< comics/x >
WATUSI THE TALKING DOG #9-13
by Dale Martin and pals
($1.00 + a stamp each from Dale Martin / PO Box 442612 / Lawrence, KS / 66044 USA. Web:
home.swbell.net/grizmart/watusi.html)
Reviewed by Rick BradfordWith the bulk of this latest batch of
Watusis Dale Martin takes on the admirable task of combining jam comics and comics education. The
Watusi concept is this: Each four-panel, one-page strip is begun by Dale, who sets the premise with the first panel, then it's passed on to two other artists who each do a panel and continue the narrative. After that it goes back to Dale, who then wraps it up with the final panel. It's a fun project and one I'd like to see others try. In fact, each issue features a couple of unfinished strips to encourage readers to join in.
Now, the jamming interactivity is enough for me to be interested but Dale has really doubled the value of this project by making a point of getting kids involved (in addition to younger cartoonists already a part of the small press scene). Issue 10 contains jams with students from some of Steve Peters' (
Awakening Comics) cartooning classes and issues 11 and 12 feature students from Dale's own cartooning classes at the local library. Getting kids interested in comics and drawing is pretty exciting itself but it's even better seeing kids take a stab at advancing a story. How many comics have you read lately with work by 7- to 11-year-olds?
I commend Dale for his
Watusi project and I hope he keeps it going a long while.
[ Link to this review ]
