Even in time of war, comics are serious business to thousands of readers of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Reactions to changes in the comics are never lukewarm. Drop a strip, and passionate fans will say the only reason they subscribe to the newspaper is to read the very comic that has been axed.
Last month, the Union-Tribune stopped carrying “Warped” because cartoonist Mike Cavna no longer produces it. “Warped” was replaced by “La Cucaracha,” the creation of Lemon Grove native Lalo Alcaraz, former editorial cartoonist for SDSU’s Daily Aztec who now lives in Los Angeles and who launched the strip last November. Among the 65 newspapers that carry it are the Los Angeles Times, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Arizona Republic, The Dallas Morning News and The Denver Post.
There was minimal reaction to “Warped’s” demise, which is telling in itself. But, about 30 readers have e-mailed or called complaining about “La Cucaracha,” a Latino-themed strip with political overtones. Alcaraz said his political mindset is the product of his San Diego upbringing.
Those who don’t like the strip, which has been running since March 17, call it racist. Some said it is insulting, not funny, too political, inane, humorless, oozing left-wing ideas, anti-Caucasian and inflammatory. Some have suggested that it belongs on an Opinion page, along with “Doonesbury,” which runs on the letters-to-the editor page Monday through Saturday and switches to the Comics section on Sundays.
Even though it doesn’t invalidate their concerns, if surnames are any indication, a majority of the complaints has come from non-Latinos.
“We all know San Diego can be a little conservative,” said Alcaraz. Some in San Diego, he said, don’t “acknowledge that we’re on the border.”
There’s probably some truth to that. On Thursday, a reader complained because articles about Tijuana appear in the local section of the newspaper. Like others before, she pointed out that Tijuana is in a foreign country. That’s hardly the first time a reader has complained because of a refusal to recognize Tijuana as part of the San Diego metropolitan region. Some do not want to acknowledge that the two cities are separated by a man-made border and share some of the same concerns when it comes to air quality, crime and a host of other issues.
Chris Lavin, senior editor for special sections who oversees the Currents section where the comics appear, said he thinks some readers are offended by something that seems to have been put into the newspaper for a target audience, in this case Latinos. “Whenever you do anything in this town to reflect the diversity of the readership, some readers get nervous about it and react. I consider it a very small number,” he said of the complaints.
He’s right. Reaction, while strong, has been minimal. It doesn’t come anywhere near the outcry when changes were made involving a number of other strips. And, while the newspaper has heard mostly from critics, a reader who identified himself as a “lifetime comics fan” called “La Cucaracha” “funny, relevant and intelligent.”
Lavin said a committee that reviewed possible replacements for “Warped” thought the new strip was funny and would appeal to the growing Latino population in San Diego County. “Satire is a subtle thing,” said Lavin, who doesn’t find the strip racist and doesn’t think that just because some people object, others shouldn’t be allowed to see it. I suspect few readers like all 42 strips that appear in the paper. I know I read some and skip right over others.
“La Cucaracha” is in keeping with a trend in strips to be “more topical, more edgy,” Lavin said. Although some readers seem to think the comics pages should provide relief from everyday concerns and issues, some of the topics tackled by comic strips have included Alzheimer’s, cancer and homosexuality.
Since “La Cucaracha” debuted about a month ago, it has had “a better batting average than any other strip we have,” said Lavin, who suggested that readers should judge the strip over a long period, not just a few weeks.
“La Cucaracha” is part of an ongoing effort to freshen up the comics pages, Lavin said. There are plans in the works to replace other strips.
“Sometime in May, we will identify three strips we think are old and not performing well and offer three new strips that we don’t currently run and ask for readers to give us e-mail and telephone responses to guide us in our decisions,” he said.
The strips that are being considered for cancellation will be dropped to the bottom of one of the comics pages and run alongside strips being considered as replacements.
Lavin said a survey is also being considered as part of the decision-making process.
“In my experience, picking comics is as much art as science.”
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Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to:
readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
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