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W
hen Gulf Breeze News Island News and Splash! magazine went fishing for a comic strip, we found one with nautical notions and subtropical humor – and we netted “Wrong Key” to do the job!
Comic artist Tim Banfell grew up in the Sander's Beach area of Pensacola and was inspired to create this comic strip about the high and low tides of life, where characters deal in fun topical humor with an island perspective and tropical humor.
Set in "Coral's Reef," a dockside diner located on the island of Wrong Key, this strip features a tiny burg which is the haven forfishermen, beachcombers, and stray tourists. Owned by Nanny Coral the self-proclaimed matriarch of the Island who puts the SENIOR in citizen. She feels that being old gives her the right to be crotchety and opinionated - and she is!
Growing up in the Sander's Beach area of Pensacola inspired cartoonist Tim Banfell to create this comic
strip about the high and low tides of life, where characters deal in fun topical humor with an island perspective.
This beachcomber cartoonist has been drawing cartoons since he was seven years old, and was always creating cartoon characters for classmates at St. Stephen's School and comic strips for the school newspaper at Pensacola Catholic High.
Banfell loves to fish and comes from a family of fishermen. Most of his characters are based on family members and friends. The main character, Nanny Coral,is taken from his mother, Anna Banfell, who resides in Pensacola. Cap'n Bilge is a regular at the Reef. When this salty dog isn't out fishing he clings to the bar like a barnacle to a piling. The inspiration for this character comes from Banfell's big brother, Skip Banfell. Skip, also known as the "Mullet Master" is a Gulf Breeze resident and a captain for Seacore Marine.
Another family member included in the strip is Banfell's son, Timmy. His character is Swab, the grandson of Nanny Coral and deckhand for Cap'n Bilge. The only problem is, Bilge wants to replace him with a girl deckhand named Seamonkey whose character happens to be based on Timmy's cousin Chryssie Banfell (Skip's daughter) who attends Gulf Breeze High. Even a deputy from the Escambia County Sherriff's Department gets in the act. Deputy Mike DeLay, Banfell's high school pal, is Deputy E.Z., an island cop who would rather book dates than criminals.
What would a comic strip from a Pensacola boy be without a pelican as one of his characters? Say no more - there's Conch, a pelican like no other. This fouled-up waterfowl who hates seafood is based on Banfell's brother in-law Dr. Norman Haines, a Pensacola physician.
"Coral's Reef" and “Wrong Key” will appear in Splash! magazine, the entertainment guide for Northwest Florida. Splash! is published by Gulf Breeze News, Inc. and is distributed in high-traffic areas from the Alabama/Florida visitor’s center on the state line to Hurlburt Field.
Banfell currently resides in New Orleans with his wife
Diane and their teenage son, Tim. Weekend drives to
Pensacola and Pensacola Beach and an occasional trip to Key West, provide constant fuel for his "Coral's Reef" comic strips.
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