''Big Nate'' (stylized as ''big NATE'' in the comic collections and ''BiG NATE'' in the

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ar ...

) is an American

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

written and illustrated by

Lincoln Peirce Lincoln Peirce (born October 23, 1963) (pronounced "purse") is an American cartoonist and animator, best known as the creator of the successful ''Big Nate'' comic strip and as the author/illustrator of a series of ''Big Nate'' novels for young ...

, syndicated since January 7, 1991. The strip follows sixth-grader Nate Wright, alongside his family, friends, and foes. The strip's success led to a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

, consisting of two series of children's books by

- the eponymous novel series and the ''Little Big Nate'' board books - and an

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

, which premiered on

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

in 2022.

Synopsis

''Big Nate'' follows the adventures and misadventures of Nate Wright, an incompetent, spirited, and rebellious sixth-grader. He has three best friends, Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee who occasionally get in trouble with him. Other characters include a variety of teachers and students at Nate’s school, Public School 38. Nate hates social studies teacher Mrs. Godfrey, whom he considers his nemesis, and calls her names like “the school's

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

”. He has a love-hate relationship with Artur, a foreign exchange student who is the boyfriend of Jenny, Nate’s crush. Nate also loathes Gina, a “teacher’s pet” who gets good grades and is constantly acting like a suck-up to Mrs. Godfrey. Peirce occasionally focuses on Nate's home life with his single father, Martin, and girly sister Ellen. Answering questions from fans in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

', Peirce revealed the following about the creation of the strip:

Characters

* Nate Wright: The comic strip's main character. Nate is a C-grade student in sixth grade and 11-and-a-half years old, a talented

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player. He also believes he is a natural

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

ster, as he attempts funny and difficult pranks on the second to last day of school (known in the series as "Prank Day"). He is somewhat vain, believing himself to be irresistible to girls despite being rejected repeatedly by his crush, Jenny Jenkins. He believes he is a brilliant sports player despite his lack of athletic abilities. He also thinks of himself as a genius despite his below-average grades. Nate spends much of his time in detention, in the art room drawing comics, or playing drums for his

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

, Enslave the Mollusk, which also comprises his friends Francis, Teddy, and Artur. Nate is desperate to own a dog, in part due to his

ailurophobia Ailurophobia (''pronunciation:'' aɪˌlʊər əˈfoʊ bi ə) is the persistent and excessive fear or hatred of cats. Like other specific phobias, the exact cause of ailurophobia is unknown, and potential treatment generally involves therapy.Milos ...

, but rarely gets his wish, as his father does not want to own a dog. He also hates

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

and

egg salad Egg salad is a dish made primarily of chopped hard-boiled or scrambled eggs, mustard, and mayonnaise, often including other ingredients such as celery. It is made mixed with seasonings in the form of herbs, spices and other ingredients, bound w ...

, but loves

Cheez Doodles Cheez Doodles are a cheese puff produced by Wise Foods. Originally developed and manufactured in 1964 by King Kone Corp. of the Bronx, New York, it became the prevalent cheese puff snack on the East Coast. Description Cheez Doodles are a c ...

. Surprisingly, Nate's most well-known talent is that he is a skilled chess player, to the complete confusion of his friends and family. Nate is also known for having a very accurate sense of smell. He also happens to not have a middle name. * Martin Earl "Marty" Wright: Nate's father, a bald, overweight divorcée who lost his job in the eighth novel of the series (eventually getting another one). Like his son, he is somewhat clueless about his failings and considers himself a professional

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

despite his indescribably poor

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

voice and initially poor steel-string guitar playing, an athlete despite his inherent laziness, and an expert golfer, though he constantly cheats or loses his ball. He is a health nut and always tries to hand out healthy alternatives to candy on Halloween (raisins, prunes, trail mix, etc.), which is probably so he can increase the chance of eating the candy which is always rejected by trick-or-treaters. He also was the hero of the first Mud Bowl, according to '' Big Nate: Blasts Off''. His first name was first stated in a comic strip dating to July 28, 2005. Martin's ex-wife lives "two thousand miles away" and Nate has very little contact with her and does not remember much. * Ellen Wright: Nate's fifteen-year-old sister who is older by four years. Unlike Nate, Ellen is responsible and hardworking and loves cats and figure-skating, and egg salad. Nate is always compared to Ellen in school by teachers, especially Mrs. Godfrey. She is Nate's consistent rival, and he enjoys playing pranks on her. Ellen also dates Gordie on and off, who works at the comic book store, Klassic Komix, and has previously dated Kenny Smithson, the captain of the football team, and is considered her crush. They briefly broke up before reconciling. *Francis Butthurst Pope: Nate's #1 friend, Francis is very intelligent, and this upsets his friends from time to time. He has a gap between his teeth and lets people bully him often. Nate and Francis frequently make fun of each other, but he states that this is how they operate. He also likes to read ‘The Book of Facts’ which annoys Nate and Teddy. Nate and Francis often argue about cats vs dogs as Francis is a cat person, he also has a cat named Pickles. Contrary to Nate's feelings for them, Francis is friendly with both Mrs. Godfrey and Artur. Francis plays the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

in Enslave the Mollusk and dates Sheila Stapleton. *Teddy Ortiz: Nate's number "1A" best friend, Teddy is a comedic character who frequently cracks jokes and annoys Nate. Like Francis, Teddy is a member of Enslave the Mollusk, in which he plays the

musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, sho ...

