Daisy Poise

     Daisy Poise was not the first mousette to join C.B.I.P.’s glamor stable, but she quickly became it’s most popular member. Daisy had made cartoons for numerous other studios, and stayed quite busy before the glamor approach came along. When it did, however, Daisy found her star rising fast as the public loved the ivory-haired annie. In 1948, she became C.B.I.P.’s highest-paid annie starlet, and continues to top entertainment polls. Despite her popularity, Daisy, as is common to her peers, actually lives a fairly quiet life. A humble girl, one would never know she were a star if one ran across her at the local market -if not for her movie star looks and physical grace. She changed the face of Creek Bend, and C.B.I.P., in 1954, when she became the first actress to wear what became known as the Creek Bend bikini.

Maxine Mink

   Maxine Mink is the public face of Marco's Magnificent Minks, the annie seen cuddling Marco's furs in his television commercials. She also acts in several other locally-produced commercials and programs, being a regular presence at the Creek Bend station KLOR-10. Her first show business experience was as a high wire circus performer. She married her partner in the act before the couple retired and settled in Creek Bend. Maxine took up modeling in her spare time, and eventually caught the eye of the station manager. Her arrival at KLOR was timely, as Wendy Marco had lost the free time to do her uncle's fur commercials.

Misty Carter

     One of the first annie starlets to become a producer as well as an actress, Misty Curbshell was born to Los Angeles high society and dabbled in stage performances when one of her friends was backing a play. Before opening night, the girl hired to play the part of a ditzy maid in “The Millionaire’s Party” was unable to appear. Misty stepped in and played the part as a favor, her part being almost entirely ad-libbed due to lack of prep time. She found she enjoyed acting and eventually made her way into motion pictures before meeting her husband Ed Carter. Misty Carter moved to Creek Bend when invited to join the studio’s glamor stable. Though she enjoyed success as an actress, Misty found her most enjoyment came from producing features for the studio. She produced her first feature, THE BALLAD OF SERGEANT HOLDEN, as a favor to a friend, and discovered that she had a knack for it. Today, Ed and Misty live in the suburb area outside the studio gates.

Crissy Carrots

   Crissy Arlene Carrots was born on the outskirts of Creek Bend shortly before the War. Though her early years were spent in rural isolation, her family eventually moved into the heart of town. There, Crissy worked as an assistant for her father's legal office, her cousin's newspaper service, and her uncle's jewelry store. Although Crissy did well in town, her heart belonged to the wide open spaces and rural privacy. Saving up, she built her dream house in 1956. This unique dwelling was built under the base of a large tree and even has a grass lawn covering the entire structure, and the river runs right alongside with a swimming hole mere feet from the back door. It was while splashing around in this swimming hole that Crissy caught the sight of Roger Ralphwit, who fell madly in love with the young bunny. The two were eventually married and remain known as Creek Bend's most passionate couple. Roger was heir to the Wydmark Rifle Company, and must leave town once a month to check in on his business. These periodic separations only serve to remind Crissy how much more she likes her isolation when she has someone special to share it with.

Simone Grace

Colors/letters by Jim Ludwig, for issue 2

   Simone Grace is KLOR-10's annie weather girl. Her long-term plans involve becoming one of C.B.I.P.'s annie glamor stars. Simone began entering beauty contests at an early age, and has several crowns to her name. She sought employment at KLOR as an actress in some of the locally-produced programming, but lacked the acting talent to hold a regular spot beyond a kiddie program called Mr. Sam's Treehouse, where she would pop in to help introduce cartoons and help with craft projects followed along by the kids at home. Her biggest chance came as the Princess of Venus in an episode of Space Avenger Ace Rocket, though her part was limited to being a briefly-seen kidnap victim who spent the majority of her scenes pretending to be in a trance. Her lasting fame at the station came when she was asked to fill in for KLOR's weather girl when the former holder of the slot left to get married. Simone has held the position for a few years, just waiting to be noticed by C.B.I.P. talent scouts.

Doris Flowers

Color by Jim Ludwig

   Doris Abigail Flowers came to the attention of C.B.I.P. when talent scouts spotted the plucky chipmunk working as a Summer car hop in 1950. A native of Creek Bend, and daughter of a farm family boasting one of the biggest spreads in the county, Doris enjoys spending her time out doors and loves to swim. Though she didn't set out to be an actress, Doris takes her work seriously and tries to make as many public appearances as she is able to. The all-American girl found herself a hit in England, and C.B.I.P. honored a request for loan-out to a prominent British cartoon studio in 1956. This successful arrangement has had Doris periodically flying to England ever since, but her heart remains in the States.

