Tom Batiuk's popular "Funky Winkerbean" made its debut on the comics pages in 1972, and today appears in more than 400 newspapers worldwide. The car- toonist not only entertains teen- agers and adults alike with his portrayal of the students and faculty at Westview High, but has earned high marks for his sensitive treatment of important social and educational issues. His groundbreaking series on teen pregnancy and reading impair- ment dyslexia earned Batiuk high marks from fans, educators and community leaders. And because of the popularity of the Harry L. Dinkle character, "The World's Greatest Band Leader," the Funky characters became the first comic strip stars to march in the Rose Bowl Parade.  Initially, "Funky" dealt with the life of an ordinary teen-ager, but Batiuk recently has moved the action forward four years, giving his characters a new set of challenges to face. Batiuk was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1947, and his first cartoons were published in his elementary-school newspaper in Elyria. He won a national scholastic art award in high school, and credits his art teacher with influencing his decision to pursue art as a career. After graduating from Kent State University with a bachelor of fine arts degree and a certificate in education, Batiuk taught arts and crafts in Elyria at Eastern Heights Junior High. While he was teaching, he began drawing a panel for the teen page of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram in 1970. His years of teaching crystallized his interest in drawing a comic strip about teen-age students. That led to the creation of "Funky Winkerbean" in 1972. Students in his art class helped him come up with the name. Since Batiuk was 25 years old at the inception of the strip, he held a vantage point close to his subjects. The strip's popularity has steadily increased among all age groups. Today "Funky Winkerbean" appears in 400 newspapers in the United States and abroad. The main character, Funky, is representative of the strip's younger readers. He is, Batiuk says, someone whom everybody identifies with. |
Batiuk has not only entertained teens and adults alike with
Funky's adventures, but he has broken ground on the comics pages with his
sensitive treatment of important social and educational issues. The strip
has addressed such subjects as guns in the classroom, drugs and teen pregnancy.
Indeed, it was with more than a little trepidation that Batiuk set out to explore the issue of teen pregnancy, a subject never before tackled in comic strips. I was concerned that perhaps a comic strip wouldn't be considered the proper place for such a topic," he said. Only after he explored his true feelings did he realize that he was allowing himself to be paralyzed by the fear of dealing with a sensitive topic. "I decided that I shouldn't let fear of controversy keep me from discussing a topic that deserved continued attention," he later said. His courage paid off, as the story line received widespread public support, generating more than 60,000 requests for reprints from teens, parents, teachers and community groups all across the country. In 1987, Batiuk did a story on two students with dyslexia. Batiuk relied on the assistance of the prestigious Gow School for Dyslexia, and managed to bring national attention to the often-misdiagnosed reading impairment. Batiuk continued to stretch the boundaries of comic strips in 1995, when he created a special series in which Susan Smith, an A-plus student at Westview High, discovers that her love for teacher Les Moore is unrequited. Despondent, Susan attempts suicide. The series generated tons of mail, including this comment from a New Jersey reader: "You did an extraordinary job of leveragingcharacters and creating a story line so compelling that (while traveling) I'd call ahead to ensure the availability of a newspaper that featured 'Funky Winkerbean.'" The suicide story inspired other news media across the country to address the sensitive subject, offering advice and local resources to help troubled teens and their families. In 1996, Batiuk created a special reality-based series in which one of the strip's characters is critically injured when a bomb explodes at a post office. The timing of the series was particularly poignant, as the nation expressed its collective grief in July over the tragic crash of TWA Flight 800 and the bombing that marred the Olympics in Atlanta. In 1997, Batiuk read a local newspaper article about the struggle the owners of his favorite Chinese restaurant faced in starting a new life in America, and created a series about racial discrimination. In 1998, Batiuk confronted the issue of teen-dating abuse in another
"Funky" storyline featuring Susan Smith. When she begins dating Matt Miller,
"a big man on the high school campus," she is abused physically by him,
and she is caught in a cycle of violence and then lying to cover up the
violence.
|
Realizing that there are many strips on the comics page
for readers interested in a fantasy world, Batiuk strives to provide an
alternative by creating more powerful and real stories.
"My job is to present stories that will interest and engage newspaper readers," he says. "In doing so, I try to make the humor authentic and natural so that my characters are reacting just as the reader might. I think that mixing humor with serious and real themes heightens the readers' interest." Batiuk has won accolades and awards from his peers as well as from educators and professional and civic organizations across the country for his outstanding treatment of serious social issues. In 1996 he received the Ohio Governor's Award and, for the body of his work in 1995, the coveted Media Citation Award from the Journalism in Education Association. Because of the popularity of his "Funky Winkerbean" character Harry L. Dinkle, "The World's Greatest Band Director," and because of his own contributions to education, Batiuk has been named an honorary member of several state music educators associations. In 1986 he received the distinguished service award from the Music Educators National Council. Harry L. Dinkle also was honored as spokescharacter for MENC's public awareness campaign, as well as for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation's WalkAmerica event and the Child Welfare League of America's "Showing You Care" two-year awareness campaign. In addition, in 1988, Batiuk received the Band Directors of America Medal of Honor. In 1989, the "Funky" characters became the first comic-strip stars to march in the most spectacular parade of them all: the 100th Rose Bowl Parade. Comic art imitated real life in a special series as readers of the strip followed the Scapegoats on the road to the Rose Bowl. Naturally, Westview's very own marching band topped the best bands in the country, and its Pasadena appearance was a triumph. In 1991 the California Teachers Association gave Batiuk its highest media honor for his contribution to the public's understanding of education issues. And Batiuk's "Funky Winkerbean Wild ... About Reading" campaign won first place in the American Library Association's 1991 Best of Show contest. Batiuk has created other strips as well. In 1979, he launched into syndication "John Darling," the adventures of a fictional talk-show host featuring celebrity caricatures. Batiuk co-created the strip with Tom Armstrong, who continued to draw the comic until 1985, when artist Gerry Shamray took over. Batiuk literally killed off "John Darling" in 1991, when the talk-show host was shot in the final strip! Batiuk created his third comic strip, "Crankshaft," in 1987. Based on the irascible school-bus driver in "Funky Winkerbean," it appears in nearly 300 newspapers.* |
