I'm sorry to report that Aaron Johnson has announced that his photographer-centric comic strip "What the Duck" will cease daily publication. The Duck will go on in some form, just not on a daily basis.
Aaron made the announcement in a brief statement yesterday, which also happened to be the strip's fifth anniversary.
(Click to see larger)
The cool thing about WTD was that it was not just about photography, it was for photographers. You had to actually be a photographer to get a lot of the jokes.
I'm going to assume that Aaron is now about to go on to great fame and greater wealth as the author of a strip targeted at a bigger population.
Even if he gets as famous as Garry Trudeau, of course, we photographers will always fondly remember his "Duck years." We'll always have our time together.
Mike
(Thanks to Rex Kersley)
P.S. ...And we'll always have the books
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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.
Damn! All the best ones are gone -- Foxtrot, For Better or for Worse, Calvin and Hobbs...now WT Duck. Thank Gawd for syndication (see "gocomics.com".
Posted by: Bill Mitchell | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 03:27 PM
I have been a fan of his strips since the beginning (before they were popular, wink) and I hope him the best.
Posted by: Ramon | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 04:01 PM
WTD is the very first link on my bookmark toolbar. I'm going to miss clicking on it every morning. My friend (fellow photographer) and I have spent many a pleasurable moment talking about the latest one that made us laugh.
Posted by: Nikhil Ramkarran | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 04:02 PM
I wish him the best ! Though I'm addicted to his daily strips, I guess I'll survive... By buying his books !
Posted by: Jacques Pochoy | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 05:06 PM
Cranking out a good cartoon strip everyday must surely be an exhausting job. WTD is great, but I applaud Aaron for concluding the daily run while it is still vibrant. Take a quick look at strips that just do not seem to die (B.C., comes to mind.) They were once great, but are now tired, desiccated visions of their former selves. Why bother reading them at all? I was sad to see Calvin& Hobbes and Gary Larson go, but becoming irrelevant would have been a much worse fate.
Posted by: Alex Vesey | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 05:32 PM
TOP and WTD are next to each other on my bookmark list. Both are mandatory daily stops for me.
Gotta get me some of his books before they become collectors items.
Posted by: Bob | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 06:55 PM
Was in the local Chapters-Indigo six months
or more ago and saw the WTD book..bought the four or five that they had. Crazy? Yes, however excellent gifts for photographer friends, and others.
Aaron has a growing family; and he has a daily job as well. Suspect though aa you know yourself Mike, doing a daily column or in this case cartoon, is a good recipe for mental burnout.
Suspect Aaron often met himself coming the other way. As with the really good and entertaing modern srips, such as Calvin & Hobbs, Bloom County and Peanuts
it was simply time for Aaron.
Then too one cartoon every week would mean
only 52 scenarios would have to be image.
Whatever does happan, we should all be thankful for the last five years!!
Posted by: Bryce Lee | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 07:20 PM
What is this 'THE ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHER' he speaks of?
Posted by: Tom Swoboda | Thursday, 21 July 2011 at 10:29 PM
I forgot it even existed.
Posted by: Nick | Friday, 22 July 2011 at 02:46 AM
Really sad to see this one go. So many people in the photography world take themselves far too seriously; What The Duck forced us to laugh at ourselves. It was much needed, and will be much missed.
Posted by: John Roberts | Friday, 22 July 2011 at 05:31 AM
So I'm finally getting around to reading through WTD. I've had the book on my wishlist for a while, but nobody has bought it for me yet.
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Friday, 22 July 2011 at 03:19 PM
"What is this 'THE ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHER' he speaks of?"
Tom,
I have to confess I paid him for that cartoon. He was offering to draw cartoons on demand for $90, and that seemed cheap to me. So I came up with the text and Aaron drew it for me. Still seems like a bargain, and if I helped him out a little at the time, so much the better.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Friday, 22 July 2011 at 04:34 PM
Sad duck . :<
Posted by: Jacek Sztandera | Monday, 25 July 2011 at 09:11 AM