Vid Kid
Encyclopedia
Vid Kid was a comic strip
in the British comic Buster
, first appearing in 1987 when it replaced Cliff Hanger
(though when reprints of the latter started appearing in 1992, Vid Kid remained in the comic). Drawn throughout by Jack Edward Oliver
under the pseudonym
"Sue Denim" (as it was a different drawing style than how he usually drew) the strip was about a boy called Vic who owned a special remote control
, which could play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward many things, including people.
Though the actual artist behind the pseudonym was originally a secret, some clues were given out about Sue's true identity. Firstly, Jack would draw himself as a background character in every strip. Secondly, in the set of artist profiles printed in Buster during 1990 and 1991, Sue's profile revealed that her middle name was "Thisisnotamadeupname", she hates drawing "self portraits (especially those of other people)", and that her favourite artist was J. Edward Oliver. Further evidence was given in Jack's profile, which saw Vid Kid (along with Cliff Hanger and Master Mind
) clearly in the background of his self portrait. This caused some Buster readers to write in to the letters page asking if Sue and Jack were one and the same, which was followed by Jack himself (who wrote the letters page replies) confirming that he was indeed Sue Demin. Despite this, the strips continued to be signed by her until the end.
By this time (starting from the issue dated 16 February 1991) the strip began featuring a deliberate mistake in one of the panels, which would be revealed in the following issue. This changed to the bottom of that week's strip in the mid 1990s. Vic was also seen alerting readers of new video
competitions or computer game releases, under the title of Vic's Vids or Vic's Video Game.
Despite it being a reprint by the end, Vid Kid lasted until Busters final issue at the beginning of 2000, although Jack drew one final page ("How It All Ends", which revealed what eventually happened to all the characters) revealing that the millennium bug
had affected Vid Kid's remote, meaning the entire universe
was turned off after he pressed "Power Off" on it.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in the British comic Buster
Buster (comic)
Buster was a long-running British comic which carried a mixture of humour and adventure strips, although the former increasingly replaced the latter...
, first appearing in 1987 when it replaced Cliff Hanger
Cliff Hanger (comic strip)
Cliff Hanger is the name of two different 1983 comic strips, one published in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States.The British Cliff Hanger was written and drawn by Jack Edward Oliver...
(though when reprints of the latter started appearing in 1992, Vid Kid remained in the comic). Drawn throughout by Jack Edward Oliver
Jack Edward Oliver
Jack Edward Oliver was a British cartoonist. He is more usually known as J Edward Oliver or JEO and to his friends he was Jack....
under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Sue Denim" (as it was a different drawing style than how he usually drew) the strip was about a boy called Vic who owned a special remote control
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
, which could play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward many things, including people.
Though the actual artist behind the pseudonym was originally a secret, some clues were given out about Sue's true identity. Firstly, Jack would draw himself as a background character in every strip. Secondly, in the set of artist profiles printed in Buster during 1990 and 1991, Sue's profile revealed that her middle name was "Thisisnotamadeupname", she hates drawing "self portraits (especially those of other people)", and that her favourite artist was J. Edward Oliver. Further evidence was given in Jack's profile, which saw Vid Kid (along with Cliff Hanger and Master Mind
Master Mind (comic strip)
Master Mind was a comic strip in the British comic magazine Buster. It made its first appearance in the issue dated 8 November 1980, and ran until 1983 when it was replaced with Cliff Hanger. It was written and drawn by Jack Edward Oliver....
) clearly in the background of his self portrait. This caused some Buster readers to write in to the letters page asking if Sue and Jack were one and the same, which was followed by Jack himself (who wrote the letters page replies) confirming that he was indeed Sue Demin. Despite this, the strips continued to be signed by her until the end.
By this time (starting from the issue dated 16 February 1991) the strip began featuring a deliberate mistake in one of the panels, which would be revealed in the following issue. This changed to the bottom of that week's strip in the mid 1990s. Vic was also seen alerting readers of new video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
competitions or computer game releases, under the title of Vic's Vids or Vic's Video Game.
Despite it being a reprint by the end, Vid Kid lasted until Busters final issue at the beginning of 2000, although Jack drew one final page ("How It All Ends", which revealed what eventually happened to all the characters) revealing that the millennium bug
Year 2000 problem
The Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
had affected Vid Kid's remote, meaning the entire universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
was turned off after he pressed "Power Off" on it.