Curtis

A long-running comic strip that began in 1988, Curtis centers on an urban black family, most notably the title character, 11-year-old Curtis Wilkins. Also included are his brother, Barry; their parents, and a small number of secondary characters.

The strip is noted for being one of the first major comic strips to feature a largely black cast, starting a wake of other such strips including Jump Start, Herb and Jamaal... and, of course, The Boondocks.

Tropes used in Curtis include:

Abhorrent Admirer: Michelle considers Curtis this. Curtis often felt the same way about Chutney.
Adult Fear:
- The arc with Missy, the crack baby. Curtis and the family suspect that Barry found a cat, given he's been sneaking milk to the basement. When Curtis investigates, he finds Barry with a baby in his arms! Barry explains that he found Missy as he named her in a dumpster, and has been trying to take care of her. He starts freaking out when Missy starts crying and won't stop; Curtis realizes they need their parents, calling Greg and Diane for help. At the hospital, the doctors reveal that Missy is a crack baby, meaning she likely has developmental disabilities, and her mother abandoned her. They have to take her in for foster care, as Barry asks worriedly if Missy is going to be okay. The doctors reassure him that she will be, since Barry got her out of the cold, but say that it would have been smarter to come to an adult as soon as he found her, rather than try to be a parent.
- A one-shot Sunday arc had Curtis discuss this. His mother is concerned that he's up late doing extra-credit, since Curtis is normally lazy about schoolwork. Curtis says that his friends plan to make it big in basketball or rap, but unless you put in the work, you won't leave the hood, especially with the stigmas of being a black teen. Being a sports or music star is a pipe dream, and he doesn't want to be trapped in circumstances beyond his control. Diane is so concerned that she boots Curtis to bed.
Alpha Bitch: Michelle.
- She crosses over with Rich Bitch, given how obscenely wealthy her parents are. She recently sunk one grand on a foot cleaning treatment involving koi fish. Which backfired when her feet ender up killing half the fish and traumatized the rest.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Subverted on both counts in a series of strips where Curtis and Barry find an unmarked videotape belonging to their parents. It is implied in one panel that it's a sex tape. However, it turns out that it's an old episode of Soul Train that their parents appeared on, which also serves as the "how they met" story for Diane and Greg. After watching the tape, Curtis and Barry have a newfound respect for their parents, i.e. that their parents actually did something "cool" in their eyes.
Annoying Younger Sibling: Curtis' brother, Barry.
- At the same time, Barry is still nice to him...sometimes.
The Barber: Curtis gets advice from one. The barber never seems to be able to remember his name, however.
- Curtis' mother often complains that she doesn't like Curtis hanging around those barbers, picking up weird ideas. Greg invariably laughs her off, saying the weird ideas are how you know you've found a trustworthy barber. No, the ones you've got to watch out for are the ones that do the job without a word...
Betty and Veronica: Chutney (Betty) and Michelle (Veronica).
Big Eater: Curtis. Some examples include him saying, "Can we stop for pizza before going home to dinner?" after chomping down a bunch of hamburgers, sneaking an entire Dagwood Sandwich into the movie theatre and eating it, before then popping out some fried chicken....
Bratty Half-Pint: Barry likes to provoke Curtis, then appeal to the fact that his mother is a dupe to get Curtis in trouble for wanting to hurt his poor, sweet, angelic brother. Then, for being a manipulative little sack of shit, Barry gets rewarded with ice cream. Millions of older brothers of all races across the nation declare Dude, Not Funny.
Book and Switch: Curtis often tries to hide his Supercaptaincoolman comics this way while in class. His teacher is never fooled.
Cassandra Truth: Yes, there really is a "Flyspeck Island Chameleon" who turns invisible and performs comic mischief. Yes, the adults are going to keep pinning the blame on Curtis.
Cloudcuckoolander: Gunk exhibits various odd behaviors and abilities as required by the plot.
Crazy Cultural Comparison: Every time Gunk discusses Flyspeck Island's customs.
Devil in Plain Sight: While the creator clearly intends for Barry to be a stereotypically bratty little brother to Curtis, his actions are so frequently mean-spirited (and of a "because I can get away with it" bent) that Barry ends up as this.
Diabolus Ex Machina: Resident school bullies Derrick and "Onion", who seemingly wait to ambush Curtis when he needs some conflict in his life.
- Until Curtis got them expelled.
Dumbass Has a Point: When the COVID-19 pandemic hits, Curtis says the DMV should let Greg work from home. Greg snorts at the idea; he asks how he's supposed to test new drivers on Zoom. Curtis points out that if a driver had an accident, Greg wouldn't be in danger of getting injured and could rate them from the safety of his home. When Greg thinks about it, and silently admits his son has a point.
Mad Love: Curtis is crazy about his "girl" Michelle, even though she doesn't feel the same about him, even hiring an airplane to write that out in the air for him to see. His crush on Michelle also sometimes enters Stalker with a Crush territory with at least one comic strip having Michelle tell Barry that she keeps on seeing Curtis everywhere she goes and that she's scared to even go to the bathroom because of this.
- Not to mention the fact that he is apparently able to break into the apartment building she lives in for visits, even though there seems to be plenty of security.
Magical Negro: Inverted with Gunk, the Magical Token White.
