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Ball said he wanted his cartoons to have an impact. "The heart of a cartoon is the idea, an artist can create a painting, hang it on the wall and be satisfied with what he has achieved even if no-one else sees it. In cartooning, you must get a human reaction to the idea. The task of the cartoonist is
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features several remarkable traits: its expansive created-universe, complete with ancillary characters, things and places; the fact that the characters slowly but perceptibly age and mature throughout the twenty-year run of the comic; and the gradual encroachment of political themes over the years
378:
The strip follows the adventures of a working sheep-dog called (if anything) "Dog" or "The Dog" or "@*&#!", his owner Wal
Footrot and the other characters, human and animal, that they encounter or associate with. Ball expresses Dog's thoughts in
383:, though he clearly remains "just a dog" (rather than the heavily anthropomorphised creatures sometimes found in other comics or animation). Dog also has alter-egos including "The Grey Ghost" and "The Iron Paw".
269:, and he was avidly anti-apartheid while in South Africa. Despite this, he has also been accused of racism, and often found himself at odds with contemporary leftists, especially on issues regarding
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on 27 January 2016, Pam said that Murray's health had been poor for the last six years and that he was suffering from dementia. Longtime friend and collaborator
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characters include Wal, Dog, Cooch, Cheeky Hobson, Aunt Dolly, Horse, Pongo, Rangi, Charlie, Major, Jess and the Murphy family of Irish and Hunk and Spit.
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which pitted Bruce, a socialist warrior from
Footrot Flats, New Zealand, against the wealthy and malevolent upper classes of the ancient Roman Empire.
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and finished his education. He played for the Junior All Blacks in 1959 as a "first five-eighth" (number 10). As a young man he worked for the
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After 1975 Ball wrote several comics in New
Zealand (for instance 'Nature Calls'), but it was in 1976 that he first published the strip
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Murray was a great influence to many
Australian cartoonists and will be long remembered by his friends across the sea here in Australia.
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484:(1986), political satire revolving around a Clinton Hankey, nationalist and born antihero "crusading for a brave new world"
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said that on Sunday, 12 March 2017, he had been advised that Ball had died. He is survived by his wife and children.
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before becoming a freelance cartoonist and moving to
Scotland, where he found work with publishers DC Thomson, of
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882:, a Facebook fan-site with a huge photographic catalogue of many Footrot Flats or Murray Ball items/merchandise
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s history, and other
English and non-English speaking countries syndicated it. Ball continued to contribute to
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904:, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2022. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,
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195:. He grew up in New Zealand before spending some years in Australia and South Africa, where he attended
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has appeared in syndication in international newspapers, and in over 40 published books.
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often expresses left-wing attitudes, and he described himself in the introduction to
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Ball's early cartoons often had political overtones; his mid-70s UK strips included
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490:(1993), a controversial political work highly critical of contemporary feminism.
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In addition to his cartoon collections, Ball wrote and illustrated eight books:
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Ball was funny and goofy and generous, and incredibly serious about inequality
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material which Ball had published since 1994. It was the last of the
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669:"Political Roundup: The Anti-Establishment politics of Murray Ball"
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and had it published in the influential
English humour-magazine
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367:. It rapidly led to the demise of his other strips including
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to translate his idea into a drawing that will have impact".
648:. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002
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featured a caveman who wore glasses and struggled with the
646:"Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002"
478:(1970), a humorous account of Ball's time as a teacher.
419:(particularly environmentalism and gentle parodies of
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Ball lived with his wife Pam on a rural property in
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environment. It became the longest-running strip in
132:(26 January 1939 – 12 March 2017) was a New Zealand
619:"Murray Ball, cartoonist and shining star, dies at"
560:cartoon. Schulz wrote the introduction to the only
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785:"Report to the Mayor, 26 February 2003, page 17"
246:after returning with his family to New Zealand.
169:2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours
564:published in the United States (it appeared as
843:"Footrot Flats creator Murray Ball has died"
702:"Murray Ball | New Zealand Cartoon Archive"
948:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
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873:Murray Ball: The man behind Footrot Flats
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173:Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
728:"Footrot Flats creator Murray Ball dies"
508:a children's book about a mouse in love.
