Tom Batiuk has long found inspiration for ‘Crankshaft’ – the popular comic strip syndicated in 496 newspapers globally, including The Winnipeg Free Press – from many real-life daily experiences.
One of the most unique experiences came last summer and will soon appear in Crankshaft after Batiuk ran out of the tunnel before a Blue Bombers game last August on a night when the home side knocked off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 26-23 on a Zach Collaros-to-Kenny Lawler touchdown with 19 seconds remaining.
That moment – Crankshaft getting lost seeking the washroom at Princess Auto Stadium and then leading the Blue Bombers out of the tunnel in the introductions – is a critical part of a story that will play out over four weeks of daily doses Crankshaft and three Sunday strips from July 21-August 17th. We won’t spoil the ending here, but it’s a fun story worth checking out for Blue Bombers fans.
“I often incorporate stuff from my life into the work,” said Batiuk in a phone interview with bluebombers.com from his home in Ohio. “I had in the back of my mind that I would write something about this trip and as I was coming up to Winnipeg, I got an e-mail from Carol Barrott (the saint who works in Blue Bombers Fan Services) and she asked me if I would like to run out of the tunnel before the game. I thought about it for a second and said, ‘Absolutely’ and for the rest of the trip that was in my head – Crankshaft running out the tunnel ahead of the football team and that became the focus of the story. I knew then I had my story.
“That experience was really neat, and it also gave me the chance to research things that I never would have had a chance to see, like the inside of the tunnel and everything that was going on. It allowed me to take a lot of reference pictures, and I do that when I’m doing stuff, especially Crankshaft where I’m working with Dan Davis, the artist. I like to give him all the material I can to help him tell the story and he did a great job.”
A little background is in order here: The Blue Bombers first came into Batiuk’s radar in 2011 during the National Football League’s work stoppage. Needing his football fix, Batiuk, now 78, discovered the Canadian Football League.
“I was looking for football to watch and found the CFL and became a fan of the Blue Bombers because they have the coolest name in football,” he said. “I started watching their games and then in Crankshaft, Dan Davis, my artist, and I would just start throwing in a Blue Bombers sweatshirt or T-shirt every now and then.”
That first mention of the Blue Bombers came around 2016 and the club followed up, sending Batiuk a jersey with ‘Crankshaft’ on the back and an open invitation to attend a game in person.
“This was pre-COVID and so it got put on hold for a bit,” Batiuk explained. “And when I got the chance to take the Bombers up on their offer it was still there, and they were very generous to have me come up and see a game last summer.
“I enjoy the CFL game. There’s less distractions and it’s more about the fun of football. That makes it neat.”
A Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from Kent State – he noted with pride that Blue Bombers safety Jamal Parker, Jr. is a Kent State product – Batiuk began his comic strip career with ‘Funky Winkerbean’ in 1972, with ‘Crankshaft’ beginning in 1987. The title character is a World War II vet and a widower who drives a school bus for a living.
Crankshaft and his son-in-law Jeff travel to Winnipeg for a Blue Bombers game and the story includes illustrations of Princess Auto Stadium, the Louis Riel statue, Esplanade Riel Bridge and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and has references to head coach Mike O’Shea and Brady Oliveira.
Batiuk spent four days in Winnipeg last summer and his work process sees him take photos of his experiences to help Davis, the artist, bring the story to life.
“What I’ve always found is when you really research things deeply, there are things that a lot of people might not know about or appreciate but it adds value to the story,” he said. “Then it becomes that fans just follow along with me and the story. I love what I do. My dream was to one day become a cartoonist and I’ve been very lucky to do that. In turn, it’s my duty to do the work and I try to do the best job I can with each one.
“It was fascinating being there. It’s a fascinating city. I didn’t get to see enough of it, to be honest. We saw the sites but I didn’t really explore the neighbourhoods. It seems like a wonderful place,” Batiuk added. “One of my favourite stories: we were going through customs and presenting our passports, and my wife Cathy was at one of the stations and I heard the agent talking to her and he goes, ‘Why are you entering Canada?’ And she told him to go to a Bombers game. He asked her who they were playing and she told him the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and he just smiled and said, ‘Enjoy the game’ and handed her back her passport.
“The trip was a lot of fun and everyone was so gracious to us the whole way. We thoroughly enjoyed it.”
