Beyond the Black Stump (Comic Strip)
Encyclopedia
Beyond the Black Stump is an Australian comic strip written by Sean Leahy
. It won the "Best Comic Strip" at the 2003 National Coffs Harbour Cartoon Awards and the "Comic Strip Cartoonist of the Year" at the Australian Cartoonist's Association
's Stanley Award the same year.
The strip follows a cast of Australian wildlife who deal with the day-to-day stresses of marriage, parenting and friendship.
Sean Leahy
Sean Leahy is an Australian cartoonist working for the Courier Mail in Brisbane, Australia. He draws political cartoons for the paper, and also his own comic strip, Beyond the Black Stump, which is distributed in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.-Background:In 1974, Sean Leahy...
. It won the "Best Comic Strip" at the 2003 National Coffs Harbour Cartoon Awards and the "Comic Strip Cartoonist of the Year" at the Australian Cartoonist's Association
Australian Cartoonist's Association
The Australian Cartoonists' Association is the Australian professional cartoonists' organisation and was established on 17 July 1924 as the Society of Australian Black and White Artists....
's Stanley Award the same year.
The strip follows a cast of Australian wildlife who deal with the day-to-day stresses of marriage, parenting and friendship.
Characters
- Floyd - Floyd is a wannabe rock 'n' roller echidnaEchidnaEchidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
. He spends a lot of his time, and a lot of his out of tune music, to protest against whatever comes up, whether it be saving the environment, or saving the echidnas.
- Dave - Dave the kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
is an original larrikin and party animal. He’s always a jump ahead of the rest ... but with his feet that’s easy.
- Benny - Benny is a kookaburraKookaburraKookaburras are terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, and is onomatopoeic of its call...
and a single parent to Spud. He devotes a lot of time to raising Spud properly, but with limited success. Being a solo parent is never an easy job.
- Spud - Spud, a bird, is a smart and quick-witted boy, but his grades do not show this trait. It sometimes seems that he tries to make his father's life a misery.
- Sinker - Sinker is a pelicanPelicanA pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
of many hats...barman, shop-keeper, waiter...he’s in any opportunity that pays.
- Boss - Boss the galahGalahThe Galah , Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.It is endemic on the mainland and was...
is every employee‘s nightmare– Mr Hyde one minute and Mr Hyde the next!
- Frank - Frank is a clumsy emuEmuThe Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
, both muddled and befuddled. He can't fly, but's always trying.
- Fish - Fish, the mixed up marsupial, is a platypusPlatypusThe platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
who enjoys the odd drink... the odder the better.
- Bruce - Bruce is a lazy koalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
and the only married male in the strip. Despite this fact, he also seems to be the least committed of the cast.
- Katy - Katy, a koala, is the dynamic and independent career woman; her sole handicap is her husband.
- Clive- A WombatWombatWombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
who thinks a T–shirt is a fashion statement no matter what’s printed on it. A fellow who is obviously a few sheep short in the top paddock.