502:(2001), approximately, an autobiography.
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726:Nightingale, Melissa (13 March 2017).
361:in Wellington's afternoon newspaper,
295:Tributes paid to him included these:
958:Alumni of Parktown Boys' High School
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591:, comic strip written by Murray Ball
516:whose verse parodied the Australian
928:New Zealand comic strip cartoonists
552:each admired the other's work. One
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306:Australian Cartoonists Association
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938:People from Gisborne, New Zealand
933:New Zealand editorial cartoonists
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460:Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest
371:, which he was still writing for
667:Edwards, Bryce (14 March 2017).
470:Migod! It's Bruce the Barbarian,
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140:(the longest running cartoon in
512:Ball also wrote a large-format
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556:strip shows Dog laughing at a
496:(1998), a coming-of-age story.
1:
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596:Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale
506:Fred the (Quite) Brave Mouse,
405:Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale
288:In 2002 Ball was awarded the
232:Stanley the Palaeolithic Hero
138:Stanley the Palaeolithic Hero
943:Punch (magazine) cartoonists
880:Footrot Flats by Murray Ball
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394:inspired a stage musical, a
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530:The Ballad of Footrot Flats
220:He developed his character
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494:The Flowering of Adam Budd
441:Radio New Zealand National
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500:Tarzan, Gene Kelly And Me
136:who became known for his
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398:and New Zealand's first
187:in 1939; his father was
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252:All the King's Comrades
158:) and the long-running
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963:New Zealand socialists
792:Waitakere City Council
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673:The New Zealand Herald
582:New Zealand literature
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16:New Zealand cartoonist
599:, 1986, animated film
439:. In an interview on
437:Gisborne, New Zealand
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953:People from Feilding
755:"Buy: Footrot Flats"
902:'Ball, Murray Hone'
706:www.cartoons.org.nz
624:The Gisborne Herald
148:Bruce the Barbarian
520:as popularised by
765:on 4 October 2006
572:in Australasia.)
550:Charles M. Schulz
514:illustrated novel
476:The People Makers
464:New Zealand rugby
335:Charles M. Schulz
304:President of the
183:Ball was born in
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900:Tim Shoebridge.
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823:on 12 April 2017
819:. Archived from
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329:Sheer brilliance
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617:Peters, Mark.
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179:Life and work
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67:12 March 2017
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58:, New Zealand
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851:. Retrieved
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825:. Retrieved
821:the original
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795:. Retrieved
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767:. Retrieved
763:the original
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737:. Retrieved
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526:Henry Lawson
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265:(1993) as a
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100:Notable work
69:(2017-03-12)
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923:2017 deaths
918:1939 births
886:Murray Ball
847:Stuff.co.nz
817:Inet.net.nz
797:10 February
769:10 February
518:bush-ballad
309:Jules Faber
193:Nelson Ball
146:magazine),
117:Nelson Ball
83:Nationality
25:Murray Ball
912:Categories
711:25 January
686:25 January
604:References
396:theme-park
207:Wellington
134:cartoonist
94:Cartoonist
91:Occupation
48:1939-01-26
876:biography
681:1170-0777
544:Interests
528:. Titled
445:Tom Scott
408:(1986).
322:Tom Scott
267:socialist
236:Neolithic
189:All Black
154:(also in
853:12 March
827:14 March
739:13 March
630:14 March
576:See also
540:series.
421:feminism
332:—
319:—
302:—
283:abortion
275:feminism
209:and the
202:Dominion
185:Feilding
75:Gisborne
56:Feilding
652:25 June
538:Footrot
534:Footrot
386:Ball's
369:Stanley
257:Stanley
222:Stanley
892:
679:
558:Snoopy
281:, and
240:Punch'
215:Dundee
113:Father
788:(PDF)
431:Death
373:Punch
244:Punch
227:Punch
165:comic
156:Punch
143:Punch
890:IMDb
855:2017
829:2017
799:2007
771:2007
741:2017
713:2019
688:2019
677:ISSN
654:2020
632:2017
524:and
129:ONZM
64:Died
38:Born
30:ONZM
888:at
423:).
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