Luckily, Will Henry, the artist and writer of Wallace the Brave, seems not to have heard about any of this. He creates beautiful, off-kilter artwork for his strip, apparently in the faith that somebody somewhere will appreciate it. And while Wallace isn't as fascinating a character as young Calvin, it's really more of an ensemble piece.
Plus, the strip takes place in South County, where Henry is from, so it's another bit of Rhode Island pride.
2 comments:
I didn't realize anyone was making new comic strips for newspapers so it's pretty remarkable Will Henry managed to do so at all. Looking at some of his comics there's definitely a hint of Calvin in Wallace, but I can see the other kids move the strip away from closer comparison - besides, there's no Hobbes.
Like Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, Boondocks, Pogo, Charlie Brown and all the other best known comic strips we remember it's essential to be familiar with the general story arcs in order to understand the strips themselves. Since I haven't seen more than a smattering of Wallace the Brave all I can say is that Will Henry appears to have done well and his artwork is worthy of being better known.
It's good to know a RI cartoonist has made the big time.
With comic strips some are basically on permanent reruns. Others have new or semi-new content years after the original creator has moved on, and often after they've shuffled off this mortal coil. It's very hard to start a new strip and keep it going. One thing some do, and that this one did, is kind of audition in web-only format, then be offered to run in newspapers that might have built up an interest.
Bill Watterson decided after a relatively brief run to hang it up so that his own work wouldn't become stale and he wouldn't be handing Calvin and Hobbes off to someone just doing it for the paycheck. It was sad at the time, and maybe even now, but it was a respectable decision. You're right that there's no Hobbes equivalent in WtB, but that's a pretty tall order.
Rhode Island can use all the good news it can get, I figure.
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