All-purpose newspaper strips discussion

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

I didn't entirely get the intended construction of the jokes in the Sunday Bizzaro (Sp??) strip yesterday .   ( The strip appars to be not online , as it is a King Features Syndicate strip , who - Gasp !!! - appear to think they're in the comics business to make money , and keep their strips behind a wall . )

  The joke was " variations on ' I Love New York ' "...but was the panhandler's shirt supposed to be saying " I Owe New York " ?"  I Have Zero , New York " ?

  The yokel , in Middle Ages garb...Was his shirt suppost'a mean " I Love York " , as in the English county that New York was indeed named after ??? ( And Prince Charles is now considered the Duke of , if I recall correctly . )

[Richard Willis]

Chris Browne, long time cartoonist of Hägar the Horrible, has died

Story

(Before I saw The Baron's post, which has a broken link, I already had this ready)

[ClarkKent_DC]

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, went on a tirade on his podcast that was so blatantly racist, hundreds of newspapers -- including The Washington Post, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Detroit Free Press, the Los Angeles Times and the USA TODAY Network -- are dropping the strip. From CNN: "Hundreds of Newspapers Drop ‘Dilbert’ Comic Strip After Racist Tirade from Creator Scott Adams"

More from USA TODAY: "USA TODAY, Other Newspapers Drop Dilbert Comic after Creator's Racist Comments"

[ClarkKent_DC]

Last September, the Lee Enterprises chain standardized the comics pages in all 77 newspapers in its stable (as noted here), which inadvertently meant Dilbert was dropped in several of its papers then. But that was just collateral damage. 

[Richard Willis]

I knew that Scott Adams leaned right but now it seems he's his own worst enemy.. 

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

The syndicator is dropping it, too. You can read the gist without a subscription here.

[ClarkKent_DC]

PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod said:

The syndicator is dropping it, too. You can read the gist without a subscription here.

That article is behind a paywall, but here's one from Yahoo! News: "Dilbert Distributor Severs Ties to Creator Over Race Remarks"

[The Baron]

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has come out in support of Adams.

ClarkKent_DC said:

PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod said:

The syndicator is dropping it, too. You can read the gist without a subscription here.

That article is behind a paywall, but here's one from Yahoo! News: "Dilbert Distributor Severs Ties to Creator Over Race Remarks"

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

The syndicate's website no longer lists Dilbert.

[Richard Willis]

I understand that they have stated they will no longer publish his strip, period.

He obviously buys in to this white supremacy crap, which is why this fake poll set him off. If he actually had interacted with African Americans in his life he would have known better.

PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod said:

The syndicate's website no longer lists Dilbert.

[Richard Willis]

Here's a collection of statements from Andrews McMeel and others.

Story

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I have become convinced that Scott Adams' racist rant was his way of "retiring." Shortly after the kerfuffle, it was announced that he would be doing a daily podcast. Who here thinks that podcast wasn't already in the works before his tirade? Also, all the publicity serves to attract the audience he desires to his new platform. Oh, and for anyone who still wants to read Dilbert, it is available directly from him via paid subscription. He engineered a "win-win" scenario for himself. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

It wasn't until fairly recently (May 3, 2022) that I learned of Scott Adams' politics. 

When I asked Tracy to post the July 31, 2022 strip, it was suggested that, perhaps, the Dallas Morning News was at fault. By that time, I had already recycled that paper, but the DMN presented Dilbert vertically across from Curtis. I wish I had asked Tracy to include a panel from Curtis in the shot, the skin tones for which are perfectly normal. The Black character has not appeared in a Sunday Dilbert since. 

I must admit I have been a fan of Scott Adams' Dilbert since the '90s. [Full disclosure: I have the Dilbert 2.0 20th anniversary slipcase as well as a few of Adams' prose books (The Dilbert Principle, etc.)]. But I've seen his online comments and now I'm done with him. But his political beliefs never spilled over into his strip (to my knowledge) to the extent of Bruce Tinsley's excretable Mallard Fillmore. I was so happy when the DMN replaced Mallard Fillmore with Macanudo. [I remember on reader complaint posited that that Mallard Fillmore "really made you think." I hesitate to contemplate that reader's "thoughts." But I digress.] 

Mark Tatulli's Lio took the place of Dilbert in the Sunday edition, but it took the actual spot of Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine, one of my favorites. Pearls was shifted to Dilbert's vertical slot, and I can't say I approve. Pearls' panels to not conform to vertical presentation, and the art is "stretched" like silly putty. BOO, DMN!

Hector Cantu (cartoonist of Baldo, which coincidentally also appears on the last page of the DMN comic section), was quoted as saying, "Don't gloss this over by saying it's politics or it's cancel culture. If you're going to offend people, you risk paying the price." I remain convinced, however, that Scott Adams achieved exactly the result he wanted.