Comics controversies?
tbroml...@cybernet.cse.fau.edu
I'm wondering if two other recent comic strips have generated any
controversy in the areas where they appear:
1) The Rex Morgan sequence about the HIV-positive doctor. Our local
paper, the Boca Raton News, ran something on a pre-emptory editorial as
the story was just beginning, explaining why they felt the strips
deserved to run. So far, they haven't printed any dissenting opinions.
(Doonesbury and Matt Groening's Life in Hell seem to generate most of the
negative comments here.)
2) A Far Side panel last week which showed 2 chickens in bed, one of
which was thinking about a duck. The panel was captioned "Chicken sexual
fantasies". I thought it was amusing, but felt it would stir up some
typical complaints about what is appropriate for the "funny pages".
Any reports of criticism on any of these strips?
Windsor A. Morgan
>I'm wondering if two other recent comic strips have generated any
>controversy in the areas where they appear:
>1) (Rex Morgan, M.D. with and HIV-infected doctor)
>2) A Far Side panel last week which showed 2 chickens in bed, one of
>which was thinking about a duck. The panel was captioned "Chicken sexual
>fantasies". I thought it was amusing, but felt it would stir up some
>typical complaints about what is appropriate for the "funny pages".
Oh, *that* was what the chicken was thinkning about! I thought it was
another chicken he was thinking about and couldn't understand it.
>Any reports of criticism on any of these strips?
No, I haven't heard any criticism on that Far Side (or any other in
the Baltimore paper I read). (Then again, perhaps everybody in
Baltimore also thought it was a chicken and were just confused :-).
--
'Verily, there be no leader as wise as the Vision!'
Windsor Morgan (wmo...@stsci.edu OR N...@PSUVM.BITNET)
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, MD 21218
Peter Mullaney
In a previous article, wmo...@stsci.edu (Windsor A. Morgan) says:
>In article <R5s8NB...@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> tbroml...@cybernet.cse.fau.edu writes:
>>2) A Far Side panel last week which showed 2 chickens in bed, one of
>>which was thinking about a duck. The panel was captioned "Chicken sexual
>>fantasies". I thought it was amusing, but felt it would stir up some
>>typical complaints about what is appropriate for the "funny pages".
>
>Oh, *that* was what the chicken was thinkning about! I thought it was
>another chicken he was thinking about and couldn't understand it.
>
>
I understood it (the chicken was dreaming about a duck) but I didn't
think it was funny. The caption didn't offend me - again I just wasn't
amussed.
>
--
: Pete Mullaney : Always do right. This will gratify :
: : some and astonish the rest. :
: : Samuel Langhorne Clemens :
: : aka Mark Twain :
James Salsman
I just heard that Popeye was pulled by the syndicate (!) because
they didn't think it was appropriate.
At issue was Olyve Oyl (I've probably spelled the name of Popeye's
girlfriend wrong) who was tricking a priest into thinking that she
was having an abortion, when in fact she was not even pregnant.
This was reported a few minutes ago on WMAQ news (Chicago);
ironically, I don't think Popeye has been running in the two major
Chicagoland papers (Tribune and Sun-Times.)
Has anyone seen the strip in question?
--
:James Salsman
::Bovik Research
Dolf Grunbauer
>I just heard that Popeye was pulled by the syndicate (!) because
>they didn't think it was appropriate.
>At issue was Olyve Oyl (I've probably spelled the name of Popeye's
>girlfriend wrong) who was tricking a priest into thinking that she
>was having an abortion, when in fact she was not even pregnant.
What I read (in Dutch) was that she got a baby (or just a doll ?) from
Brutus the biggest enemy of Popeye. She *got* it, she never was pregnant.
She gave it back to Brutus use a phrase like:
"If I didn't ask for it, I don't want to keep it"
This is supposed to be a motto of the pro-abortion movement in the USA.
(remember I am translating a phrase from Dutch into English, while someone
else has done the reverse before me, so the original English phrase could
be much different).
>Has anyone seen the strip in question?
Unfortunately I didn't.
--
_ _
/ U | Dolf Grunbauer do...@echo.philips.nl or ...!mcsun!echo.philips.nl!dolf
/__'< E.C.H.O. development Digital Equipment Enterprises B.V.
