# Early 19th century comic strip character "The Yellow Kid" a racist portrayal of Asians... What? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590 "2015-06-27T02:06:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/1 "2015-06-27T02:06:22Z")
In this “list” site the number 1 most offensive comic strip or comic book character of all time is … [“The Yellow Kid”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Kid) for caricaturing Asians. I cannot find anything authoritative in the wiki or online that supports this contention that “The Yellow Kid” is Asian. At all. Is there any basis for this claim? [10 Most Inappropriate Comic Book Characters - 1. The Yellow Kid](http://whatculture.com/comics/10-most-inappropriate-comic-book-characters.php/11) > [@](#): > > Seen In: New York Papers at the end of the 19th Century > > Quote: “WELL HULLY GEE HERE’S TO YOU” > > Here he is: not only the first portrayal of Asians in comics, but the first comic strip character ever, at least as most people define the comic strip. > > It’s kind of amazing that a nonwhite got this particular distinction, but that’s comics for you. So progressive. > > Joking aside, The Yellow Kid never rose above a sight gag you’ve already picked up on: his shirt or sweater contained all his dialogue in each cartoon where he appeared, though its creator, Richard F. Outcault, introduced more traditional speech bubbles to the field too. Believe it or not, this feature was popular enough to trigger the first comics circulation war, as the New York Journal and New York World ran competing versions of the strip for about a year. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/2 "2015-06-27T02:28:00Z")
Wikipedia says the titular “kid” was named Mickey Dugan, which doesn’t seem particularly asian to me. I’m pretty sure the people that churn out those “10 top…” type articles spend about ten minutes per article. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/3 "2015-06-27T02:51:30Z")
The Yellow Kid was yellow because the _New York World_ could print in color and wanted to show it off. The Kid (the name of the strip was actually Hogan’s Alley) was originally drawn with the nightshirt ranging in color from white to blue before Outcault settled on yellow. Here’s a look at some of the [other residents of Hogan’s Alley](https://oldtales7.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/yellow1896a.jpg). I’d be more concerned about the character in the top left corner than The Kid. The blog got one thing right, however. It is generally considered to be the first comic strip. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/4 "2015-06-27T02:55:02Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I’d be more concerned about the character in the top left corner than The Kid. Exactly. If Outcault had meant the Kid to be Asian, he wouldn’t have been subtle about it. He would have given the Kid slant eyes, buck teeth, and a queue. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/5 "2015-06-27T03:05:08Z")
The Green Hornet is a racist portrayal of Martian bees. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/6 "2015-06-27T03:35:02Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Exactly. If Outcault had meant the Kid to be Asian, he wouldn’t have been subtle about it. He would have given the Kid slant eyes, buck teeth, and a queue. And an “L for R” accent. The “wacky dialect” the writer is talking about isn’t Asian, it’s working class New York: “dese” and “dose” and “dat.” It’s a weird inclusion, not the least because T. Campbell is, himself, a very talented cartoonist. I’d have expected him to be a lot more familiar with the history of his field than he’s displaying here. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/7 "2015-06-27T05:09:15Z")
Firstly, how is 1894 ‘Early 19th Century’ ? Secondly, I was always taught in school **[Ally Sloper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Sloper)** was the first comic strip star. He appeared in 1867. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/8 "2015-06-27T05:14:24Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And an “L for R” accent. The “wacky dialect” the writer is talking about isn’t Asian, it’s working class New York: “dese” and “dose” and “dat.” > > It’s a weird inclusion, not the least because T. Campbell is, himself, a very talented cartoonist. I’d have expected him to be a lot more familiar with the history of his field than he’s displaying here. He tries to defend himself in the comments (they’re weird facebook comments, so you might need to be logged into FB to see them), but its pretty unconvincing IHMO. > [@Campbell](#): > > Mickey Dugan was indeed his name, and that name does sound Irish, but there’s a lot of visual evidence that says otherwise. He was given a wide, bucktoothed grin, prominent ears, a bald head (also found in other caricatures of Asians at the time, as well as the slightly later Ting-Ling Kids) and a weird-sounding dialect (albeit one meant to be endearing). > > By the 1890s, the term “yellow” was very common as a descriptor of Asians: Kaiser Wilhelm had spoken of “The Yellow Peril” just a couple of years earlier. If anyone had referred to “that yellow kid” in 1893, the meaning would be as clear as “that black kid” today. Yeah, the name also refers to the yellow on his shirt, but that’s the pun. > > If that’s not enough, note the similarities between the Kid and the two younger kids fighting next to him in [https://webcomicoverlook.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/1896-3-15.jpeg](https://webcomicoverlook.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/1896-3-15.jpeg), one of whom is sporting a Chinese ponytail. No, I could be mistaken about this, but I’m pretty sure it’s what it looks like. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/9 "2015-06-27T05:49:55Z")
