Arnold

Arnold was a newspaper comic strip created by Kevin McCormick and published from 1982 to 1988. The titular character was a little boy who often says deranged things, much to the annoyance of his only friend Tommy. Rounding up the cast was Mr. Lester, Arnold and Tommy's teacher.

You can read the strip here, here, here, and here.

Arnold provides examples of:

 * Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Among the things Arnold did when became captain of the safety patrol was installing faculty surveillance and wire taps. He was later forced to resign.
 * Butt Monkey: Tommy.
 * The Ditz: The title character.
 * Killed Off for Real: In the final strip a giant bird grabbed Arnold and took off, implying that he got eaten. Goodbye, Tommy.
 * Minimalist Cast: For years the only characters to appear on-panel is Arnold, Tommy, and Mr. Lester. Near the end Arnold gained a baby brother and he made appearances. Otherwise everyone else shouts off-panel.
 * No Name Given: Arnold and Tommy's last names were never revealed until 1986, when the creator decided to do a contest asking fans to think them up. The winners were Arnold Melville and Tommy Jordan.
 * Stock Scream: Everytime Arnold screams (and he did this ALOT, often times for no reason) it's "AIEEE!".
 * The Voice: Everyone outside of the three (later four) main characters.
 * Widget Series: A rare newspaper comics example. Probably the reason why not many newspapers ran it.