On Sunday February 10, 2008 several cartoonist protested a little thought of subject; the lack of comics drawn by minority artist.
I have to say that I had not heard of several of the artist mentioned. Cory Thomas, “Watch Your Head”, Jerry Craft “Mama’s Boyz”, Charlos Gary “Cafe con Leche” and “Working It Out”, Steve Watkins “Housebroken”, Keith Knight “The K Chronicles”, Bill Murray “The Golden Years”, Charles Boyce “Compu-toon” and editorial cartoonist Tim Jackson. None appear in my local papers. Being African-American you would think I’d be more aware of minority artist and you’d be wrong. As with any product you have to advertise so people will know it’s available. And this is how I see Sunday’s effort to shine light on this subject.
I can now say I have read most of the titles and can honestly say I’m now a fan of some, so Mission accomplished. But wait there’s more to the story than getting a few people to read a strip on line. For cartoonists the true goal is wide syndication of a title. Much like a recording artist gets residuals when they’re played on the radio cartoonist see financial gain when a large number of periodicals carry their work. Here’s were the real trouble lies.
When an editor of a paper or magazine says they don’t think a comic strip is suited for that publication or their not in the market for any new strip this is a legitimate reason. It is the job of the editor to set the tone for his readership and whoa to those that make a misstep. If the same editor is looking to replace a poorly performing strip but won’t consider any new strips with charters of different race or ethnic background because they already have a minority comic and don’t need another this is tokenism and that is just wrong. The emphasis should always be on quality. The solution is to not take any aspect of a comic strip into consideration other than is it a quality product. If a third of a news paper’s comic are ethnic or minority and boost the sales, so be it.
Now for those who are champing at the bit to say I’m wrong to insist on preferential treatment of a single group please take a moment to re –read this article from the beginning. I’ll wait…Done? Good, let us continue.
The comic industry is cut throat it can take years for a good artist to be recognized as such. Aaron McGruder’s “Boondocks” was as iconic as was Bill Watterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ each setting a very high bar for industry standards. As an avid comic reader I will always demand quality. Of the eight artist listed above I can honestly say I will be following the work of four and reading two on a regular basis. Which two, you say? That is my personal opinion and I’m not here to influence anyone. Go read them for yourself. If you think any of them should be in your local paper write your editor and let them know. Can you do that for a brutha!
-CJ
