Devil’s in the detail of Mark Knight AFL expansion cartoon
Cartoonist Mark Knight celebrates the news that Tasmania is joining the AFL
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Australia is a sports loving nation, and just about the biggest show in town is the Australian Football League.
The 18-side AFL competition has teams from all around this wide brown land, even from places that are not traditional Aussie rules areas, like the Gold Coast with the Suns and Western Sydney with GWS.
Glaringly*, there is one place that didn’t have a team, although many thought it should. It was a traditional heartland* of the game and produced many of the code’s great players over the years. That was the state of Tasmania.
For years it was talked about Tassie getting the nod to join the national competition but it never seemed to generate enough enthusiasm within the AFL to make the move.
That is until recently. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, in a final gesture before he departs the leadership position, along with Tasmanian government and Anthony Albanese’s federal government did the deal on a new football stadium to be built in Hobart. A new stadium was a condition of a new Tasmanian team being given a licence to join the AFL.
After years of glacial progress*, this week things advanced quicker than Tassie great Matthew Richardson on a lead out of the goalsquare, with confirmation Tasmania would be the 19th team in the national league.
This warranted* a cartoon for sure!
But wait, there was more intrigue* to this story.
It was presumed by all that the side would be named the Tassie Devils after the small, but agro* carnivorous* marsupial* that inhabits the forests of the southern isle.
But in a shock revelation*, standing in its way was a Looney Tunes cartoon version of a Tassie devil called Taz, created in the 1950s. It was revealed that the Warner Brothers film studio owned the copyright* to the Tasmanian devil!
Gobsmacked* Tasmanian football fans were aghast*!
Now this definitely called for a cartoon!
I wanted to create a Tasmanian devil character just like the mascots of all the other AFL sides I have drawn for the Herald Sun AFL premiership poster over the years.
The devil is growling and baring its teeth at the viewer, just like the real ones do when threatened. Its piercing gaze is fixed ahead and a paw is clenched into a raised fist as the marsupial mascot for Tasmania celebrates its win. It is wearing the AFL Tassie jumper.
But with the team’s naming as the Tassie Devils up in the air, due to Warner Brothers owning the rights to its name, I had to include this important aspect in my cartoon.
So in the background peering through the lush forest undergrowth of the Tasmanian Wilderness are two bushwalkers who have come upon the angry beast. Reluctantly they realise it is their job to break the news to him that he is in fact owned by an American film studio and will have to await the outcome of delicate boardroom negotiations.
Now try telling that to an angry Tasmanian devil! Good luck!
GLOSSARY
- glaringly: in an obvious way
- heartland: the centre of support for a particular thing
- glacial progress: slow progress like that of a glacier
- warranted: called for, deserved
- intrigue: causing curiosity or interest
- agro: angry, aggressive
- carnivorous: meat eating
- marsupial: a mammal that is carried around by the mother in her pouch when it is born
- revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been revealed
- copyright: a legal right to own creative material, like text, artworks, music, computer programs and films
- gobsmacked: overwhelmed with shock, surprise, wonder
- aghast: filled with disbelief or horror
EXTRA READING
Tassie girl becomes face of AFL team bid
QUICK QUIZ
- Who is the AFL chief executive?
- When was the Looney Tunes Tassie devil called Taz created?
- Which film company owns the copyright to the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil character?
- Which great Tasmanian footballer does Mark Knight refer to in his story?
- How does Mark Knight describe the real life Tasmanian devils?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What happens next?
Imagine this cartoon is part of a story that is made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell a complete story, and Mark’s cartoon is the start of the story. Think about what the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Being able to draw is only one of the skills needed to be a great cartoonist. Write a list of all of the other skills that you think cartoonists like Mark need to do their job.
Next to each skill, write a sentence that explains why that skill is important or helps them to do a great job.
Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability, Media Arts, Visual Communication Design
VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Look at the cartoon and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.
Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.