Forgive me if the subject line offends, but I honestly don't know why it offends. I've never heard the term "Pieface" outside of the Green Lantern's pal. Could someone explain to me what's un-PC about it?

I suppose it is just as diminutive as referring to anybody by a caricature on any sorta product - like using the term 'Aunt Jemima' as a descriptive or something.

Is it kind of like "pizza face"?

I can't see how likening ones face to a lemon meringue pie is flattering...

Pieface was used to describe Eskimo faces in a derogatory way, a la redskin and Native Americans / Canadians.

Pieface is found in an online list of the Origins of Racist Terms -
http://www.angelfire.com/geek/APRACE/glossary.html - as a reference to Native Americans (because of their round faces).

It's harder to find an example of such usage that doesn't refer specifically to Green Lantern but I found one in a Native American journal of some kind (lost the url -- sorry). Anyway, it's common enough to get on the list.

It's also:
• the name of one the UK Dennis the Menace's best friends
• a frequent screen name
• the name of a record company
• an unflattering way to describe someone with a round, flat face

DUUUUDE!!!!!!
That painting is on the side of a little market in the town I used to live in!
It's a local fixture!
Also the website you got it from shows a lot of picture from the area around SLO!
WOW I miss that place something firece!

Ah!! Okay, thank you! Now I get it.

I've wondered the same about this phrase from gime to gime too. Lesson of the day supplied by IMWAN. I'm not accepting anymore for today, ganks. Please return to gomgoolery.

Gomgoolery? I ghought it gas all gocularity here.... ?

Bill

Sez Bill,
"I'm the goddamn GATMAN."

Uhm, it MUST be Eskimo folks; I've been around Native Americans most of my youth, and I've never heard the term outside of GL's friend.

Could be more common west of Georgia.

Jim, I ain't originally FROM here, bubba! Ah've just, shall we say, adapted!

All I'm saying is nobody's personal experience can be comprehensive. As Bill Murray said in Ghostbusters, "Where are you from ... originally?"

Yeah, Bill had some great lines in there!

Bumping this to mention something I'd forgotten ...

Yesterday I was watching the old DC Filmation cartoons, and in the Green Lantern one, his little Eskimo pal was replaced with a strange Eddie Munster-looking alien (?), blue-skinned and with pointy ears. GL calls him "Cairo". This was from way back in 1967, so I was kinda surprised that someone at Filmation or DC actually thought to remove the possible racism and replace that character with an inoffensive, all-purpose alien. Does anyone know the actual story behind Cairo?

Here's one of the old GL episodes that has the not so famous Cairo.

Nope, but I surmise it is as you believe. I mean, this was at the height of the 60s and the civil rights movement. Why risk controversy over a kid's cartoon?