View source for Pokey the Penguin

{{Short description|Comic strip}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox Webcomic| <!-- Part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Webcomics]] -->
| title = Pokey the Penguin
| image =<!-- Deleted image removed:  [[File:Pokey the penguin.png|300px]] -->
| caption = Panel from Pokey strip No. 190
| author = Steve Havelka, under the pen name "The Authors"
| url = http://yellow5.com/pokey
| status = Updated sporadically
| began = February 18, 1998 ([http://yellow5.com/pokey/archive/ archive])
| genre = Comedy, Parody
| ratings =
}}

'''''Pokey the Penguin''''' is an [[webcomic|online]] [[comic strip]] created in 1998. It chronicles the adventures of a [[penguin]] named Pokey and a large cast of other characters.  ''Pokey'' comics are drawn crudely and [[minimalism|minimalistically]], and they consist largely of a string of [[Non sequitur (humor)|non-sequiturs]] and absurd journeys, with a token effort towards more traditional plots and [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]] (such as the conflict with the Italians over arctic-circle candy) that tend to be established through oblique references to off-screen characters and [[non-event]]s.  Today, new comic strips appear sporadically, although formerly the site was updated daily.<ref>The Pokey FAQ 1.1, ''Pokey the Penguin Informational Site'', https://web.archive.org/web/20040416055220/http://www.rit.edu/~flf1754/pokey/pokeyfaq.html.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>

== Content and style ==
Pokey lives in the [[Arctic]], unlike most penguins, which live in the Southern Hemisphere. He is accompanied by several recurring characters, of which the "Little Girl" is the most commonly seen. His main [[antagonist]]s are the Italians, whom Pokey suspects of intending to steal his Arctic Circle-Candy (which grows in the Arctic).  The Italians are usually represented by a ship on the horizon flying the [[Flag of Italy|Italian flag]]; an actual Italian was seen for the first time in a comic posted in late February 2008.  In the first strip, ''Pokey'' is described as an "educational children's cartoon".<ref>{{Cite web |title=POKEY THE PENGUIN |url=https://www.yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index1.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=POKEY THE PENGUIN}}</ref>

''Pokey'''s artistic style is deliberately crude, even childish. The artwork has rough pixelated edges, jagged lines, and few colors (the hallmarks of [[Paint (software)|Microsoft Paint]] drawings), and characters are almost always [[Copy and paste|copied and pasted]] after their first appearance.<ref name="Thair">Thair, David.  "This week, slow-burning seabirds."  [[BBC Collective]].  August 10, 2006.  https://www.h2g2.com/entry/A13663325.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>  The comic has been described as resembling "the ramblings of a deranged child".<ref name="Thair" />  Most minor characters are exact copies of Pokey<ref name="Justin">"Pokey the Penguin by Steve Havelka, reviewed by Justin."  Comixtalk.  n.d. http://comixtalk.com/pokey_penguin_steve_havelka_reviewed_justin. Retrieved November 12, 2009.</ref>—the various "Chicken" characters are not chickens, but ordinary penguins, and the "Bear" is merely a brown penguin; the "Dinosaur" a green penguin.  The comic strips are filled with visible corrections: some words are [[overstrike|crossed out]], while images are occasionally scribbled over.  Some words are left misspelled, such as "[[haggis|haggas]]".<ref>"Pokey in Ancient Scotland."  ''Pokey the Penguin'' No.18.  http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index18.html.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>

''Pokey the Penguin'''s lettering consists entirely of [[italic type|italicized]] capitals.  The typeface is exclusively [[Courier (typeface)|Courier]], is italicized by shifting pixels of each successive horizontal row further to the left, and is never [[Spatial anti-aliasing|anti-aliased]].  Sentences often end without punctuation, or end with multiple exclamation marks or question marks, usually separated by spaces.

The strip's dialogue is surreal and often peppered with obscure [[allusion]]s;<ref name="Thair" /> illustrative quotes include ''"HERE ON RUM ISLAND WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN RUM!"''<ref>"Welcome to Rum Island."  ''Pokey the Penguin'' No. 160. http://yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index160.html. Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>  and ''"IN [[Meatspace|MEAT-SPACE]], MR. NUTTY, EVERYONE IS YOUR FRIEND! ! !"''<ref>"Pokey and Meatspace".  ''Pokey the Penguin'' No. 312.  http://yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index312.html.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>  Most strips lack clear [[punch line]]s.<ref>The Pokey FAQ 2.2.</ref> The comic introduced the expression "Chicago-style", meaning "without [[trousers|pants]]".<ref>"Chicago-Style."  ''Pokey the Penguin'' No. 382. http://yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index382.html.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref>

Two animated Pokey adventures (which originally appeared in 2002) have been released into the "[http://yellow5.com/pokey/hall/ Hall of Whimsy]", which also suggests forthcoming availability of Pokey shirts and a book.

== The Authors ==
The comic does not name its creator, attributing each comic only to "THE AUTHORS".  The author is in fact open source developer '''Steve Havelka''' of [[Portland, Oregon]], whose identity became public during Pokey's early years.<ref name="Justin" /> In discussions and message boards dedicated to Pokey, Havelka revealed that Pokey was originally intended as a parody of another MS Paint comic about a penguin.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} From 2018 to 2024, a second author, '''Natty Strange''' of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], contributed at times to the comic's writing.

