Dave Kelly (artist)

Dave Kelly (born September 5, 1980), sometimes known under the pseudonyms Shmorky and Cave Deli, is a cartoonist and animator, known as the creator of several webcomics and Flash animations. He first gained attention as the creator of Living in Greytown, a constantly-evolving webcomic under the Keenspot banner which ran from 2000 to 2002.

Throughout his various projects, Kelly is known for his eclecticism; individual works diverge wildly in media and style, depending on the tone and subject at hand. The themes of his artwork have ranged from comic and tragic fiction (Living in Greytown and its spin-off Lizard!) to absurdism ("comic for girls" Purple [...], or the now mostly lost Big Ones), to satire (Penny Arcade parody Awesome Gamerz), to overt [...] (Cave Deli's Smut) and even autobiography (the journal/News Source/sketchpad Dave Kelly Central). In keeping with this broad range of material, Kelly's art has dabbled in parody, manga, minimalism, surrealism, and realism, created with such media as inks and paints, colored pencils, Macromedia Flash, and MSPaint. It has been compared to, and certainly influenced by, that of Basil Wolverton (see fifth panel), John Kricfalusi and Robert Crumb.

Kelly has been known to work for commission and as such has produced artistic work for a variety of sources, both private and public. Most prominently, his work has been featured on websites such as Something Awful and Albino Blacksheep.

After the creation of his website Shmorky.com, Kelly claimed that his pseudonym "Shmorky" came from a man named Shmorrison Kay, "a real-life animator from the '50s" and his primary inspiration. Purportedly, one of Kay's few surviving works was a 1950s-era commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes, which Kelly provides on his website. Although the story contained logical gaps and humorous references (such as claims that he was stalked by Kay), several viewers believed it; Kelly later admitted on Something Awful's forums that the story was false, "Shmorky" was a fabrication, and that he himself had created the commercial, a collaboration with Something Awful employee Josh Jones ("Colorfinger"). Currently, the Shmorky website is home to Webcomic Stew, a series of short comics which parody and criticize popular webcomics such as PvP, Megatokyo, Ctrl+Alt+Del, and Wapsi Square.

The Flash Tub

Kelly currently maintains the Flash Tub feature on the website Something Awful, which contains his short flash movies. Other contributors include SA personalities Lowtax, Fragmaster, and Josh Jones (Colorfinger). The feature is usually updated every one or two weeks. Popular series/themes include:

  • The Jefferson Brothers - The (mis)adventures of Jeff and Ralph Jefferson (according to the cartoon, they are two of Thomas Jefferson's many illegitimate children) who travel through time. Jeff is GeneRally shown as rude, selfish, and rather dim-witted, while Ralph, who often plays the role of the straight man, is more cautious, happy-go-lucky, and intelligent. Like many of Kelly's other cartoons, the series is highly violent and most episodes end with either Jeff or Ralph (or sometimes, both of them) dying. This series has also featured a number of cameos, including internet personality Steve Sutton.
  • Platform Hero - The story of a short-tempered video game character named Platform Hero. This cartoon is a parody of the Super Mario series.
  • Letter From The Internet - As its name implies, letters and essays found on the internet, often poorly written and dealing with various conspiracy theories, which are read aloud and set to an animation.
  • The Best Of Weekend Web - Similar to Letter From The Internet, where SA goons read their favorite excerpts and posts from past featured Weekend Web forums.
  • Tub Bites! - A newer variety show series that consists of several short flash pieces combined together much like the Robot Chicken television program. This usually includes parodies of various aspects of internet and pop culture, such as Scientology, Family Guy, John Kricfalusi, Homestar Runner, Penny Arcade, the Legend of Zelda cartoon, and even Wikipedia.
  • Kansas City Worldskippers - A parody of the Harlem Globetrotters cartoons.
  • That Apple - A popular recurring character who is an apple with a face. His catchphrase is "Happy Apple Day!" (which references an in-joke from the FYAD forum). Although That Apple has made cameo appearances in many Flash Tub episodes, he has yet to star in a cartoon of his own. In one Tub Bites short, it is revealed that his arch rival is a talking banana who claims that bananas are healthier and more nutritious than apples.

Other common themes of the Flash Tub include fake product advertisements, holiday shorts (such as for Halloween and Christmas), and music videos (often using samples from video game sound effects).