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What the Duck Turns 200
Using the grassroots marketing techniques of social networking and a casual approach to copyright, Aaron Johnson has turned a camera-toting duck into a cult-favorite comic character.
By Jack Howard
April 2007
The story goes that Aaron Johnson of Oak Creek, Wisconsin woke up one morning last July and had the idea to make a comic strip about a struggling professional photographer who just happened to be a duck. These first five strips appeared on his band's blog, as filler material while the band's regular blogger, lead singer Carol Kroll, was away for a few days.
Within a few hours, photo-centric message boards such as sportsshooter.com and the PopPhoto.com forums were linking to the original five What the Duck comic strips.
It was meant to be a joke. A one-off. A way to add some fresh content to the band's website during some downtime. That's it. Five strips, then back to band updates.
Then the emails began -- from photographers, both pros and amateurs, industry names and weekend hobbyists alike. Like wildfire, What the Duck burst onto the scene, with its own Web site, an ever-expanding line of WTD-branded merchandise, and a fanbase that continues to grow, both among photographers, the people who love (or put up with) photographers, and a growing readership that is now reaching beyond the niche photography market...
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