You Damn Kid!
Encyclopedia
You Damn Kid! is a comic strip
by cartoonist Owen Dunne. While originally appearing in non-mainstream newspaper
s, it has run as a webcomic
since 1997. The strip is a fictionalized version of Dunne's life as a child in the late 1960s. Much of the humor in the strip comes from the juxtaposition of childlike innocence and nostalgia
with the darker or more disturbing realities of life; it explores themes such as death
, mental retardation
, and sexual abuse by priests. The strip is very critical of the Catholic Church
and the hypocrisy of the middle class
.
You Damn Kid! is part of the Keenspot
webcomics group.
Neither You Damn Kid nor its affiliated strip, The Beevnicks, has been updated since October 2007. An October 4 message on the Beevnicks website announced that Dunne was leaving the webcomics world. His statement also said that he would complete the current storyline and post details on the You Damn Kid website; however, neither of these have been done.
In 2009 Dunne announced a project known as "The Barnyard Pete Show":
the main character's mother says "This is my son, Casey," referring to the person she is talking to (Casey Ricardo). However, the author decided to make it the main character's name, too http://www.youdamnkid.com/about.html. The main character attends a Catholic grammar school taught by nun
s. He has a younger sister named Dot. Their ages are never specified, and appear to change from memory to memory (the entire strip is told in flashback).
The location of the strip is also never mentioned; the presence of snow in the winter, and various cultural traits, imply that it is somewhere in the northern United States
. It is possible that it is the creator's home state of Rhode Island
, but this is never made explicit. A 2006 strip states that the family lives in Parker County; the only Parker County in the United States is Parker County, Texas
. However, in the same strip, Parker County is described as bordering Midland County; while Texas does have a Midland County, it is not near Parker County.
of YDK), Nippleshine Manor, Ed Seriously, Banion (a spin-off of The Beevnicks), Pencil and Ink, Those Crazy Aliens, Dizzy Dustbin, Tommy Watches TV, Pek, The New Beevnicks, and most recently My New Mommy. All of these comics have been discontinued. Several of the strips, such as Pencil and Ink and Pek, never seemed to progress beyond a single strip.
drawings copied and pasted in a paint program. The characters rarely changed facial expressions.
The Beevnicks is a gag-a-day strip, but every so often Dunne will introduce a rather ludicrous story arc
, one that typically involves either Tom or Lorranie Beevnick in some form of deviant sexual behavior, a subsequent murder or crime to cover up this behavior, and a subsequent investigation by Detective Banion and the Tiverton Falls police. Dunne's usual method of wrapping up these story arcs is to have them be a dream sequence
or fantasy
, and return the strip to status quo ante
.
On May 1, 2006, Dunne suddenly relaunched The Beevnicks and it replaced You Damn Kid! as the primary comic. The new version of The Beevnicks involved more background and foreground detail, but still largely copied and pasted drawings. On August 1, 2006, The Beevnicks moved to beevnicks.com and Dunne reformatted his You Damn Kid! site, youdamnkid.com.
with the followup collection, You Damn Kid: Naked Lady Balloons, becoming available from June 30, 2006.
On September 20, 2005, it was announced that You Damn Kid! was optioned for television
by Fox. However comments by Dunne in 2009 suggest that this never became a reality.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
by cartoonist Owen Dunne. While originally appearing in non-mainstream newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, it has run as a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
since 1997. The strip is a fictionalized version of Dunne's life as a child in the late 1960s. Much of the humor in the strip comes from the juxtaposition of childlike innocence and nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
with the darker or more disturbing realities of life; it explores themes such as death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
, and sexual abuse by priests. The strip is very critical of the Catholic Church
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and the hypocrisy of the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
.
You Damn Kid! is part of the Keenspot
Keenspot
Keenspot is a webcomics portal founded in March 2000 by cartoonist Chris Crosby , Crosby's mother Teri, cartoonist Darren Bleuel , and Nathan Stone.-History:...
webcomics group.
