Lesson plan

Boofhead

Boofhead was an Australian comic strip character created by R. B. Clark, a 'methods engineer from the Sydney suburb of Concord' who drew the strip of the same name between 1941 and 1970. When Clark died on 21 May 1970 the strip was discontinued. The character had already become iconic, particularly through its use in art by Martin Sharp, and continues to have currency. Boofhead featured in many Australian newspapers during its run; these included the Sydney Daily Mirror, the West Australian Beverley Times, and various editions of Truth. Strips were also compiled in regular reprint books. During the time of Boofhead's emergence, the majority of these papers were published by Ezra Norton, though the Mirror was obtained by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited in 1958. Boofhead debuted in the first issue of the Daily Mirror on 12 May 1941. For the first eight instalments Boofhead was a pantomime strip, in which no-one spoke; Boofhead's first words (on 22 May) were in a courtroom scene, in which he said 'I'd like to hear the other constable's evidence!' The next strip also referenced criminality, when Boofhead entered a police station and responded to a poster announcing 'Man Wanted for Robbery' that he would take the job.

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Article summary

Boofhead was an Australian comic strip character created by R. B. Clark, a 'methods engineer from the Sydney suburb of Concord' who drew the strip of the same name between 1941 and 1970. When Clark died on 21 May 1970 the strip was discontinued. The character had already become iconic, particularly through its use in art by Martin Sharp, and continues to have currency. Boofhead featured in many Australian newspapers during its run; these included the Sydney Daily Mirror, the West Australian Beverley Times, and various editions of Truth. Strips were also compiled in regular reprint books. During the time of Boofhead's emergence, the majority of these papers were published by Ezra Norton, though the Mirror was obtained by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited in 1958. Boofhead debuted in the first issue of the Daily Mirror on 12 May 1941. For the first eight instalments Boofhead was a pantomime strip, in which no-one spoke; Boofhead's first words (on 22 May) were in a courtroom scene, in which he said 'I'd like to hear the other constable's evidence!' The next strip also referenced criminality, when Boofhead entered a police station and responded to a poster announcing 'Man Wanted for Robbery' that he would take the job.

Key claims

  1. date of death: 1970-05-21 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. publication date: 1958 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of death is "1970-05-21". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the publication date is "1958". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363721609

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.