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Island cartoonist's book published

A local cartoonist drew on a new set of inspirations to create a fresh compilation of comics called Nature Calls. When Berry Wijdeven first started his Islanders comics for The Observer, he wanted to participate in the lively discussions swirling around The Observer's news and letters pages."I wanted to make people laugh, but sometimes also make a point," says Mr. Wijdeven.His stick figures navigated (and do again) through all the kooky situations that islanders find themselves in. But since he's been working for the Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Wijdeven has come in contact with different kinds of Island critters. The result has been a new series of cartoons called Nature Calls, which feature various birds, animals, insects and even crustaceans on Haida GwaiiHe started by sending a Nature Calls cartoon to colleagues and friends by email every Monday morning, hoping to start their week off with a smile.But after three years, Mr. Wijdeven decided he had enough to produce a book."A lot of people haven't seen any of these yet, because they've been available only by e-mail," he says.He won't become a millionaire with his publishing foray, he says, but he gets lots of feedback on his cartoons and some of it is even good. And it's not only islanders that can relate to the jokes in his new series, but "biology types" and others too.Nature Calls is available in stores across the islands.