as a result. At
Calvin's pool party, Leopold and all the other friends later fled the
pool when Fat Fillmore suddenly ran and dived in, his weighty mass
emptying the pool of water. Another time, Leopold asked about Calvin's bandaged
foot and was taken aback by Calvin's dramatic response that it was from something big
and heavy, but really just fellow friend Fat Fillmore. Later, Leopold
was part of Calvin's amateur football team challenged by the arrogant
Claremont Crushers; he was sure of losing until Fillmore's unstoppable
force and Calvin's speed won the game. During snow season, Calvin
suggested using a door as a sled; while Darrell and Angus went along
with it, Leopold saw the danger and refused. After Calvin and his
friends crashed in a heap, Leopold smugly walked up to them.
--Li'l Kids#10/2 (10/4, 10/6, 11/1, 11/3, 11/5, 12/1,
12/4
Linda was another of Calvin's friends. At Calvin's pool party, Linda and all the other friends later fled the pool when Fat Fillmore suddenly ran and dived in, his weighty mass emptying the pool of water. She later proudly showed Calvin her new shiny ring with a seeming bright big diamond but Calvin realized it was fake when she said it cost her a 10 cents.
--Li'l Kids#11/3 (11/8
Terrie was another school friend of Calvin. She asked him about his disappointing report card, but he coped using humor. At Calvin's pool party, Terrie and all the other friends later fled the pool when Fat Fillmore suddenly ran and dived in, his weighty mass emptying the pool of water. Terrie later asked about Calvin's knowledge of America's first president and was taken aback by Calvin's prompt answer that the man was dead.
--Li'l Kids#10/3 (11/3, 11/7
images:
(without ads)
Li'l Kids#12, p, pan (main image)
Li'l Kids#10/1, p1, pan3 (headshot)
Li'l Kids#11/3, p2, pan2 (swimwear)
Li'l Kids#12/1, p1, pan3 (sportswear)
Li'l Kids#12/4, p1, pan1 (winterwear)
Li'l Kids#12, p1 (Kevin Banks banner)
Li'l Kids#12/6, p3, pan3 (Angus)
Li'l Kids#12/4, p3, pan1 (Boo-Boo, winter clothes)
Li'l Kids#12/1, p2, pan5 (Boo-Boo, football uniform)
Li'l Kids#12/1, p4, pan6 (Claremont Crushers huddle)
Li'l Kids#10/7, p1, pan3 (Darrell)
Li'l Kids#12/1, p3, pan6 (Fat Fillmore)
Li'l Kids#11/1, p1, pan2 (Leopold)
Li'l Kids#11/8, p1, pan1 (Linda)
Li'l Kids#11/7, p1, pan1 (Terrie)
Appearances:
Li'l Kids#10/1, 10/2, 10/3, 10/4, 10/5, 10/6, 10/7 (February, 1973) -
Kevin Banks (writer & artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Li'l Kids#11/1, 11/3, 11/5, 11/6, 11/7, 11/8 (April, 1973) - Kevin
Banks (writer & artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Li'l Kids#12/1, 12/2, 12/4, 12/6 (June, 1973) - Kevin Banks (writer
& artist), Roy Thomas
(editor)
First posted: 09/03/2021
Last updated:
08/31/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com.
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix!