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Igdoof
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.
Gallery
Terp Fall 2007
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Washington Post, "Igdoof Takes on the World"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Washington Post, "Jeff Kinney, Inc.: The Wimpy Kid is Now a Rich Guy Who Has Sold 180 Million Books"
- ↑ File:IntroducingIgdoof.jpg
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 CBS News, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Author's Better Dream"
- ↑ Independent
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 TERP
- ↑ University of Maryland Gymkana Troupe History
- ↑ Tweet by Jeff Kinney