Igdoof

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Igdoof is a comic by Jeff Kinney. It is a precursor to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and was published in the University of Maryland's campus newspaper. Igdoof's name comes from "a plastic dinosaur he and a former girlfriend had christened using nonsense syllables."[1]

Plot

Igdoof, a college freshman[1][2], lives in a dorm with his neat roommate, Ralph. Igdoof "says exactly what he wants and has no inhibitions," inspired by "exactly what [Kinney] would be if [he] were allowed to be."[1]

Kinney later planned to change Igdoof's plot to Igdoof and Ralph sharing an apartment, and Ralph having an "entry-level job" while Igdoof attends night school.[1] Following requests from syndicates, he changed the plot to Igdoof in high school.[3]

History

Igdoof was created by Jeff Kinney while studying computer science[1] (later changed to criminal justice[1]) at the University of Maryland.[4] It was published in Diamondback, the campus newspaper, from 1990[5] to December 13, 1993.[6] Igdoof was a success during its run, with merchandise being produced and sold.[1][7] Kinney commented, "This could possibly be the biggest thing ever to happen to me."[1]

Kinney was kicked out of university after an incident in which he used bright green poster boards and they disintegrated from rain, staining the campus.[6] He spent "about three years" sending Igdoof to syndicates, although none of them agreed to publish it.[4] Kinney then got a programming job and created Diary of a Wimpy Kid as a side project.[2][4] The original draft of the book was 1300 pages long[2][4] and took 8 years for Kinney to write.[8] It was then published online on Funbrain, with a new page being posted every day. At Comic-Con, Kinney showed Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Abram Books editor Charles Kochman, who "instantly loved it."[2] Kinney was surprised at Kochman wanting to publish Diary of a Wimpy Kid as a children's book, having written it as "a primer or a nostalgia piece for adults."[4][2] Once the series was published, it became popular worldwide, and Kinney retired attempts to get Igdoof published.

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References