For the holidays, cartoonist Tom Batiuk presents a new Halle Dinkle cartoon created exclusively for NAfME members. Batiuk is a Lowell Mason Fellow, one of the highest honors presented by the National Association for Music Education. He was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his comic strip, Funky Winkerbean.
Batiuk received a Medal of Honor from the Band Directors of America and in 1989, the “Funky” characters became the first comic-strip stars to march in Rose Bowl Parade, the 100th anniversary of the parade.
He also received the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ IPPY Silver Medal for Humor and a special award from the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA).
General Music teacher Halle is the “daughter” of Harry Dinkle, who believed he was the “World’s Greatest Band Director.” Harry was one of Batiuk’s first breakout characters and applauded by many band directors for his fierce defense of his music program.
Batiuk has been compiling his Funky Winker strips into complete collections the latest of which is The Complete Funky Winkerbean, Volume 3, 1978-1980. Find additional information on Batiuk and his characters. In 2012, Batiuk did an interview with NAfME about the evolution of Harry as a character.
Halle, on the other hand, is a general music teacher and has a different kind of relationship with her students. If you have comments about the cartoons, leave your feedback or contact Roz Fehr at the email address below.
Roz Fehr, NAfME managing editor for news, December 12, 2013. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
