Jerry Holkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jerry Holkins
|
|
|---|---|
Holkins in 2009
|
|
| Born | February 6, 1976 Auburn, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Cartoonist |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Notable works | Penny Arcade |
Jerry Holkins (born February 6, 1976) is an American writer. He is famous for creating the webcomic Penny Arcade with his friend Mike Krahulik. Jerry writes the stories, and Mike draws the pictures. Jerry sometimes uses the nickname "Tycho Brahe". This is also the name of a character in Penny Arcade who is based on Jerry.
Jerry also helped start PAX, which stands for Penny Arcade Expo. These are big festivals for people who love games. They started in 2004 and now happen all over the world. He also co-founded Child's Play. This is a charity that gives toys and games to children's hospitals. It has raised millions of dollars.
In 2010, Time magazine included Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik in their list of the 100 most influential people.
Contents
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.
Career
Penny Arcade
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik created the webcomic Penny Arcade in 1998. Jerry writes the comic, and Mike draws it. A webcomic is a comic strip published online. They first submitted their cartoons to a magazine contest. When the magazine didn't accept them, they found another website called looneygames.com to publish their work. This was the start of Penny Arcade.
At first, the comic came out once a week. About a year later, they made their own website for the comic. Jerry also wrote blog posts that went with the comic. These posts often shared his thoughts on computer and video games. Sometimes, he also wrote about his personal life.
Penny Arcade was one of the first very successful webcomics. By 2000, it was making enough money for Jerry to quit his regular job. In 2010, the comic was published three times a week. It had about 3.5 million readers.
One of the two main characters in Penny Arcade is "Tycho Brahe". This character is based on Jerry Holkins. Jerry and Tycho share similar interests and personalities.
Child's Play Charity
In 2003, Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik, and their business manager Robert Khoo started the charity Child's Play. This charitable organization gives toys and games to children's hospitals around the world. They started the charity to show that gamers are kind and helpful, not violent. By 2017, Child's Play had received over $44 million in donations.
PAX Gaming Conventions
PAX is a series of big festivals for people who love games. It includes board games, arcade games, and video games. PAX events happen every year in cities 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 many fun things to do. These include speeches from game experts, concerts with game music, and talks about game topics. There are also booths where game developers show new games. People can play games together in a LAN party area. There are also tournaments for board games and video game freeplay areas.
Other Work
Jerry Holkins has worked on other projects too. He played Dungeons & Dragons with other famous people. He plays a character named Omin Dran in a Dungeons & Dragons podcast called Acquisitions Incorporated. This has led to official D&D products featuring these characters.
Jerry also wrote a comic called The Lookouts. It's about a group like the Boy Scouts in a fantasy world. He also wrote a poetry book called Lexcalibur. It has poems about D&D adventures.
He also created a fake fantasy series called "Epic Legends of the Hierarchs: The Elemenstor Saga". This was a funny way to make fun of common fantasy stories. He made a wiki where fans could add their own made-up stories and details for the series.
Writing style
Jerry Holkins is known for his unique writing style in Penny Arcade. He often uses interesting and sometimes unusual words. He likes to create detailed and descriptive dialogue for the characters.
Personal life
.jpg)
Jerry Holkins is married to Brenna Holkins. They have two daughters named Samantha and Ronia. Jerry has shared that his last name, Holkins, is a mix of his wife's old last name (Holcomb) and his own old last name (Parkinson). Older versions of the Penny Arcade website used to credit the work to "Mike Krahulik and Jerry Parkinson."
