Ed Leffingwell's cousin was Harold Gray, and he began in comics as Gray's assistant on Little Orphan Annie, which explains why the artwork on Little Joe curiously resembled Little Orphan Annie. Little Joe began October 1, 1933, but Ed Leffingwell worked on the strip for only three years. When he died in 1936, Bob Leffingwell (also a Gray assistant) stepped in, continuing the strip until its conclusion in 1972. The resemblance to Little Orphan Annie began to fade away during the 1950s.