88 |_\ There is no use in denying that you've just read this line :-)
Duperval Laurent
>bo...@eecs.nwu.edu (James Salsman) writes:
>>I just heard that Popeye was pulled by the syndicate (!) because
>>they didn't think it was appropriate.
>I read something about this.
>
Actually, it's even worse than that: the author got fired for the story line.
>>At issue was Olyve Oyl (I've probably spelled the name of Popeye's
>>girlfriend wrong) who was tricking a priest into thinking that she
>>was having an abortion, when in fact she was not even pregnant.
>
>What I read (in Dutch) was that she got a baby (or just a doll ?) from
>Brutus the biggest enemy of Popeye. She *got* it, she never was pregnant.
>She gave it back to Brutus use a phrase like:
>
> "If I didn't ask for it, I don't want to keep it"
>
Actually, Olive gets a baby in a basket and tells Popeye she has the right to
decide if she wants to keep it or not. A priest overhears and thinks she's
talking about abortion. From there, it turns into a pro-life propagand (for
lack of a better word; no need to flame). King Features Syndicate didn't like
it and dropped the whole story and fired the author. Seems it wasn't the
first time the big brass was at odds with him.
>This is supposed to be a motto of the pro-abortion movement in the USA.
>(remember I am translating a phrase from Dutch into English, while someone
> else has done the reverse before me, so the original English phrase could
> be much different).
>
>>Has anyone seen the strip in question?
>Unfortunately I didn't.
Seems it's only carried by about two dozen newspapers in the US. If someone
avtually managed to see it, maybe (s)he could scan and post it.
>--
> _ _
> / U | Dolf Grunbauer do...@echo.philips.nl or ...!mcsun!echo.philips.nl!dolf
> /__'< E.C.H.O. development Digital Equipment Enterprises B.V.
>88 |_\ There is no use in denying that you've just read this line :-)
--
Laurent Duperval
dupe...@ere.umontreal.ca
dupe...@jsp.umontreal.ca
"If you gotta go, you might as well go happy... or suprised" -Me
Raymond Suke Flournoy
>
>Actually, Olive gets a baby in a basket and tells Popeye she has the right to
>decide if she wants to keep it or not. A priest overhears and thinks she's
>talking about abortion. From there, it turns into a pro-life propagand (for
This is not the story I heard. In the San Jose Mercury News, they
said that the strip was very pro-abortion rights, and that this didn't
set well with the conservative King Features Synd.
--Raymond Flournoy
======================================================================
flou...@cs.stanford.edu "For reasons I cannot explain
Computer Science Dept. There's some part of me wants to see
Stanford University, CA Graceland" -- P. Simon
James Davies
>>bo...@eecs.nwu.edu (James Salsman) writes:
>>>I just heard that Popeye was pulled by the syndicate (!) because
>>>they didn't think it was appropriate.
>>
>it and dropped the whole story and fired the author. Seems it wasn't the
>first time the big brass was at odds with him.
I haven't seen the offending strip, but the first part of this story line
was in Strips last week. The last previous story line was about product
licensing (all of the characters were turning into softheaded idiots when
they donned a certain type of "stupid little hat"), and it turned out that
the culprit responsible was the King of licensing...maybe the syndicate
didn't like this thinly-veiled slam at them and used the abortion thing
as an excuse to can the guy.
I thought the strip was crudely drawn, but funny in a sarcastic sort of way.
I can think of several others that I'd like to see vanish instead.
Arthur C. Adams
Over the years, comics strips have been pulled many times for presenting
"liberal" viewpoints. Doonesbury is a regular target, and Cathy has been
yanked before. Now, Popeye can be added to the list.
But, to my knowledge, there has never been a strip pulled for expressing
a conservative viewpoint. One of the Johnny Hart strips (B.C. I think) made
a viciously anti-abortion statement days before the '88 election, and
there was nary a whimper.
And people complain about the "liberal" media...
So, does anyone no of a case where a strip was pulled for expressing
conservative views?
--
The world is not analog. The world is digital,
with an incredible number of bits.
Arthur C. Adams (not the comic-book artist) <fnord>
E-Mail aca...@afterlife.ncsc.mil