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1[[quoteright:175:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/175px-YellowKid_3378.jpg]]
2''The Yellow Kid'' was the name of a lead comic strip character that ran from 1895 to 1898 in Joseph Pulitzer's ''New York World'', and later William Randolph Hearst's ''New York Journal''. Created and drawn by Richard F. Outcault in the comic strip ''Hogan's Alley'' (and later under other names as well), it was one of the first Sunday supplement comic strips in an American newspaper, although its graphical layout had already been thoroughly established in political and other, purely-for-entertainment cartoons. ''The Yellow Kid'' is also famous for its connection to the coining of the term "yellow journalism".
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4Mickey Dugan, better known as The Yellow Kid, was a bald, snaggle-toothed boy who wore an oversized yellow nightshirt and hung around in a slum alley typical of certain areas of squalor that existed in late 19th-century New York City. Hogan's Alley was filled with equally odd characters, mostly other children. With a goofy grin, the Kid habitually spoke in a ragged, peculiar slang, which was printed on his shirt, a device meant to lampoon advertising billboards.
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6Many of his original adventures can be read [[https://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/yellowkid/1895/1895.htm here]].
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8!!This ComicStrip contains examples of:
9* AscendedExtra: Originally a nameless background character who became a more fleshed out cast member before ultimately becoming the star of the strip.
10%%* BigApplesauce
11* CatchPhrase: "Hully gee!" and "You ain't so warm."
12* CharacterBlog: A number of his comics came with text blurbs written from Mickey's perspective and with his grammatical quirks intact.
13* CombatPragmatist: During a boxing match, he brings in a goat to take out his opponent for him. To his credit, Yellow Kid crowns ''the goat'' the fight's true winner while saying that he [[SpoofAesop shouldn't be boxing in the first place since he's just a kid.]]
14* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: "Mickey" was originally the name of a completely different character back when Hogan's Alley was still running in ''Truth'' magazine.
15* ExpressiveShirt: Probably the TropeMaker. Although he occasionally talks in a more regular fashion.
16* FightingIrish: Mickey's the offspring of Irish immigrants, and even gets to visit the "land of (his) 4 fadders" when he travels the globe with his friends.
17* FunetikAksent: And it's written inconsistently to boot.
18%%* TheGildedAge
19* FalseReassurance: When Mickey says that he "won't hardly do a thing to 'em" while holding some kind of blunt instrument, there's a good chance he intends to whack someone with it.
20* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: According to Outcault himself, Mickey "had a sweet character and a sunny disposition, and was generous to a fault. Malice, envy or selfishness were not traits of his, and he never lost his temper."
21* PrematurelyBald: The Yellow Kid is a bald young boy.
22* ProgressivelyPrettier: Inverted. He gradually gets more cartoonishly hideous to distinguish him from the more regular-looking rascals of Hogan's Alley.
23* {{Pun}}: The very final panel of a strip where he pawns off an alarm clock has him laboriously explain why "dough" is a euphemism for money as people need money, and "need" sounds a lot like "knead" which is what you do with dough. Which is that Mickey needs. The money, not actual dough.
24* PuppyLove: The Yellow Kid is sweet on the rather normal and pretty Liz.
25* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: During the years when ownership of the character was in dispute, Outcault changed the title of the series the Yellow Kid was part of from "Hogan's Alley" to "[=McFadden=]'s Row of Flats".
26* ToiletHumor: During General Li Hongzhang's inexplicable diplomatic visit to Hogan's Alley, it's implied that Mickey intends to trick the man into drinking urine in the guise of yellow tea.
27* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Mickey smokes, drinks, gambles, fights, and cheats at cards among other mischief.
28* WouldHitAGirl: With a golf club, if he feels like it.
29* WorldTour: During his original run of strips, the Yellow Kid and his many pals went on a hot air balloon journey around to world to such locations as England, Egypt, and an exploding Mt. Vesuvius.
30* YouFightLikeACow: His "ain't so warm" insult.

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