Arnold (comic strip)

Arnold
Author(s) Kevin McCormick
Current status / schedule Ended
Launch date December 1982
End date April 1988
Syndicate(s) Field Enterprises (1982–84)
News America Syndicate (1984–87)
North America Syndicate (1987–88)
Genre(s) Humor

Arnold was a syndicated comic strip by Kevin McCormick that ran at its height in 56 newspapers, including the LA Times and the Detroit Free Press, from 1982 through 1988. The strip was characterized by an off-beat sense of humor and random interjections by the title character, Arnold.

Motifs

The main characters were Arnold Melville, a strange, volatile child; Tommy Jordan, his well-meaning but clueless friend; and Mr. Lester, Arnold and Tommy's schoolteacher.

Arnold often yelled "AIEEE" at random moments, and both characters had run-ins with the school cafeteria ladies—specifically Arnold, who referred to mayonnaise as "WHITE DEATH" at the top of his lungs. Tommy had a particular aversion to "wet bread", occasionally brought a thinly veiled Christian attitude to his reactions to the other characters, and would often walk away from his football coach wearing his helmet backwards, as apparently the coach did not think much of Tommy's suggestions.

Toward the end of the run, a baby brother to Arnold, named Sid, was born. Sid frequently grabbed hold of others by holding on with his mouth.

In the last strip, a giant bird grabbed Arnold and flew off with him. Kevin McCormick wrote to the fans of the strip in Detroit Free Press, "I was extremely gratified and happy to receive all the letters from Free Press readers concerning the demise of Arnold. I even had second thoughts. But, alas, it was too late. The gigantic bird had already swallowed."

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.