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===Main characters===
'''Li'l Abner Yokum:''' Abner's character was {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m}} tall and [[Floating timeline|perpetually]] 19 years old. He was portrayed as a naive, simpleminded, gullible and sweet-natured [[hillbilly]]. He lived in a ramshackle [[log cabin]] with his pint-sized parents. Capp derived the family name "Yokum" as a combination of ''[[yokel]]'' and ''[[hokum]]''. (Although it is also the approximate [[Northern Europe|Northern European]] pronunciation of the name "[[Joachim]]".) In Capp's satirical and often complex plots, Abner was a country bumpkin [[Candide]]—a paragon of innocence in a sardonically dark and cynical world.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051217203949/http://deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.lilabner Li'l Abner "biography" at deniskitchen.com]</ref> Abner had no visible means of support, although his character earned his livelihood as a "crescent cutter" for the Little Wonder [[outhouse|Privy]] Company and later "mattress tester" for the Stunned Ox Mattress Company. During World War II, the Abner character was drafted into the role as mascot emblem of the Patrol Boat Squadron 29.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} In one post-World War II storyline, Abner became a [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] bodyguard of Steve Cantor (a parody of [[Steve Canyon]]) against the evil bald female spy Jewell Brynner (a parody of actor [[Yul Brynner]]).<ref>[https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrB8pbV83FWlSMAos6JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsZ29xY3ZzBHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEc2xrA2J1dHRvbg--;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRiY2sDYjc0dDFoaGI1bTdsNCUyNmIlM0QzJTI2cyUzRGQyBGZyA21jYWZlZQRncHJpZANxQUo2WnlCeFRuU2VfYVcuZThmZ0dBBG10ZXN0aWQDbnVsbARuX3N1Z2cDMQRvcmlnaW4DaW1hZ2VzLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDOQRxdWVyeQNNQXJ5IFdvcm0EdF9zdG1wAzE0NTAzMDg2NTMEdnRlc3RpZANJTUdQUkQ-?gprid=qAJ6ZyBxTnSe_aW.e8fgGA&pvid=papx9jY5LjGzk6GMVlsepA7ENTAuNQAAAABG1YQ7&p=MAry+Worm&fr=mcafee&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&ei=UTF-8&n=60&x=wrt#id=144&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.animationresources.org%2Fpics%2Fcapp0427-big.jpg&action=click Parody of Steve Canyon! Sept 15, 1957]</ref> Early in the strip's history, Abner's primary goal in the storyline was evading the marital designs of Daisy Mae Scragg, the virtuous, voluptuous, barefoot Dogpatch damsel and scion of the Yokums' blood [[feud]] enemies — the Scraggs, who were her character's bloodthirsty kinfolk. For 18 years of the run of the strip, Abner slipped out of Daisy Mae's marital crosshairs time and time again. When Capp finally gave in to reader pressure and allowed the couple to tie the knot, it was a major media event. It even made the cover of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine on March 31, 1952 — illustrating an article by Capp titled "It's Hideously True!! The Creator of ''Li'l Abner'' Tells Why His Hero Is ''(SOB!)'' Wed!!"
'''Daisy Mae Yokum (née Scragg):''' Beautiful Daisy Mae's character was hopelessly in love with Dogpatch's most prominent resident throughout the entire 43-year run of Al Capp's comic strip. During most of the epic, the impossibly dense Abner exhibited little romantic interest in her curvaceous charms (much of it visible daily thanks to her famous polka-dot peasant blouse and cropped skirt).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051217210321/http://deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.daisymae Daisy Mae "biography" at deniskitchen.com]</ref> In 1952, Abner reluctantly proposed to Daisy to emulate the engagement of his comic strip "ideel", ''Fearless Fosdick''. Fosdick's own wedding to longtime fiancée Prudence Pimpleton turned out to be a dream — but Abner and Daisy's ceremony, performed by Marryin' Sam, was permanent. Abner and Daisy Mae's nuptials were a major source of media attention, landing them on the aforementioned cover of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine's March 31, 1952, issue.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cartoonician.com/big-deals-comics-highest-profile-moments/ |title="Big Deals: Comics' Highest-Profile Moments", ''Hogan's Alley'' #7, 1999 |access-date=2012-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630083743/http://cartoonician.com/big-deals-comics-highest-profile-moments/ |archive-date=2013-06-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Once married, Abner became relatively domesticated. Like Mammy Yokum and the other "wimmenfolk" in Dogpatch, Daisy Mae did all the work, domestic and otherwise — while the menfolk generally did nothing whatsoever.{{citation needed|reason=Is this a specific quote?|date=May 2016}}
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