==Characters==
The characters are as innumerable as the plots are inscrutable. The mainstays are:
*Pokey the Penguin
*Mr. Nutty, an alcoholic British [[snowman]] and capitalist
*A young female penguin, variously identified as "Small Child" or "Little Girl," who is apparently Pokey's sister
*Skeptopotamus, a [[Skepticism|skeptic]] who says he is unrelated to the [[hippopotamus]]
*Headcheese, a [[French Canadian]] female penguin, with whom Pokey has something of a love/hate relationship
*Gustavo, a potato chip–shaped character whose long moustaches, named "Democracy" and "[[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]]", can be moved individually like arms
*The devil, which looks like a red, horned penguin
*A boxing glove purportedly possessed by the devil
*The Italians, Pokey's enemies who want to steal his Arctic Circle-Candy

===Minor characters===
''Pokey the Penguin'' frequently includes minor characters that appear in only one or two comics.  Many look like exact copies of Pokey.  ''Pokey'' often incorporates familiar characters from fiction such as [[Batman]] and [[Superman]], both exact Pokey copies.  Celebrities and politicians appear as well, including "[[Bob Dole|Bobdole]]" (who looks exactly like Pokey) and [[Stephen Hawking]] (Pokey with a [[pointy hat|pointed wizard's hat]]).  Variations on other characters appear sometimes, such as "Old Man Nutty" and "the [[Nostradamus|Nostrapotamus]]."  In one strip, Pokey's "son" appears, created as part of a science experiment.

==Pokey in other media==
In late 2010, the [http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/book.html first volume] of Pokey the Penguin was released in book form.  More have been released intermittently; there are now 12 volumes in all.

Pokey has been referenced twice in the [[Hitman (franchise)|Hitman]] series of video games: in ''[[Hitman: Contracts]]'' as an obscure, esoteric [[easter egg (media)|easter egg]],<ref>"Easter egg hunt with Jesper Donnis."  Hitman Forum.  {{cite web |url=http://www.hitmanforum.com/show.php?id=24978&catid=38 |title=Hitman Forum - Hitman News, Cheats, and Discussion |access-date=2006-08-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222045238/http://www.hitmanforum.com/show.php?id=24978&catid=38 |archive-date=December 22, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}.  Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref> and more directly in ''[[Hitman: Blood Money]]'', where an overheard conversation between guards has one inviting the other to look at the comics on a computer.

''Prodly the Puffin'', a work of [[interactive fiction]] by Craig Timpany and Jim Crawford, was described by one reviewer as "sort of a parody and sort of an homage" to ''Pokey''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Barrett|first=Sean T.|title=>SAY "PARODLY IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY"|journal=SPAG|date=December 29, 2000|volume=23|url=http://www.spagmag.org/archives/backissues/spag23.html#plotkin|access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref> It placed 35th out of 53 entries into the 2000 [[Interactive Fiction Competition]].<ref>{{cite web|title=6th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition|url=http://www.ifcomp.org/comp00/|work=[[Interactive Fiction Competition]]|access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref>

A number of Web sites feature "[[Copyright infringement|bootleg]]" artwork (fan comics) and [[fan art]] dedicated to Pokey.  See External Links below.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/ ''Pokey the Penguin'' official website]
*[http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/book.html ''Pokey the Penguin Volume 1'']
*[http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/index.rss Pokey's RSS feed]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040216101002/http://www.rit.edu/~flf1754/pokey/ Pokey the Penguin Information Site], a fan site
*[http://comixtalk.com/pursuit_pokey The Pursuit of Pokey: An Interview]
*[http://comixtalk.com/pokey_penguin_steve_havelka_reviewed_justin on comixtalk.com]
*[https://www.h2g2.com/entry/A13663325 BBC - collective - webslinky #096: pokey the penguin](archived), [[Collective (BBC)|BBC Collective]]
*[http://yellow5.com/pp/ The Pokey Principle by Cente Watkins], a tongue-in-cheek "academic" analysis of Pokey cartoons
*[http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=29834 Pokey the Penguin @ Everything2] – unfortunately all of the sources given seem to no longer exist
*[http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=641 Pokey the Penguin: A Beginners Guide] – [[Something Awful]] article on Pokey
*[https://archive.today/20130210031035/http://www.goaste.cx/goaste/pokeyinterview.html Pokey the Penguin interview from 2005]
*[http://www.tc.umn.edu/~hause011/Pokeylinks.html Pokey the Penguin Bootlegs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215160624/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~hause011/Pokeylinks.html |date=December 15, 2007 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokey The Penguin}}
[[Category:1998 webcomic debuts]]
[[Category:1990s webcomics]]
[[Category:2000s webcomics]]
[[Category:2010s webcomics]]
[[Category:American comedy webcomics]]
[[Category:Comics about anthropomorphic penguins]]
[[Category:Comics about talking animals]]
[[Category:Comics set in the Arctic]]
[[Category:Fictional penguins]]
[[Category:Parody webcomics]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1998]]