From everything I know, Bill Amend is friendly with Aaron McGruder, and the current series of comics seem like an homage to Boondocks as it goes into reruns. FoxTrot is a great comic, and I imagine Amend and McGruder have a mutual respect for one another's work. The comics I've read are NOT making fun of McGruder or Boondocks. The joke is the notion of this character (who is a nerdy white kid) trying to do what Aaron does so well in his strip. FoxTrot does stuff like this all the time, referencing other comics and pop culture events, which is one of the reasons it is my favorite comic. I think the Foxtrots so far this week have been pretty funny, myself. The fact that Amend is aware of Aaron's hiatus, and feels it to be worth commenting on, is evidence of the esteem he has for the strip, not proof of some kind of animosity.