I have only just managed to get my hands on a copy of Murray Ball, A Cartoonist’s Life, but I already feel qualified to tell you that it is a beautiful book. The front cover of this hardback features a glorious photo of Murray Ball and his dog Finn, the inspiration for Dog. And while flicking through the pages I have to stop often to look at the photos, cartoon drawings and letters that the author has included to illustrate the story of the man behind one of New Zealand’s most popular cartoons, Footrot Flats.
Mason Ball, Murray’s son, decided to write this book after his father’s death in 2017. He wanted the book to represent Murray Ball as more than just the creator of Footrot Flats. In this book he shares the real-life backstory to Murray Ball’s most iconic characters and themes, and the story of the man and father who could see the quirks of human nature and capture them with the stroke of a pen.
While waiting for copies of the biography, I did some research by re-reading some of the Footrot Flats books (yes, it’s hard work being a bookseller) in our private library (you can only find them second hand now). On the first page of Footrot Flats 5 Mason Ball, aged 14, has written a short ‘biography’ of Murray Ball. It seems that Mason’s opinion of his father has not shifted much in over forty years. He saw him then as a hardworking, dedicated family man, who could be very opiniated but fair. The young Mason writes: ‘He is far from a Saint but if I grew up to be like him, I wouldn’t be doing too badly’.
I am curious to see if Mason, now aged 57, feels that he has done his father proud. On Thursday 23rd November, Mason is coming to Lake Tekapo, and he will talk to us in the Community Hall. It’s a free event, so grab a few friends and BYO drink, and let’s honour Murray Ball, the man who brought us these unforgettable characters through his cartoons.
Wilma
