Igdoof (found comics by Jeff Kinney; 1989-1993)

The titular character.

Status: Found

Date found: Various dates

Found by: Villanova University, and various users

Igdoof was a comic strip that ran from 1989 to 1993, written by Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It ran in the campus newspaper of Villanova University for approximately one year before he switched to the University of Maryland, where Igdoof spent the rest of its remaining run.^[1] When Jeff Kinney ended the strip, he attempted to get it into newspapers but got rejected. In response, he decided to make a book, which would eventually become Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Synopsis

Igdoof was a comic featuring the titular character being a student in college. While there, he would have to deal with getting to class on time, having a roommate, and studying for tests.

Similarities between Igdoof and Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Igdoof draws himself identically to how Greg draws himself, the main character of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Igdoof’s younger brother’s design was recycled into Greg’s younger brother, Manny.
Igdoof writes a comic featuring “Ugly Eugene”. Ugly Eugene would eventually appear in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book.
Igdoof has a comic featuring "Pooshfa the Green Bean". Pooshfa would reappear in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book too, but with the name of Gareth.
One comic featured the "Fart Police", who would later appear in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book.
Igdoof's science experiment in one strip is "Do Plants Sneeze?", which would be used by Rodrick in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.
Igdoof pitches "Jerome, the Guy with Incredibly Red Lips" in one strip. This character would go on to appear in the original online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid on Funbrain, and then later in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book along with Eugene and Pooshfa/Gareth.
One strip features "L'il Eugene", a precursor to "L'il Cutie" in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Even the same line, "Mommy, is rain just God sweating?", is used.

Availability

For a long time, very little was known about Igdoof, and most that was known about it came from a biography on Jeff Kinney. Only about a handful of Igdoof comics surfaced.

On June 10th, 2021, all Igdoof strips that ran between 1992 and 1993 were uploaded to the Internet Archive.^[2]

Finally, on June 30th, 2021, all remaining Igdoof comics from Villanova University were found to be archived and preserved within Villanova University's own archival of The Villanovan newspaper.