Neither You Damn Kid nor its affiliated strip, The Beevnicks, has been updated since October 2007. An October 4 message on the Beevnicks website announced that Dunne was leaving the webcomics world. His statement also said that he would complete the current storyline and post details on the You Damn Kid website; however, neither of these have been done.
In 2009 Dunne announced a project known as "The Barnyard Pete Show":
"The Barnyard Pete Show" is a weekly, live action show inspired by the locally produced children's shows of the 60's and 70's. Essentially, this is what happens when you realize your comic will not get made into a series, so you take some of your option money, build your own studio and say "screw it, I'll make my own show." Starring cartoonist Owen Dunne as Pete, and Jonathan Dunne as the voice of Ken the Horse. Each week, we'll have a 2 - 5 minute episode, with ten episodes planned for series one. Well see how it goes from there.
All the old comics will be archived and available shortly.
Format
The strip is told mainly in the first person. The main character's name has never been mentioned in the strip. It was mistakenly thought to be "Casey" because of one misleading strip. In the stripNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s. He has a younger sister named Dot. Their ages are never specified, and appear to change from memory to memory (the entire strip is told in flashback).
The location of the strip is also never mentioned; the presence of snow in the winter, and various cultural traits, imply that it is somewhere in the northern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is possible that it is the creator's home state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, but this is never made explicit. A 2006 strip states that the family lives in Parker County; the only Parker County in the United States is Parker County, Texas
Parker County, Texas
As of the census of 2003, there were 98,495 people, 31,131 households, and 24,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile . There were 34,084 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
. However, in the same strip, Parker County is described as bordering Midland County; while Texas does have a Midland County, it is not near Parker County.
Other hosted comics
You Damn Kid! used to be the primary and semiregularly updated comic on Dunne's website, but Dunne has been ambitious, launching several different comics on his site: The Beevnicks, Norman P. Function, Those Darn Kids (a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of YDK), Nippleshine Manor, Ed Seriously, Banion (a spin-off of The Beevnicks), Pencil and Ink, Those Crazy Aliens, Dizzy Dustbin, Tommy Watches TV, Pek, The New Beevnicks, and most recently My New Mommy. All of these comics have been discontinued. Several of the strips, such as Pencil and Ink and Pek, never seemed to progress beyond a single strip.
The Beevnicks
The Beevnicks is another webcomic, hosted originally on the same site, as a spin off of You Damn Kid!. It was originally started January 16, 2000 but Dunne stopped drawing it in 2003. Known as the "Original Beevnicks", it consisted of very simple clip artClip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
drawings copied and pasted in a paint program. The characters rarely changed facial expressions.
The Beevnicks is a gag-a-day strip, but every so often Dunne will introduce a rather ludicrous story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, one that typically involves either Tom or Lorranie Beevnick in some form of deviant sexual behavior, a subsequent murder or crime to cover up this behavior, and a subsequent investigation by Detective Banion and the Tiverton Falls police. Dunne's usual method of wrapping up these story arcs is to have them be a dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
or fantasy
Fantasy (psychology)
Fantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...
, and return the strip to status quo ante
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
.
On May 1, 2006, Dunne suddenly relaunched The Beevnicks and it replaced You Damn Kid! as the primary comic. The new version of The Beevnicks involved more background and foreground detail, but still largely copied and pasted drawings. On August 1, 2006, The Beevnicks moved to beevnicks.com and Dunne reformatted his You Damn Kid! site, youdamnkid.com.
You Damn Kid! in other media
On May 30, 2004, You Damn Kid — Fun at A.A. Meetings: The Comic Strip for Grownups About Being a Kid, became available for sale at Amazon.comAmazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
with the followup collection, You Damn Kid: Naked Lady Balloons, becoming available from June 30, 2006.
On September 20, 2005, it was announced that You Damn Kid! was optioned for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
by Fox. However comments by Dunne in 2009 suggest that this never became a reality.