The Kin-der-Kids
Encyclopedia
The Kin-der-Kids and Wee Willie Winkie's World were early newspaper comics
by painter Lyonel Feininger
and published by the Chicago Sunday Tribune
in 1906-07.
Similar in form to Little Nemo
and the later Sunday editions of Krazy Kat
, most of Feininger's comics occupied a full-page and were rendered in color. The Kin-der-Kids began running in Tribune papers from on April 29, 1906. Feininger's second feature, Wee Willie Winkie's World, ran concurrently with The Kin-der-Kids from August 19, 1906 until The Kin-der-Kidss cancellation on November 18, 1906. Wee Willie Winkie's World ended three months later, on February 17, 1907. The series' short lives have been attributed to several causes, including a Feininger being unable to produce two strips of finely detailed artwork on a weekly schedule, and personal conflict between Feininger and his publishers.
Much like The New York Herald
's Little Nemo, Tribune publishers envisioned The Kin-der-kids as a highbrow alternative to the comical, and at times violent, antics of Happy Hooligan
and The Katzenjammer Kids, strips published in Hearst
and Pulitzer
-owned papers.
The primary cast of The Kin-der-Kids were introduced to Tribune readers before the commencement of the strip's regular publication. On April 29, 1906 the Tribune published a special "All About the Tribune's New Comic Supplement" section. The cover featured a caricature
of "Uncle" Feininger suspending the cast marionette
-like on strings. The "New Comic Supplement" introduction also included a page of color portraits of the characters, and inside the supplement were prose biographies of the cast.
The cast introduced in this publication are:
s, the strip utilizes captions and prose passages that accompany the images.
, was a "real innovation for the time" when even Winsor McCay's Little Nemo had not yet developed into ongoing stories. The artwork is lauded as well, and has been called "exquisitely drawn" in Time
.
Art Spiegelman
, editor of RAW
and author of Maus
, praises the Kin-der-Kids as Feininger's crowning achievement:
In 1994, the entirety of Feininger's comics were collected in a single volume by Kitchen Sink Press
: The Comic Strip Art of Lionel Feininger. In 1999, The Comics Journal
included The Kin-der-Kids in its "Top 100 Comics list".
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
by painter Lyonel Feininger
Lyonel Feininger
Lyonel Charles Feininger was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist.-Life and work:...
and published by the Chicago Sunday Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
in 1906-07.
Similar in form to Little Nemo
Little Nemo
Little Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905 – April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911 – July 26, 1914; respectively.The...
and the later Sunday editions of Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
, most of Feininger's comics occupied a full-page and were rendered in color. The Kin-der-Kids began running in Tribune papers from on April 29, 1906. Feininger's second feature, Wee Willie Winkie's World, ran concurrently with The Kin-der-Kids from August 19, 1906 until The Kin-der-Kidss cancellation on November 18, 1906. Wee Willie Winkie's World ended three months later, on February 17, 1907. The series' short lives have been attributed to several causes, including a Feininger being unable to produce two strips of finely detailed artwork on a weekly schedule, and personal conflict between Feininger and his publishers.
Much like The New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
's Little Nemo, Tribune publishers envisioned The Kin-der-kids as a highbrow alternative to the comical, and at times violent, antics of Happy Hooligan
Happy Hooligan
Happy Hooligan was a popular and influential early American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper.Happy Hooligan, the first major comic strip by already celebrated cartoonist Opper, debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first...
and The Katzenjammer Kids, strips published in Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
and Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
-owned papers.
Characters and story
The Kin-der-Kids followed an ongoing story about the three Kin-der brothers who, along with their dog and a mechanical boy, set sail in the family's antique bathtub to explore the world. The strips imply that the Kin-ders set sail for a specific reason: early on they receive a note - unseen to the reader - from Mysterious Pete which contains instructions for their trip. These instructions and the purpose of their trip remain indeterminate for the life of the comic.The primary cast of The Kin-der-Kids were introduced to Tribune readers before the commencement of the strip's regular publication. On April 29, 1906 the Tribune published a special "All About the Tribune's New Comic Supplement" section. The cover featured a caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of "Uncle" Feininger suspending the cast marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
-like on strings. The "New Comic Supplement" introduction also included a page of color portraits of the characters, and inside the supplement were prose biographies of the cast.