My Name Is Not Durwood: "Don't call me 'Shelley'!"
- Gunther the barber can never seem to get Curtis' name right.
Mama Bear: Diane is fiercely protective of Curtis and Barry. This was exemplified when a car skidded out of control and pinned Barry beneath it; Diane LIFTED the car WITH HER BARE HANDS and pulled him out.
Never Trust a Hair Tonic: A few examples, often thanks to Curtis's misuse of a Flyspeck Island substance.
Nice Hat: The title character often gives commentary on the church ladies' more and more extravagant (and silly) hats. Curtis himself is always seen with an oversized green cap; he even sleeps with it on.
Non Sequitur Episode: Every year for Kwanzaa, the strip runs a two-week-long Story Arc that involves new, made-up characters doing absolutely ridiculous things that resemble African folktales, with little concern for anything other than being awesomely over-the-top, often toeing the line between Rule of Cool and an outright Mind Screw. Past arcs have included a golden, telepathic otter and a magic sandal and bat-winged bears, among others. Consensus among fans (or at least among The Comics Curmudgeon and his followers) is that these are among his best works; he even considers the otter "still the gold standard."
- They actully do tie it into the strip, but always in the same way: It always turns out to be a book Curtis was reading.
Oblivious to Love: Curtis never seems to notice that his good friend Chutney is madly in love with him. Or that Michelle isn't romantically interested in him, for that matter, and only even thinks of him as a friend occasionally.
Once a Season: The Kwanzaa arcs.
Only Known by Their Nickname: "Onion". Always used complete with quotes.
OOC Is Serious Business:
- When bratty Barry ends up being responsible and calm, that's when Curtis gets worried. This happens during the Missy arc, when Curtis learns that Barry found a baby in a dumpster and has been trying to take care of her. Curtis immediately calls their parents for help, especially since Missy as Barry calls her won't stop crying.
- Normally, Curtis and his teacher butt heads because he'd rather read comics in class than pay attention to her. Then she ends up in the hospital with COVID. Curtis becomes so worried that he insists on checking on her, despite the fact that he's not family and thus can't visit her.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Inverted: the disguises Michelle sometimes don to avoid Curtis are ridiculously good (one of them is a full-body "fat woman" disguise), yet Curtis can always tell that it's her.
Parental Favoritism: Barry by far. He not only frequently torments Curtis, but is able to avoid punishment (and pass the blame on to Curtis) because he can taunt Curtis into trying to smack him, then cry to mom, who frequently says "Since you have nothing better to do, Curtis, do chores". Barry is often shown taunting him after this.
Rebellious Princess: Or in Gunk's case, "Prince."
Reset Button: No matter how long-lasting or major the repercussions of a storyline should be, things are firmly back to normal come the next storyline.
Running Gag: The strip cycles through them like clockwork. A few examples include Curtis screwing up, Gunk doing crazy things, Barry being an obnoxious bratty little kid getting Curtis into trouble, Curtis sneaking food into the movie theater....
- Gunther the barber constantly claims to have met famous people, and whenever he produces a picture, there is always, ALWAYS a thumb covering the lens over said famous person.
- Curtis leads Barry to a seemingly prim-and-proper organization that turns out to be a record store selling rap albums. Curtis explains that every time parents find the store, "they rally together and torch it!"
- Curtis playing rap at full blast with his dad, Greg, screaming, "Curtis, turn that rap junk down!" Inverted in one strip where Greg and Diane play 1970's songs from when they were younger.
Status Quo Is God: See Reset Button.
Those Two Bad Guys: Derrick and "Onion".
Token White: Gunk.
Very Special Episode: Early strips focused on Curtis trying to get his dad to quit smoking, Curtis finding a crack baby in a trash bin, etc.
- Periodically there'll be another strip or two where Curtis makes off with his dad's cigarettes and flushes them down the toilet. It's entirely possible the artist is actually rerunning the same strip, for all that anything new happens; Greg rages, then impotently acknowledges his wife's point when she tells him his son means well and is just looking out for his health.
- During the 90s, there was an extended story where Curtis' mother became pregnant, with most of the focus being on Barry's jealousy and apprehension over no longer being the cute, coddled one. When the baby was about due, though, Barry and Mom inexplicably decided they needed to go out at night alone for some eclairs. Some thugs came up and mugged them, punching Mom in the stomach hard. The baby ended up a miscarriage. The entire neighborhood banded together, agreeing to never forget this terrible tragedy and watch out for each other. Of course, the unborn sibling has -never- been even vaguely alluded to since, Aesop Amnesia being in full force for everyone and everything.
Wham! Shot: There was an arc where Curtis's brother starts sneaking extra milk and is hiding in the basement. To Curtis's shock, he finds Barry with a baby in his arms, that he's named Missy. As Curtis put it, he thought Barry had adopted a cat! Barry explains that he found the baby in the trash, and someone needed to look after her.
Where the Hell Is Springfield?: The city in which Curtis was set went unnamed for years, until a story arc involving Curtis and Barry sneaking off to see the Obama Inauguration IDed their hometown as Baltimore.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: See Bratty Half-Pint.
Your Mom: All the time, from Derek and "Onion".