Nostalgia for the Next Generation
Like Father, Like Son
There's something so special about the fact that father and son journalists Durwood and Dewey Natwick not only work in the same industry, for the same newspaper (The Meekersville Gazette), but that over thirty years apart they've reviewed comics by the same creator.
Durwood Natwick had a newborn at home when a review copy of Time for Frank and His Friend landed on his desk at the Meekersville Gazette. He knew Dooley's work, of course. At that point of Dooley's career as a newspaper strip cartoonist, everyone knew his work. The popular comic strip Frank and His Friend was making the jump from newspapers to merchandise and strips were pinned up on every bulletin board across town.
But the familiarity with the work - and how easy that would make the project - wasn't why Durwood jumped at the task so quickly. He knew that he'd be up late for midnight feelings with the little baby they named Dewey, and he needed something that he could hold one-handed while he juggled a baby and a bottle. And although he tried to maintain his journalistic integrity and remain objective - he knew he'd love it at first sight.
Many people say that they grew up with an artist, but very few can say what Dewey Natwick can: He was fed a diet of Frank and His Friend when he was just a baby, night after night as his father read and laughed and re-read and maybe spilled some of the formula. And 31 years later, when Dewey got the chance to review a collection of Dooley's work that no one had even known existed, he knew exactly how his Dad felt. Sitting up late at night with a package - like a newborn - that he knew he would love at first sight.
