Portrait of an iconic comic artist

A new biography, Murray Ball: A Cartoonist’s Life, that celebrates the life and legacy of the late creator of the beloved ‘Footrot Flats’ comic strip reveals that there’s more to know about the iconic Kiwi cartoonist.

At a book signing and talk at Masterton’s Hedley’s Bookshop on Monday night, Mason Ball – Murray’s son and author of the biography – delved into his father’s “real-life backstory” as a “loving father, with incredibly high aspirations and motivations.”

Mason told the Times-Age that the idea of writing the book emerged while he was grieving after his father died in 2017, and he described the process of getting the biography to print as “a long-distance swim” that involved “five years of on and off writing”.

“That’s really when the ideas started to gather,” Mason said.

“As it went on, I enjoyed remembering all the things I had almost forgotten about him.

“It’s evolved – it’s gone through stages where it’s lost a bit of momentum as well, and I’ve been very lucky – my wife pushed me to keep on going at one point.”

The book covers Murray’s adolescence living in South Africa under the country’s apartheid regime and his decision to withdraw his character ‘Dog’ as the mascot for the All Blacks during the 1980s when the rugby team had announced its tour plans of South Africa.

“It was a landmark decision; he probably felt a little bit hamstrung at that time of doing ‘Footrot Flats’.

“He was quite a political person, and he was looking at any way he could use his profile to say what he wanted to say and, in effect, to get some social change happening in the way that he wanted,” Mason said.

“I think that was a sign of just how deeply he felt about that particular issue.

“Ultimately, he wanted to change the world.

“There wasn’t a person in that generation that wasn’t caught up with it, in some way, shape, or form.”

According to Mason, his father’s fictional characters were a part of his own private world and were rarely discussed with his family.

“He was quite a private person, and I think probably all of his characters came from multiple different sources. Some of them had evolved from other cartoon strips that he had done. They were also inspired by people around him and from his uncle’s farm, where he worked as a young man.

“It’s hard to say where they came from, but I’m not sure even he knew.

“I think that’s why he took on cartooning in the first place – it was a vehicle for him that would allow him to challenge some of the ways that our society runs and allow him to express some of his beliefs in a sort of palatable way.”

Meanwhile, although Mason said he’s taking a break from writing, he plans to publish more books, particularly on the English language, given his background as a journalist and English language teacher.

“If I could take one lesson from this, it’s you’ve got to write about what you know about,” he said.

‘Murray Ball: A Cartoonist’s Life’ is available for purchase at Hedley’s Bookshop, 50 Queen St, Masterton.