Swamp is a
comic strip created by
Australian Gary Clark. It was first published in 1981 in the Sunshine Coast Daily. According to Clark, the inspiration and model for this strip was the creeks and lagoons in a bushy suburban
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
where he grew up in the 1960s. He describes the strip as a "down-to-earth look at a bewildered society thriving in an ever-increasing complex world."
The popular characters in the comic strip are : Ding Duck, Wart & Mort Frog, Old Man Croc, Bob Crayfish, The Dung Beetles, Air Traffic Controller, The Ants, The Bludgerigar. Ding Duck and the Air Traffic Controller are popular worldwide in aviation circles.
Wart & Mort Frog are popular with organisations and websites that promote water quality and sustainability and a clean, green environment.
Under license to AKASHI HIFUKU KOGYO Co. Ltd, the Swamp characters appear on upscale casual and sportswear especially golf sportswear in Japan and South Korea.
It is syndicated to newspapers throughout Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and translated into seven languages.
Gary Clark has won 14
Stanley Awards for Best Comic Strip Artist of the Year including the inaugural award presented by Prime Minister
Bob Hawke. Also, Clark has won 11 Rotary National Cartoon Awards. His company, Swamp Productions Pty Ltd was nominated for export achievement in Arts/Entertainment category in the Premier of Queensland Awards in 1999 for export achievement to Japan.
Early in his cartooning career, Gary Clark created the popular Diesel Dog Cartoon featured in Truckin' Life Magazine in Australia. He relinquished creating Diesel Dog cartoons for over 20 years and in 2011 was requested by Truckin' Life to being Diesel's creator once again.
In August 2013, the comic strip was reported to have stopped syndication in
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
papers in Australia as a cost saving measure,
but remains syndicated elsewhere.
References
{{reflist
External links
Swamp Website
- created by Gary Clark for the State Library of Queensland, Australia.
Australian comic strips
1981 comics debuts
Gag-a-day comics
Comics set in swamps