The Yellow Kid

The Yellow Kid is a bald, barefoot child in a yellow nightshirt, created by Richard F. Outcault and published in American newspapers in the 1890s. His crowded urban scenes and changing use of speech balloons helped shape early newspaper comics.

Richard F. Outcault: Richard F. Outcault was an American cartoonist who created The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown. His cartoons in Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper introduced the character in the 1890s.
Speech balloon: A speech balloon is a drawn enclosure that connects written dialogue to a speaking character. Outcault sometimes placed the Kid’s words on his oversized shirt before dialogue balloons became standard.
Newspaper circulation war: A newspaper circulation war is intense competition between newspapers to attract readers and increase sales. The Kid’s movement between rival papers became a conspicuous episode in this competition.
The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats: The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats is a 1897 Broadway musical comedy featuring the Yellow Kid. The stage production carried the newspaper character into live entertainment.
Hogan’s Alley: Hogan’s Alley was Richard F. Outcault’s comic series depicting children and adults in a poor urban neighborhood. The Yellow Kid first appeared as one figure in this series.
Sunday comics: Sunday comics are comic strips published in the Sunday editions of newspapers. Color Sunday pages gave the Kid a large format and recurring audience.
Comic strip history: Comic strip history traces the development of newspaper strips and related forms of sequential storytelling. The Kid is frequently discussed as an early landmark in the American newspaper strip.
McFadden’s Row of Flats: McFadden’s Row of Flats is the New York tenement setting associated with Outcault’s Hogan’s Alley cartoons. The crowded neighborhood provided the setting for many Yellow Kid scenes.
New York World: The New York World was a New York City newspaper owned by Joseph Pulitzer from 1883 to 1931. Its Sunday color supplement published Outcault’s early Yellow Kid cartoons.
Color printing: Color printing reproduces images using multiple inks or other color-bearing processes. The character’s yellow nightshirt depended on color printing in newspaper supplements.

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