OT: Boondocks comic-strip on break for 6 months

[cbrubaker]

Remember when "Doonesbury", "The Far Side" and "Calvin and Hobbes" went on a hiatus that lasted several months? Well, another comics is joining them...the controversial "Boondocks" by Aaron McGruder. It's going on a hiatus lasting 6 months.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11610503/

6 months is nothing compared to the 18 months long hiatus Trudeau, Larson, and Watterson took, but still pretty long...

[UncleJunior]

I hope this means McGruder is spending some time on Season 2 of the Boondocks. A show that has exceeded my expectations.

[Brundledan]

"Doonesbury", "The Far Side", and "Calvin and Hobbes" were strips that reflected extraordinary talent and imagination. It's not hard to imagine why their creators needed breaks after long periods of working at top form.

I'm wondering what McGruder's excuse is.

-Dan

[cbrubaker]

I'm wondering what McGruder's excuse is.
While he didn't say it yet, I think he's going to work more on the animated series during his break.

[janiepooh34]

Chalk this persons opinion up to: Don't really care if it ever comes back! :eek:

[J. B. Warner]

Aw, man, I don't know if I'll be able to tolerate six months of "Boondocks" reprints. I already own the books, so it'll likely be nothing I haven't seen before. I love this strip, but it always saddens me when I see that McGruder's taken another sabbatical.

[Kaleido]

I'm wondering what McGruder's excuse is.He's run out of conspiracy theories and ways to insult President Bush. He needs time to come up with new ones.

[Brundledan]

He's run out of conspiracy theories and ways to insult President Bush. He needs time to come up with new ones.

Nah, he probably dreams those up in his sleep. My guess would be that being as angry as McGruder's been every single day for the last eight years or so (except maybe for the day he became publicly giddy at the prospect of being able to use the "n" word on Cartoon Network) is too physically draining to keep up indefinitely. I'm surprised the guy didn't drop dead of an embolism a long time ago.

Then again, maybe somebody finally took McGruder aside and told him to take six months off to grow up. I don't know.

-Dan

[Chooch]

Aw, man, I don't know if I'll be able to tolerate six months of "Boondocks" reprints.

Me neither. This guy's characters are so funny--best strip in the funnies without a doubt!

[cpdavison]

...the controversial "Boondocks" by Aaron McGruder [is] going on a hiatus lasting 6 months.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11610503/

6 months is nothing compared to the 18 months long hiatus Trudeau, Larson, and Watterson took, but still pretty long...

WOW - they JUST added Boondocks to the comics page of our local newspaper this past month. I wonder if they had any inkling about the hiatus prior to adding it to the line-up?

Another observation: The local paper runs Doonesbury on the editorial page, but has plopped Boondocks right into the regular comics mix. FWIW...

Craig D.

[cbrubaker]

Another observation: The local paper runs Doonesbury on the editorial page, but has plopped Boondocks right into the regular comics mix. FWIW...
"Doonesbury" usually ends up in Editorial Page because Garry Trudeau has a special clause where newspapers are required to print "Doonesbury" in bigger size than other strips. Since it won't fit in the comics page, most papers just sticks it in the Editorial page instead.

[GarudaBoy!]

"Doonesbury", "The Far Side", and "Calvin and Hobbes" were strips that reflected extraordinary talent and imagination. It's not hard to imagine why their creators needed breaks after long periods of working at top form.

I'm wondering what McGruder's excuse is.

-Dan

Oh, for Pete's sake...let's not start this.

I can see why McGruder needs a break. The guy's been working at breakneck speed on the strip and the show, without any actual help with the supervision of either (which is why the Boondocks show has great scripts with iffy execution; McGruder isn't a trained filmmaker). I can only imagine how much stress he's loaded onto himself, and I hope that he takes the free time the comic's hiatus gives him (he'll probably still be working o nthe cartoon) and uses it well.

[GarudaBoy!]

....after reading some of the other replies, I have to say: good grief, but you people have hate in your blood! Is there something wrong with a political comic strip making fun of George Bush if it pleases? Isn't that the whole point of the First Amendment?

[Brundledan]

Oh, for Pete's sake...let's not start this.

Start what? The only one with "hate in his blood" is Aaron McGruder himself. He is an absolute disgrace to the profession of cartooning, and his strip defaces every comics page it appears on. "That" deserves to be noted every time the topic of THE BOONDOCKS comes up.

-Dan

[J. B. Warner]

Start what? The only one with "hate in his blood" is Aaron McGruder himself. He is an absolute disgrace to the profession of cartooning, and his strip defaces every comics page it appears on. "That" deserves to be noted every time the topic of THE BOONDOCKS comes up.

-Dan

So the guy's got some radical opinions. I say, let him talk. It's a free country - just because he says something, it doesn't mean everybody has to listen.

[Brundledan]

No one's saying he should be shut up.

But let's just say that if I ran a newspaper, THE BOONDOCKS would never come within a million light-years of its comics page. :cool:

-Dan

[GarudaBoy!]

Start what? The only one with "hate in his blood" is Aaron McGruder himself. He is an absolute disgrace to the profession of cartooning, and his strip defaces every comics page it appears on. "That" deserves to be noted every time the topic of THE BOONDOCKS comes up.

-Dan

That's an opinion, and a narrow one at that. Even on a bad day, The Boondocks is at least on par with most of the other strips on the comics page. It's certainly better than the strip it replaced in my paper, Curtis.

Also, understand that McGruder's characters sometimes speak for him, but not always.

But let's just say that if I ran a newspaper, THE BOONDOCKS would never come within a million light-years of its comics page.

Seeing as how it's quite popular nowadays, that's not a smart business move at all.

[Brundledan]

That's an opinion, and a narrow one at that. Even on a bad day, The Boondocks is at least on par with most of the other strips on the comics page.

Agree. 99% of all newspaper comics strips today are garbage.

It's certainly better than the strip it replaced in my paper, Curtis.

Disagree. CURTIS is crap but at least it isn't hateful, childish crap.

Seeing as how it's quite popular nowadays, that's not a smart business move at all.

I seriously doubt that THE BOONDOCKS has saved a single American newspaper from cancellation.

-Dan

[Mr. Semaj]

The Boondocks hasn't been quite the same since 2001. I like it better when it's focused on character and plot development. This news came at a time when the comic strip was getting back on track.

The Bush-bashing got tiring, but it wasn't unnecessary. (Think of how much differently things would've been if John Kerry won.)
It's going to be hard stomaching six months of repeats, but it seems like it'll benefit both the strip and the TV show. The TV show has been awesome.

[John Pannozzi]

Start what? The only one with "hate in his blood" is Aaron McGruder himself. He is an absolute disgrace to the profession of cartooning, and his strip defaces every comics page it appears on. "That" deserves to be noted every time the topic of THE BOONDOCKS comes up.

-Dan

I have to say that modern cartoons originate from political chariticures (sic) in newspapers, so the Boondocks isn't disgracing cartooning by making political comments. But I have nothing else to say as I am indifferent towards the Boondocks. John out.