Lois Teppert/Chickie Little

   Lois Teppert entered showbiz as a chorus girl before branching into cartoons. Like most annies with bird features, she was employed at many studios and was forced into a harness which made her look more bird-like. She worked steadily through the 30's and 40's and joined C.B.I.P. in 1944. Relieved to be accepted into the glamor approach, she starred in a series of cartoons as the character Chickie Little. Her first release in the series was a short entitled At The Front. She usually acts under the name of Chickie Little to provide a sense of continuity for her fans, though everyone at the studio knows her as Lois.

Sugar Chestnut

Colors/letters by Jim Ludwig

   Sugar Chestnut came to acting when she took on small parts in cartoons starring her husband Henry Chestnut. She frequently played bunnies which caught the eye of Henry, and prompted an escalating series of disasters as he tried to make a good impression. Thanks to make-up, Sugar rarely looked the same from cartoon to cartoon, and once joked that during the series Henry had fallen in love with her 24 times. When Henry moved to C.B.I.P. in 1950, Sugar became one of the studio's glamor girls and was quickly assigned her own starring series. Sugar's cartoons were based more in domestic situations as she got caught up in scenarios depicting suburban life (at least three of her early shorts used the same theme of being locked out of her house while dressed only in her underwear). Although cast in her own series as single, Sugar refused to take off her wedding ring for the camera. This endeared her to fans and eventually the series was changed to depict her misadventures as a housewife. Henry, still starring in his own popular series of one-reelers, would play her on-screen husband in Sugar's cartoons (in which he was often mentioned, but seldom actually seen). Housewives are frequently depicted as being rather drab, something Sugar made a point to counter with her passionate, even sultry, persona. Sugar played her housewife character as romantic and flashy, something which won her as many female fans as it did male fans. Sugar maintains a reputation as one of the most glamorous of her peers, though her home life is fairly simple. Her greatest joy comes at the end of the day, when she and Henry return to their real suburban home. She has, on occasion, served as producer for some of the studio's feature films, thanks to her good eye for investments.

Louise Beaumont

Colors/letters by Jim Ludwig, for issue 2

   In the 1920's, before the rules of cartoons and their stars had really been established, there were a handful of glamor annies. The biggest such star was Louise Beaumont, the glamor girl of the annie flapper set. Her star was eventually eclipsed by Betty Boop, who was only pen and ink (some annie stars are flesh and blood actors, other strictly the creation of studio cartoonists). Louise eventually settled into domestic life and started a family, which came to include her grandaughter Wendy Marco. When Wendy became one of C.B.I.P.'s glamor annies in the 1950's, it got Louise to considering a comeback. After all, annies don't age normally so she could still play the kind of juvenile roles which made her a star back in her heyday. As the 50's saw a rebirth of interest in those roaring 20's, Louise felt her time was right to make the scene again. 

   Louise is partly inspired by a character of the same name featured in an episode of ALF. She also owes to Clara Bow.

Wendy Marco

Colors/letters by Jim Ludwig, for issue 1

   Wendy Marco came to C.B.I.P.'s attention when her photo was run in the high school newspaper. When the studio Boss saw the photo next to a publicity still of Minerva Mallen, he felt sure a new annie team was in the making. Wendy was hired to play sidekick to Minerva in one-reel cartoons, and the two became close friends off-screen as well. Wendy is the grand-daughter of 1920's annie star Louise Beaumont. She's niece to fur salesman Max Marco, and for a time Wendy served as the model seen cuddling mink coats in Max's television commercials (when she lost time to make these live TV spots, model Maxine Mink became the official face of Marco's Minks). A rather down-to-earth girl with simple tastes, Wendy doesn't call too much attention to herself. She remains a frequent presence at the movie studio, though, and often volunteers to fill numerous small jobs such as runner, coffee girl, wardrobe caddy, and script girl. Despite her humility, she's highly visible as a frequently employed model and actress and was the first girl to wear a Creek Bend Bikini on local television in 1956. She became the first girl to wear one on screen in early 1957, when she donned one of the small bathing suits for a cameo in a swimming pool scene for the Morton Duck cartoon Tomorrow Or Not.