. His middle name is the square root symbol since his parents are math teachers. In '' Big Nate: Flips Out'', it is revealed that he is fluent in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. In a comic strip published in 1994, it is revealed that Teddy is half Mexican, and half Puerto Rican. *Spitsy: Spitsy is Mr. Eustis's dog in Big Nate. Nate has always wanted a dog for Christmas but has never got one, so Spitsy is the closest thing he has to his own dog. Spitsy wears a cone and a dog sweater.

Recurring premises

Enslave the Mollusk

Enslave the Mollusk (ETM) is a

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

featured in ''Big Nate''. It features Nate as backing vocalist and

, with best friends Francis on electric

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and Teddy on

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, as well as Artur as lead vocalist. Chad is the band's roadie. Enslave the Mollusk had a big role in ''Big Nate'' the Musical. They performed 3 times: twice during the ''In The Zone'' novel when P.S 38 was starting a fitness zone but the first time Artur wasn't there because he quit the band, but eventually rejoined by their last performance, and also at one of the school dances. They tried to perform at another school dance but failed because of a power outage. Nate was originally lead singer as he formed the band but wasn't good enough, which was realized after Artur passed by the band playing one day. Artur then sang a rendition of "

I Fought The Law "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the ''Rolling Stone'' lis ...

" and was hired as the band's lead singer. He quit in the middle of Big Nate: In The Zone after he found a slip of paper with rude nicknames for him that Nate wrote, but was enticed back by the end of the book.

''Femme Fatality''

''Femme Fatality'' is Nate's favorite super-hero comic. The images are never shown, but there were a few appearances of the eponymous character, as a life-size cardboard cut-out in a 2002 comic and as a cosplay actor visiting Klassic Komix in 2004. The character is highly suggestive, judging from the reaction of Nate and most of the other male characters (including adults). One comic claimed that she was wearing a skin tight

tube top A tube top, colloquially known in the UK as a boob tube, is a shoulderless, sleeveless women's garment that wraps around the upper torso. It is generally tight over the breasts, and usually uses elastic bands at its top and bottom to prevent it fr ...

and

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

mini-shorts. Some of the girls show exasperation over Nate's obsession with the comic, but Nate insists he reads it only for the stories. One of Nate's previous comic book crushes was Red Sonja. Femme Fatality later inspired Nate to create his own super-hero comic called "Eve of Destruction", though he later changed the character to male, and called the comic "Steve of Destruction".

P.S. 38

P.S. 38 is the

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

Nate and his friends attend and is where most of the comics take place. The school is noted to be over 100 years old and is considerably run down, but was remodeled in ''Big Nate: Lives It Up'' after a painting by local folk artist Granny Peppers was found to be worth a lot of money.

Jefferson Middle School

Jefferson Middle School is a middle school near P.S. 38 and is the school's sister institution. In stark contrast to P.S. 38, Jefferson is portrayed as a large modern building with numerous 21st century features. It has been described as "more of a museum than a school." The middle school's kids are the rivals of P.S. 38's kids and beat them in almost everything. Most Jefferson kids are always obnoxious about this. P.S. 38 beat Jefferson in the 'Ultimate Snowdown', the 1st and 38th 'Mud Bowl', and their big 2008 soccer game. Jefferson lost the Snowdown, because they took an uncreative approach by packing snow around the spare knight statue.

Bibliography

44 print collections and novel books, as well as six activity books, have been published.

Collections

Book series

# '' Big Nate: In a Class by Himself''March 23, 2010 # '' Big Nate: Strikes Again''October 19, 2010 # '' Big Nate: On a Roll''August 16, 2011 # '' Big Nate: Goes for Broke''March 20, 2012 # '' Big Nate: Flips Out''February 5, 2013 # '' Big Nate: In the Zone''March 11, 2014 # '' Big Nate: Lives It Up''March 10, 2015 # '' Big Nate: Blasts Off''February 16, 2016

Activity books

# ''Big Nate Boredom Buster: Super Scribbles, Cool Comix, and Lots of Laughs'' (April 12, 2011) # ''Big Nate Fun Blaster: Cheezy Doodles, Crazy Comix and Loads of Laughs'' (July 10, 2012) # ''Big Nate Doodlepalooza: Scribble Games, Secret Codes, and Nonstop Laughs'' (July 9, 2013) # ''Big Nate Laugh-O-Rama: Daring Drawings, Maze Madness, and Tons of Fun'' (July 8, 2014) # ''Big Nate Super Scribbler: Cheezy Doodles, Crazy Comix, and Epic Laughs'' (July 7, 2015) # ''Big Nate Puzzlemania: Super Scribbles, Goofy Games, and Tons of Fun'' (May 17, 2016)

Board books

# ''Little Big Nate Draws a Blank'' - September 3, 2019 # ''Little Big Nate: No Nap!'' - September 1, 2020

Other media

Musical

In May 2013, a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

adaptation of the comic strip debuted at the Adventure Theatre MTC in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The production's story centers on Nate, who tries to enter his school's Battle of the Bands competition but must try to avoid getting anymore detentions, as too many would disqualify his band from competing. Critical reception for the musical has been positive.

Television series adaptation

On February 19, 2020, it was announced that ''Big Nate'' would receive a 26-episode animated TV adaptation, which was slated to air on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

in September 2021 but was delayed to 2022. In December 2021, the voice cast was announced, as was that the series would instead be for

. It would eventually air on Nickelodeon on September 5, 2022.

References

External links

*
The Evolution of BIG NATE From Comic strips to Novels to Musical: An interview with Lincoln Peirce
Tiziano Thomas Dossena, L'Idea Magazine, 2014 {{United Media Comics American comic strips Child characters in comics Male characters in comics 1991 comics debuts Gag-a-day comics Comics adapted into novels Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into plays Comics characters introduced in 1991 Big Nate