The cast introduced in this publication are:
- Daniel Webster: The bookish leader of the kids, he is frequently preoccupied with his reading, appealing with "oh, don't disturb me," when the other kids alert him to happenings around them. Daniel's design is notably similar to that of Wee Willie Winkie.
- Pie-Mouth: The second of the kids, a boy with an enormous mouth and an equally enormous appetite.
- Strenuous Teddy: The most physical of the Kin-der kids, frequently demonstrating feats of strength.
- Little Japansky: A clockworkClockworkA clockwork is the inner workings of either a mechanical clock or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a mechanical device utilizing a complex series of gears....
boy fished from the sea by Uncle Kin-der. Described as a "water babyThe Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land BabyThe Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862–1863 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it was first published in its entirety in 1863...
," Japansky is mechanical device lost by a Japanese submarine, not a living child. - Sherlock Bones: Daniel Webster's dog, a blue dachshundDachshundThe dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
who accompanies the children on their adventures. - Aunt Jim-Jam and Gussie: Portrayed as over-worrying and concerned for the Kin-ders' safety, Aunt Jim-Jam pursues the Kids in a hot-air balloon to ensure that they receive their doses of Castor oilCastor oilCastor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
. She is accompanied by her son, Gussie and their pet cat. Along the way they pick up another traveler, Mr. Buggins, who was not mentioned in the April 29th introduction. - Mysterious Pete and his hound: Mysterious Pete is a strange visitor wrapped in a large blue cloak and a big hat, with one eye peering out. Pete floats on a cloud, accompanied by his dog, to deliver messages to the rest of the cast, and occasionally to rescue them from trouble. He is described by other characters as some kind of ghost, prefers buckskin clothing, and has a western style revolver at the ready. Although he initially gives the Kids their instructions, it is also he who sets Aunt JimJam and company in pursuit of the Kids.
- The Pillsbury Family: Mister Phileas P. Pillsbury, possibly a snake oilSnake oilSnake oil is a topical preparation made from the Chinese Water Snake , which is used to treat joint pain. However, the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for quack medicine...
salesman, is the inventor of "The Pillsbury Universal Growing Pill," which he seeks to travel the world marketing, along with five young daughters. The Pillsburys are introduced as major characters, however they only make one minor appearance in the course of the strip's life. - Uncle Kin-der: the Kids' good-natured uncle and "nominal" head of the Kin-der family. Uncle Kin-der is never seen again after the strip's introduction.
Wee Willie Winkie's World
Unlike The Kin-der-Kids, Wee Willie Winkie's World was not an episodic adventure. Each strip features the eponymous protagonist observing the surreal countryside around his grandfather's home. He interacts with the inanimate objects around him which have anthropomorphic qualities. Instead of speech balloonSpeech balloon
Speech balloons are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comic strips and cartoons to allow words to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the comic...
s, the strip utilizes captions and prose passages that accompany the images.
After publication
When Wee Willie Winkie's World ceased publication in 1907, it proved to be the last comic-strip Feininger would create, although he would later use similar designs for his wooden landscape sculptures (photographs of which were released in a 1965 book City at the Edge of the World.) Despite the strips' short lives, they are highly praised by later comics enthusiasts. The Kin-der-Kidss "full-fledged, frankly suspenseful week-to-week continuity," writes cartooning historian Bill BlackbeardBill Blackbeard
William Elsworth Blackbeard , better known as Bill Blackbeard, was a writer-editor and the founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, a comprehensive collection of comic strips and cartoon art from American newspapers...
, was a "real innovation for the time" when even Winsor McCay's Little Nemo had not yet developed into ongoing stories. The artwork is lauded as well, and has been called "exquisitely drawn" in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
, editor of RAW
RAW (magazine)
RAW was a comics anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly and published by Mouly from 1980 to 1991. It was a flagship publication of the 1980s alternative comics movement, serving as a more intellectual counterpoint to Robert Crumb's visceral Weirdo, which followed squarely in the...
and author of Maus
Maus
Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is a biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between descriptions of Vladek's life in Poland before and during the Second World War and Vladek's later life in the Rego Park neighborhood of...
, praises the Kin-der-Kids as Feininger's crowning achievement:
In 1994, the entirety of Feininger's comics were collected in a single volume by Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...
: The Comic Strip Art of Lionel Feininger. In 1999, The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
included The Kin-der-Kids in its "Top 100 Comics list".