Comics pages are probably the single most beloved section of any newspaper — even though editors would like to believe news, features, photos and editorials lure readers. Forget it, the comics win, hands down.
So when Tribune Editor James E. Shelledy tells me he is going to change some strips, I know to dig another foxhole. The fans of whatever he cancels will be irate. Perhaps I should simply make the foxhole permanent, because he demonstrates an inability to leave the “fun and games” pages alone.
Several weeks ago, Shelledy revealed he was canning the strip “Cathy,” which deals with the angst of being a modern woman. (This strip is so dead-on that I maintain the sneaking suspicion the strip’s author, Cathy Guisewite, calls my mother in South Florida to consult on manipulative techniques.)
Shelledy believes the strip is past its prime and doesn’t have the following it once did. I would challenge that belief, as I have gotten about 70 e-mails and nearly 100 phone calls from women who mourn the loss of their favorite strip and want it back.
And, his decision on “Cathy” is not the only controversial one he has made of late. An e-mail from one Latino reader illustrates the frustration of many calls and electronic missives on the strip “La Cucaracha:”
“As a Hispanic, I’m not a big fan of ‘La Cucaracha.’ I’m sure the comics editor means well . . . but the guys in this strip look like a couple of rat-boys. Plus, they are very, very negative. They don’t reflect any Hispanics I know. . . . imagine if this strip were in the Deseret News, and these two guys are representing Utah non-Mormons. Go through the strips and substitute Mormon and non-Mormon, and imagine the Deseret News picked this strip to represent the average non-Mormon. Would you want these guys representing you? ‘Baldo’ is much better; stick with that.
” . . . Should the comics be used for liberal, progressive politics? I’d like them to be the comics.”
The image of the main characters in “La Cucaracha” representing non-Mormons in the DesNews is a shocking one. And, the question about comics being used for “liberal, progressive” politics is important. Most readers are used to political opinions appearing in cartoons featured on the editorial pages of newspapers. And they look to the comics pages for chuckles and observations about life today.
But over the years, cartoonists have brought controversial topics to the funny pages. “Doonesbury” constantly targets the foibles of those in government and “B.C.” has a distinctly Christian flavor. “Pogo” (once the vanguard of avant garde cartoon satire) caused its share of consternation and gave us a slogan to boot: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
So comics are a product of the artist’s mind and of the times in which they are popular. In my book, though, in dumping “Cathy,” Shelledy shows he may be out of touch with many female readers. Why doesn’t he put “Cathy” back in and delete “Judge Parker”?
And, in picking “La Cuc” (what’s the deal with those squiggly little moustaches?) Shelledy shows his penchant for the edgier cartoon. It is poorly drawn (a fact that somehow makes me believe the artist should be writing essays instead of drawing a comic strip), so it may offend only me, but if “La Cuc” bothers you, gentle reader, then here’s a news flash: Stop reading the damn thing.
Keep calling and writing in your opinions. I am keeping track.
