Jerry Holkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jerry Holkins
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Holkins in 2009
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| Born | Jerry Parkinson February 6, 1976 Auburn, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Cartoonist |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Notable works | Penny Arcade |
Jerry Holkins was born on February 6, 1976. He is an American writer. Jerry is famous for co-creating and writing the webcomic Penny Arcade. He works on this comic with artist Mike Krahulik.
Jerry Holkins sometimes uses the nickname "Tycho Brahe". This is also the name of a character in Penny Arcade who is based on Jerry.
He also helped start PAX. PAX is a series of big gaming events that began in 2004. These events are held all over the world. Jerry also co-founded Child's Play. This is a large charity that collects toys and games for children's hospitals. In 2010, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik were named among the Time 100 most influential people.
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Jerry's Early Life
Jerry Holkins was born in Auburn, Washington. He grew up partly in Spokane, Washington. He met Mike Krahulik at Mead High School in Spokane around 1993 or 1994. They became friends while working on the school newspaper.
After high school, Jerry and Mike shared an apartment. Jerry later moved to Seattle around the year 2000. His online name "Tycho Brahe" comes from a famous Danish astronomer named Tycho Brahe.
Jerry's Creative Work
Creating Penny Arcade
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik started the webcomic Penny Arcade in 1998. Jerry writes the stories, and Mike draws the pictures. Jerry himself suggested the name for the comic.
They first submitted their cartoons to a magazine contest in 1998. The magazine did not accept them. So, they found another place to publish their work. They worked with a website called looneygames.com. This is where Penny Arcade began.
The comic first came out once a week. About a year later, they made their own website for the comic. Besides the comic, Jerry also wrote blog posts. These posts often talked about computer and video games. They also included his personal thoughts.
Penny Arcade was one of the first very successful webcomics. By 2000, it was making enough money for Jerry to quit his other job. By 2010, the comic was published three times a week. It had about 3.5 million readers.
Jerry Holkins is also the inspiration for one of the main characters in Penny Arcade. This character is named "Tycho Brahe". Jerry and Tycho share similar interests and personalities.
Starting Child's Play Charity
Jerry Holkins, along with Mike Krahulik and their business manager Robert Khoo, started the charity Child's Play in 2003. Child's Play is a group that gives toys and games to children's hospitals around the world.
They started this charity to show that gamers are not violent or antisocial. They wanted to change how the media saw gamers.
The PAX Gaming Events
PAX stands for Penny Arcade Expo. It is a series of big events for people who love gaming. These events include board games, arcade games, and video games. PAX events happen every year in places like Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Antonio in the United States. They also happen in Melbourne, Australia.
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik created PAX in 2004. They wanted to go to a show that was only about gaming. PAX events have a special opening speech from someone important in the gaming world. They also have concerts inspired by games, talks about game topics, and booths from game makers. There are also areas for multiplayer games and tabletop gaming tournaments.
Other Creative Projects
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik have played Dungeons & Dragons together. Jerry plays a character named Omin Dran. Omin is a Cleric and the CEO of an adventuring group called Acquisitions Incorporated. This has led to official D&D products featuring these characters.
Jerry also wrote a comic called The Lookouts. This comic is about a group like the Boy Scouts in a fantasy world. He also wrote a book of poems called Lexcalibur. It has poems about D&D-style adventures. Mike Krahulik drew the pictures for this book.
Jerry created a pretend fantasy series called "Epic Legends of the Hierarchs: The Elemenstor Saga". This was a funny way to make fun of common fantasy stories. He even made a wiki for it. Fans joined in to create made-up stories and details for the non-existent books.
Jerry's Writing Style
A review of Penny Arcade once said that Jerry Holkins uses interesting and sometimes unusual words in his writing. He likes to use fancy language in the comic's dialogue.
Jerry's Family Life
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Jerry Holkins is married to his wife, Brenna. They have two daughters named Samantha and Ronia. Jerry once shared on Twitter that his last name is a mix of his wife's old last name (Holcomb) and his own (Parkinson). Older versions of the Penny Arcade website used to credit the work to "Mike Krahulik and Jerry Parkinson."
Jerry also mentioned on his Penny Arcade Podcast that he sings and plays guitar in a band called The Fine Print.
