Dondi

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Dondi was a comic that was popularized in the 40s to mid-80s by Irwin Hasen and Gus Edson. It starred the titular character, a war-orphan named Dondi as he has hilarious and interesting escapades throughout his hometown of Midville.

Originally, Dondi's backstory was that of a five-year-old of Italian descent orphaned by the events of World War II, having no memory of his parents, or even his name for that matter, so, when a pretty Red Cross worker said he was "a dandy boy", the amnesiac boy mistook it for being named "Dondi". Dondi was discovered by two soldiers; a man named Ted Wills and a woman named Whitey McGowan; who didn't speak a lick of Italian who happened upon him wandering through a war-torn village. The soldiers brought the child back to the US where Ted eventually became Dondi's adoptive father.

Like many comic characters, such examples being Wednesday Addams and Dennis from Dennis the Menace, Dondi never ages, and this presented a bit of a problem with his origin story, in the sense that it was rendered completely impossible, so, eventually, any reference to his Italian origin ceased, he was still adopted by Ted and his wife, but now a former pro baseball player named Katje Bogar "Pop" Fligh had become Dondi's adoptive grandfather when he married Ted's widowed. After that, Dondi was portrayed simply as an adopted child, but in the early 60s, there was a mention of him being orphaned as a result of the Korean War, however, in the mid-70s, it was hinted at him being orphaned thanks to the Vietnam War.