Joe Jitsu

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Joe Jitsu is a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, and was voted into the comic by Beano readers in early 2004, along with Colin the Vet. He is notable for being the first black character in The Beano to be the titular character of a strip.

The strip, drawn by Wayne Thompson, is about a boy who had a black belt in Karate. Some early strips also featured a man by the name of Johnny Woo, whose plans to get Joe into his dojo were never successful. Joe Jitsu also has a sister, called Jude. It may be seen as a successor to the earlier karate-themed strip, Karate Sid.

In 2006, Joe's strip made a reappearance in The Beano.

Joe Jitsu was also the name of one of Dick Tracy's crimefighters. He became popular in the 1961 syndicated animated cartoon series of the popular comic strip, but today is considered a flagrantly politically incorrect stereotype. His method of subduing criminals was to grab them by the wrist, exclaim either "So sorry!" or "Excuse, please!" and judo-flip them down on the ground violently.