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Footrot Flats
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Footrot Flats
Footrot Flats, a comic strip by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball, ran from 16 February 1976 to April 1994 in newspapers (unpublished strips continued to appear in book form until 2000). Altogether there are 27 numbered books (collecting the newspaper strips, with additional material), a further 8 books collecting the Sunday newspaper strips, and 5 smaller "pocket" books of original material, plus various related publications. The strips inspired a stage musical, an animated feature film called Footrot Flats: the Dog's Tail Tale, and the Footrot Flats Fun Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The strip reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1980s,[citation needed] with the books selling millions of copies in Australasia.
The comic's protagonist is a border-collie sheepdog known as "the Dog", owned by Wal Footrot, who runs a sheep and cattle farm called Footrot Flats near the fictional rural town of Raupo in New Zealand. The comic depicts the trials and tribulations of Wal, the Dog and other characters, human and animal, which they encounter. The Dog's thoughts are voiced in thought bubbles, though he is clearly "just a dog", unlike the heavily anthropomorphised creatures of some other comics or animation. The humour draws on the foibles of the characters, which many farmers found easy to recognise around them. There was much "humour in adversity", making fun of the daily struggle that permeates farming life. The depictions of the animals are quite realistic and detailed, with a dose of comic anthropomorphism superimposed without spoiling the farming realism.
Footrot Flats was initially rejected for syndication by both The New Zealand Herald and The Auckland Star. It was first accepted in 1976 by Mike Robson, editor of Wellington's The Evening Post. The strip appeared in hundreds of newspapers in Australasia and also gained an international following, especially in Denmark.
The strip's leading human character, Wal Footrot, is based on Murray Ball's cousin Arthur Waugh, who was a sheep shearer around the time of the strip's inception and went on to own a 2,100-hectare farm situated east of Pahiatua in the southeastern North Island of New Zealand.
Ball cited different reasons for quitting the strip, including the death of his own dog, and his displeasure with the direction of New Zealand politics.
Among the strip's fans were Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and Garfield creator Jim Davis.
The Gisborne Museum & Arts Centre created an exhibition for Footrot Flats, which was exhibited at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in September 1991.
A statue of Wal and the Dog created by Wētā Workshop was installed in Gisborne in 2016. It was initially placed in front of the Lawson Field Theatre before being installed in front of the H. B. Williams Memorial Library. The concept for the sculpture arose from discussions between Murray and Pam Ball and Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon in 2009.
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Footrot Flats
Footrot Flats, a comic strip by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball, ran from 16 February 1976 to April 1994 in newspapers (unpublished strips continued to appear in book form until 2000). Altogether there are 27 numbered books (collecting the newspaper strips, with additional material), a further 8 books collecting the Sunday newspaper strips, and 5 smaller "pocket" books of original material, plus various related publications. The strips inspired a stage musical, an animated feature film called Footrot Flats: the Dog's Tail Tale, and the Footrot Flats Fun Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The strip reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1980s,[citation needed] with the books selling millions of copies in Australasia.
The comic's protagonist is a border-collie sheepdog known as "the Dog", owned by Wal Footrot, who runs a sheep and cattle farm called Footrot Flats near the fictional rural town of Raupo in New Zealand. The comic depicts the trials and tribulations of Wal, the Dog and other characters, human and animal, which they encounter. The Dog's thoughts are voiced in thought bubbles, though he is clearly "just a dog", unlike the heavily anthropomorphised creatures of some other comics or animation. The humour draws on the foibles of the characters, which many farmers found easy to recognise around them. There was much "humour in adversity", making fun of the daily struggle that permeates farming life. The depictions of the animals are quite realistic and detailed, with a dose of comic anthropomorphism superimposed without spoiling the farming realism.
Footrot Flats was initially rejected for syndication by both The New Zealand Herald and The Auckland Star. It was first accepted in 1976 by Mike Robson, editor of Wellington's The Evening Post. The strip appeared in hundreds of newspapers in Australasia and also gained an international following, especially in Denmark.
The strip's leading human character, Wal Footrot, is based on Murray Ball's cousin Arthur Waugh, who was a sheep shearer around the time of the strip's inception and went on to own a 2,100-hectare farm situated east of Pahiatua in the southeastern North Island of New Zealand.
Ball cited different reasons for quitting the strip, including the death of his own dog, and his displeasure with the direction of New Zealand politics.
Among the strip's fans were Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and Garfield creator Jim Davis.
The Gisborne Museum & Arts Centre created an exhibition for Footrot Flats, which was exhibited at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in September 1991.
A statue of Wal and the Dog created by Wētā Workshop was installed in Gisborne in 2016. It was initially placed in front of the Lawson Field Theatre before being installed in front of the H. B. Williams Memorial Library. The concept for the sculpture arose from discussions between Murray and Pam Ball and Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon in 2009.