The Gorns, Karl and Betty, were characters in the cartoon strip “SOS,” published in The Colorado Daily, Boulder, Colorado. Karl was the female, Betty was the male; it’s just the way they rolled.
Trekkies may recall that a “Gorn” from the original Star Trek series was a stiff-looking reptile with plastic eyes. This was a childish reprisal by the screenwriters against Karl and Betty for insisting they be called by their rightful race; the writers renamed them the “Vians,” chiefly because of Betty’s seething animosity. Now you know.