Who knew? I always thought the kid was asian. I never heard anyone say “He was not asian” even though, given the look, name and context, it might have been worth mentioning in 100 years. He is dressed ethnically, and not like a white cartoon child (Buster brown, max and moritz) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/10 "2015-06-27T05:56:42Z")
What was the significance of 'Yellow"? It became integral to his, then the strips and then the newspapers, and then the whole style of newspapers identity? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/11 "2015-06-27T11:14:27Z")
The yellow ink was impressive. They started regularly printing him in yellow to show it off. And the Kid was so popular the Journal’s identity became intertwined with him, so when people started criticizing the Journal for its…less than pristine journalistic standards, it was the Kid they invoked to identify the paper. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/12 "2015-06-27T13:46:53Z")
I seriously worry about the young (and I’m sure that list was written by a young guy). They’ve been taught that racism is everywhere, and so naturally enough they see it everywhere, even where it isn’t. Jerry Seinfeld said in a recent interview that he doesn’t do the college standup circuit any more. The audience takes offense at everything. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/13 "2015-06-27T15:17:49Z")
I left a reply over there based on some actual actual research. Heavy, backbreaking research consisting of walking over to my history of comics shelf and picking up a book. > [@](#): > > The Yellow Kid is not Asian. Who says so? The Yellow Kid. An undated strip appears on p.17 of A History of the Comic Strip, by Pierre Couperie et al. An actual regal Chinaman sits on a goat-drawn cart in the center of the picture. The words on the Kid’s shirt read, “Me and Li has made a big hit wit each other. Say! He thinks I’m a Chinaman - don’t say a wuid. I’m guin ter give a yellow tea ter him - I know my Q” Clearly he and the reader share the understanding that the Kid is not Chinese. > > The yellow is also easily explained. On p.19, the authors explain that, “One of the principle characters in this series was a bald rascal [meaning no queue] with enormous ears and simian features, who always wore a huge white shirt. The World’s mechanical staff wanted to color this shirt yellow, the only color that had not been perfected on their presses. On February, 16, 1896, the experiment was tried and was a complete success. The brilliant shirt attracted every eye, and the character, immediately christened the Yellow Kid, was to become the major attraction of the newspaper…” > > Add this to the standard dialog on the Kid’s shirt that reads exactly like a bad impersonator doing Edward G. Robinson and you have an airtight case against the Kid being Asian. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/14 "2015-06-27T15:40:10Z")
This thread is more = " They’ve been taught that (PC) is everywhere, and so naturally enough they see it everywhere, even where it isn’t. " “Jerry Seinfeld said in a recent interview that he doesn’t do the college standup circuit any more. The audience takes offense at everything.” Jerry is not offensive, his jokes are old and he has entitlement issues ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/15 "2015-06-27T15:51:16Z")
The Simpsons? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/16 "2015-06-27T16:16:12Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The Simpsons? There’s a “yellow peril” joke to be made here, but no way, uh-uh, count me out. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/17 "2015-06-27T16:32:44Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I seriously worry about the young (and I’m sure that list was written by a young guy). He’s been working as a cartoonist since at least 1999, so probably not all that young. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/18 "2015-06-27T17:31:23Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I left a reply over there based on some actual actual research. Proving once again that you fight dirty. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/19 "2015-06-27T17:37:54Z")
Further documentation that the Kid is Irish: [Here he is visiting Ireland,](http://people.virginia.edu/~mmw3v/html/ykid/images/centennial/ireland_71LG.jpg) and his shirt says “I’ve got nerve but I’ve never took such a risk as to come to de land of me 4 fadders wit dis yaller dress on.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590/20 "2015-06-27T17:39:30Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I left a reply over there based on some actual actual research. Heavy, backbreaking research consisting of walking over to my history of comics shelf and picking up a book. [Here’s a link](http://people.virginia.edu/~mmw3v/html/ykid/images/centennial/chinese_34LG.jpg)to the illustration of the Kid pretending to be Chinese. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-19th-century-comic-strip-character-the-yellow-kid-a-racist-portrayal-of-asians-what/723590.md?page=2)