A comic strip titled "The Archer," highlighting Kent State RB and potential Heisman Trophy candidate Dri Archer, "made its debut on Twitter's @Dri4Heisman at midnight" Wednesday, according to Allen Moff of the Kent RECORD-COURIER. The comic strip, which will also appear in the Record-Courier and the Akron Beacon Journal, is "illustrated by Kent State University alumnus Chuck Ayers of 'Crankshaft' and 'Funky Winkerbean' fame." School officials were "searching for unique ways to promote Archer for the Heisman Trophy, and Ayers' name quickly surfaced." Ayers said, "Somehow they hit upon a superhero approach, and being a Kent graduate and a cartoonist my name came up." He said he met with Akron-based PR firm WhiteSpace Creative and they "had a basic idea, and we just kicked it around at the first meeting." Ayers added, "They said they'd put some words and concepts together for me and let me take off with it." Moff noted a "second comic strip will be released" next Wednesday, and game preview comic strips "will post on Wednesdays throughout the football season" beginning Aug. 29 (Kent RECORD-COURIER, 8/14). In Cleveland, Kevin Kleps wrote the campaign has been "incredible," as the school's push "includes a website, Twitter account and Facebook page." Those "are all typical components" of any national award bid, but a "comic strip, however, is not" (CRAINSCLEVELAND.com, 8/14).
