Sunday title panel
AIEEE!Arnold was a rather unusual newspaper comic strip created by Kevin McCormick and published from 1982 to 1988. The titular character was a mischevious little boy who often says and does deranged things, much to the annoyance of his only friend, Tommy. Rounding out the cast was Mr. Lester, Arnold and Tommy's teacher.
In 2023, it was announced that the complete run of the strip will be reprinted after over 30 years. The first volume can be found on Amazon
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Arnold provides examples of:
- Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Among the things Arnold did after he became captain of the safety patrol was installing faculty surveillance and wiretaps. He was later forced to resign.
- Berserk Button: Arnold hates it whenever he's reminded that he's short, even if somebody was saying something innocuous like "You should reach for the sky."
- Butt-Monkey: Tommy.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Early in the strip's run there was a third kid in Mr. Lester's class, Heather. She disappeared after a short time, likely because Tommy filled the role better as the straight man to Arnold's antics.
- Dada Comics: The strip is a borderline example, especially later in the run.
- The Ditz: The title character.
- Gross-Out Show: Played with. A lot of the strip's dialogues can get gross, but it was rare to feature them visually.
- Jerkass: Arnold.
- Killed Off for Real: In the final strip, a giant bird grabbed Arnold and took off. Goodbye, Tommy.◊
- To drive the point home, Kevin McCormick did a drawing that ran in the ''Detroit Free Press''◊ a month after the final strip ran, which showed Tommy talking to Arnold's tombstone.
- To drive the point home, Kevin McCormick did a drawing that ran in the ''Detroit Free Press''
- Minimalist Cast: During its five-year run only five characters ever appeared in the strip: Arnold himself, classmates Tommy and Heather, their teacher Mr. Lester, and his baby brother Sidney. Even then vast majority of the strip's run only featured Arnold, Tommy, and Mr. Lester. Heather only appeared for few months in the beginning before she disappeared without explanation, and Sidney wasn't introduced until near the end of the strip's run. Every other character spoke from off-panel.
- No Full Name Given: Originally played straight with Arnold and Tommy, whose last names were never mentioned in the early strips. This all changed in 1986, when the creator did a contest asking fans to submit ideas for their last names. The winners were Arnold Melville and Tommy Jordon.◊
- School Newspaper Newshound: Arnold runs a school newspaper called "The Vicious Rumor".
- Stock Scream: Every time Arnold screams, it's "AIEEE!".
- The Voice: Everyone, outside the three core characters.
