MyComicShop is giving an early look at what to expect in their July Prime Auction, which will include several issues of The Yellow Kid and its subsequent The Yellow Book series. With only 25 copies of issues listed in the CGC census and only five of those tracked as having been sold by GPA, these are exceedingly rare. Bidding will open on July 3, 2023, and the full group of Yellow Kid and Yellow Book can be viewed on their website.

Created in 1894 by R.F. Outcault, the Yellow Kid, while not the first comic strip, would certainly become the first to achieve the kind of popularity and cultural influence that we now associate with comic strip and comic book characters. Like many artistic creations, the Yellow Kid was created as a palatable way to depict a touchy subject, specifically the abject poverty of tenement life in turn of the century New York City – something the more well-heeled readership of the magazines Outcault contributed to were either blissfully unaware of or indifferent toward.

Additionally, the Yellow Kid’s trademark yellow nightshirt featuring a rotating slogan or phrase, was intended as a criticism of the increasing amount of advertising folks were becoming subject to – in particular the brand new invention known as the billboard. It’s ironic then, that the Yellow Kid would go on to become the first comic character to become the center of an advertising and merchandising storm.

Outcault was not able to copyright the character meaning that, in addition to appearing in rival publications drawn by other artists, Yellow Kid appeared on the vaudeville stage, cigarette packs, cracker tins, machbooks, postcards, toys, whiskey, and of course, billboards.