Sheldon (webcomic) - Characters

Characters

The strip centres on the unconventional family unit of Sheldon, Gramp and Arthur. Much humour is character-based, often joking at traits such as Sheldon's geekiness, Gramp's old age or Arthur's over inflated ego.

Sheldon: is a ten-year-old kid who earned billions with his own software company: Sheldonsoft. Though his huge riches occasionally tempt him into buying something frivolous like, say, Panama, Sheldon remains pretty much a normal kid. A running joke in the strip is the boy genius often forgets about his company, preferring to concern himself with more everyday affairs. Despite his wealth and intelligence, Sheldon is generally depicted as an ordinary (if extremely nerdy) ten-year old boy.

Gramp: Sheldon is raised by his grandfather, Gramp, a warm-hearted guy who's not quite sure what to make of his grandson's billions. Now retired, Gramp tries to keep up with the modern world, only to find that the main challenge of his golden years is fitting into his slacks. Gramp also struggles with a coffee addiction. His real first name (revealed in the October 30th, 2012 strip) is Seamus.

Arthur: the Duck learned to talk when Sheldon downloaded an encyclopedia and some speech-recognition software into his head and has been part of the family unit ever since. Sarcastic and cocky, Arthur is constantly getting into trouble at home and at the Sheldonsoft offices. Unlike Sheldon, he's captivated with the Sheldonsoft billions, and constantly has visions of shopping sprees at The Sharper Image. Some of Arthur's alter-egos include "The Duck", a superhero, and "Rex Chestington", a pug-riding cowboy. In daily life, Arthur is often found sitting on lampshades for no other reason than to keep his ducky behind warm. It is known throughout the strip that Arthur, for some reason, has a deep hatred for chickens, and a strong desire for pancakes, Shakira, Jessica Simpson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The strip also features a small collection of supporting characters, the principal four which are:

Flaco: Thinking he was hatching an abandoned duck egg, Arthur became father to Flaco, a common North American lizard. Most storylines have him playing second-fiddle to his duck "father", but in one extended plotline, he became a Hollywood producer for CSI. He has also won the Pentathlon in the Olympics, earned a Mexican pilot's license, gone to space as a cosmonaut from Baikonur, and dated Betty White in São Paulo. Flaco speaks in a characteristic "squee" sound, which only Arthur can understand (other characters have described Flaco's voice as "...a series of high-pitched helium balloons").

Oso: is Sheldon's pet pug, a whirlwind of energy. Oso was given to Sheldon as a Christmas present in 2005. Oso is mostly shown running around in circles, constantly barking (or, as it is termed in the strip, "hyping"), and acting as "Rex Chestington's" horse.

Dante: is one of Sheldon's human friends, an aspiring artist. Seen extensively in the earlier days of the strip, Dante now only makes occasional appearances. Enjoys hanging out with Sheldon and doing regular-10 year-old-kid stuff. (as much as that's possible when your best friend is one of the biggest, most successful nerds on the planet) The two have done everything from making sandcastles to playing superheroes and villains to re-enacting the British battle with the Spanish Armada. In one comic, it is shown that he is lactose intolerant.

Emily: is Sheldon's newest friend, moving into their neighborhood during 2011. She is obsessed with theater and often quotes the works of Shakespeare throughout several appearances. Though she enjoys stage acting Emily relucatantly admits that stage work is "the worst kind of job to endure." Her pet cat, Li'l Butter, appears in several other comics- frequently in danger due to his sheer stupidity.

Characters and persons from popular culture and real life also feature. Strips will occasionally feature Kellett himself and his real-world exploits as opposed to the fictional Sheldon universe.