Yvette Pond

   Yvette Pond was a studio discovery in 1953, when she was spotted by a talent scout at the local market. Never wild about her features, feeling a truly pretty girl shouldn't have a bill, Yvette was hesitant to sign into a long-term contract. She quickly proved a popular public figure, however, and has taken her place as one of the top tier starlets of the annie set. Her first assignment was to play Bessie Hanaver in the Morton Duck cartoons, as the dream girl who lives next door and motivates most of Morton's adventures. As she began to command most of the attention from fans of the series, she was given a starring series of cartoons. This series was quickly adapted to radio, which had to be recorded in groups of four episodes in a session, so as to allow time for normal studio work. Although she enjoys a healthy solo career, she didn't want to upset fans of her first series and still holds a regular spot in the cast of the Morton Duck cartoons.

Minerva Mallen

Colors by Jim Ludwig

   Minerva Mallen is C.B.I.P.'s second most popular annie glamor star, only slightly behind Daisy Poise in entertainment polls. Minerva didn't set out to be a movie star, or even an actress. It was her little sister who got the ball rolling by taking a photo of Minerva without her knowing it. With the popularity of C.B.I.P.'s new glamor approach during the War, Sis felt Minerva was a natural and sent the picture to the studio's publicity department. The studio immediately saw Minerva's potential and approached her with a long-term contract. Minerva, who proved a natural talent, received star billing in her very first cartoon: Every Day Till V-Day. Minerva quickly became a popular star and her first fan club was organized before the end of the year. The studio began experimenting with annie teams before War's end, but Minerva remained a solo star until 1947. It was that year the the studio Boss saw a photograph of Wendy Marco in the local high school newspaper. Setting a publicity shot of Minerva down next to it, the Boss felt Mallen and Marco would be a great team. The girls began making cartoons together and became fast friends off-screen as well. Minerva is sweet, and delights in comfortable fabrics. A prolific cook, her pizzas are famous throughout the county. Her signature bow, worn about her neck, was a bit of dressing she picked up as a child. It became a popular accessory with several annies who live in Creek Bend.

Beverly and Jeannie Baxter

   The Baxter sisters entered showbiz at the age of eight, as a song and dance team on local television. They were quickly signed to C.B.I.P. and began cranking out a series of cartoons for children. As they matured, the girls began scoring more glamorous parts and the studio began casting them as solo stars as well as in the occasional cartoon which still featured them as a team. Beverly, on the left, is the more assertive of the pair and admits to having a short temper and a swelled head most of the time. Jeannie is rather more timid, given to occasional clumsiness which has kept her from taking on roles as showy as those which Beverly delights in. Jeannie is an intelligent girl with technological aptitude which has found her valuable behind the camera. For all her smarts and general sweetness, she is prone to being scatterbrained at times. Jeannie's cartoons tend to be more subdued than those of Beverly, who delights in the spotlight and teasing the camera. The girls share a quaint suburban house near the studio. Beverly frequently leaps before looking, but remains held in check by the presence of sweet Jeannie -who always manages to keep the bigger picture in frame.

Trudy Kitten

Colors/letters by Jim Luwdig

   Trudy Kitten, like many annies, has worked at one time or another for just about every cartoon studio you can name, and has been acting since 1930. She was already in C.B. International's stable when the glamor approach was pioneered by Missy Mouse. Trudy was immediately chosen as the second such starlet to get the glamor treatment. Unsure the glamor cycle would last, Trudy continued to work for other studios until 1952, when she finally signed an exclusive contract with C.B.I.P. -which remains the only studio to ever give her star billing.

Missy Mouse

Colors by Jim Ludwig

   Missy Mouse was the first annie starlet in C.B.I.P.'s glamor stable. It was during the War that Missy took some cheesecake photos to send to her husband fighting in Italy. He loved the photos and shipped them back to Missy to keep them safe, but by mistake the envelope was mailed to C.B.I.P.'s publicity department. When the studio discovered that the pix were private, they were returned to Missy, but the shots inspired a new direction in the presentation of annies as glamor figures rather than typical cartoon actors. With her husband's permission, Missy was signed as the studio's first annie glamor starlet. The new direction proved a hit, particularly with G.I.'s and the studio even arranged with the War Department for Missy's cartoons to be sent to her husband's unit so he would be among the very first to see her new shorts. Her story is told in issue 2.