Footrot Flats Weekender 8

Footrot Flats is a comic strip written by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball. The cartoon is based around the life of Wal Footrot's sheepdog, called "Dog", on their farm Footrot Flats, and the other characters, human and animal, that come into their lives. The Dog's thoughts are voiced in thought bubbles, though he is clearly "just a dog" rather than the heavily anthropomorphised creatures sometimes found in other comics or animation. The humour was based around the foibles of the characters, which many, particularly farmers themselves, found easy to recognise around them. There was much "humour in adversity", making fun of the daily struggle that permeates farming life. The depiction of the animals is quite realistic and detailed, with a dose of comic anthropomorphism superimposed without spoiling the farming realism.