CAPE TIMES INTRODUCES NEW SA STRIP

Africartoons welcomes a new South African comic strip which debuts exclusively in the Cape Times. ’The Richenbaums’ is a collaboration between the Trantaal Brothers Andre and Nathan, and their mother Charmaine, and the strip joins a growing number of indigenous strips which includes 'Madam & Eve’, ‘TJ’, 'Mama Taxi’, 'Trek Net’, 'The Biggish Five’, ‘Outstrips’,  and the offbeat 'Western Nostril'.

Brothers Andre, 30, and Nathan, 27, Trantaal are well known for their comic book ’The Coloureds’, which attracted the attention of the Cape Times editorial staff who commissioned the team to devise a strip for the paper. ’The Richenbaums’ is based loosely on a dysfunctional family that once lived next door to Charmaine, and her stories of them - "only slightly" embellished.

Andre writes, Nathan draws, and Charmaine inspires the stories with her recounting of the adventures of the real family, whose name differs slightly from the fictional one. “The thing with them”, Nathan says “is that they didn’t think they were funny. But they were delusional”.

Characters in the strip include Mama, described as "a staunch pro-choice supporter, condemned to suffer the agonies of the damned on earth”, and Papa; “bantu education’s greatest success story”. Teddy, Billy, Fonny and Mercy make up the rest of the cast.

’The Richenbaums’ launches exclusively in the Cape Times this Friday, and will run every Friday after that. Local strip cartoonists have welcomed the newcomer. Jeremy Nell, creator of 'The Biggish Five’, greeted the news enthusiastically, saying its high time that South African Newspapers supported more local talent rather than the rehashed international strips they carry.

The new strip will also be pleasing to Gavin Thomson, co-creator of the self syndicated strips ‘Mama Taxi’ and Trek Net’, who has initiated a campaign for the support of local comic strips.

The Cape Times is to be commended not only for its support of local cartoonists, but also for its move to bring back original content to its pages, against a global trend amongst newspaper groups to share content across their titles. That practice might save them money, but it has severely diluted the character and local appeal of what we once fondly referred to as 'the local rag'.

Posted on Oct 21, 2010 by Africartoons