When, oh, when will I stop trying to manipulate your heartstrings? Would you believe next episode?
By the way, this is the first time I’ve actually drawn Kirby’s dad, even though he was mentioned in Kirby’s first co-starring role, the 24-hour comic that was published as Watusi #6, way back in 2003!
This week’s seventh anniversary episode is a real milestone for me. It’s probably no surprise by now that I appreciate a well-paced adventure comic, and the more I work on this Watusi adventure strip, the more I am awed by the greats of the early days of the genre and what they accomplished. Gottredson, Segar, Hamlin and others mixed comedy and action in a way that made readers want to read the next strip … and made it look easier than it is to do, too!
This episode is the 365th Watusi strip, which means that if had been a daily adventure strip (which is how I’ve paced it, especially early on) all of the stories to date would have taken place in its first year: the adventure in Isla Esmerelda, the time travel story with W-Tusi25, Mystery Mutt & Teebo, the recent Victorian Watusi diversion, the Motilizing Reclivator, the Ch-ch-chattering skull, Sourpuss, the Dance Party, and (whew!) the Purloined Pocketwatch!
Hope you’ll stick around for the “second” year of adventure! Up next, more reactions to Watusi’s passing …
Yikes! It looks like the Professor has gone full-on Howard Hughes! I hope good news comes his way soon…
Watusi the Talking Dog 