I know alot of people don't like the way the Boondocks is now...they want Cindy, Jasmine, Tom, Hiro? to show their face again...but i think what Aaron is doing is nothing less then heroic

Here you have this kid making a comic strip about two black boys going from the ghetto to the suburbs...the focus was on their daily lives, the friends and family..showing the humor in the "situation"...Aaron was already angry...and we could all feel that coming thru Huey in one way and Riley in a different way..i've always felt they both represented different aspects of Aaron's personality. Grandpa too..

Fast foward to Sept 11th 2001. The huge thing happens and changes everything...double the fear, double the police, double the loss of privacy, double the racism and discrimation...double the political stupidity

And around that same time, The Boondocks is at its peak...appearing in over 150 newspapers, critical and public acclaim...but Aaron has something to say. He takes this incredible thing that he has..what some of us like to call a "voice"...and he uses it to express what he thinks people need to hear...what people are not hearing in other parts of mainstream news. He risked everything. Risked losing public favor for his "radical" turn in the strip post 9/11 (i.e., flagee and ribbon), risked having his strip dropped from countless papers

But he didn't care...he knows that our voice is the most powerful thing we have. If we are so lucky to have millions of people paying attention to what we are sayingat a critical time in history, well then gotdammit we'd better be saying something important.

Oprah knows this too. No matter how much fluff she airs for ratings, she also does programs that address and call attention to important issues that others ignore. She knows the power of her voice.

Aaron McGruder is a symbol of courage to me. I admire his ability to continue to bring attention to innacuracies, deceptions and the pure folly and frivolousness of our government right now. And still manage to inject a bit of humor in it.

Yes its not gut-busting, laugh out loud humor all the time..maybe even very rarely. But its ok..i feel its serving a higher purpose. Maybe some people who read the Boondocks don't know what's going on right now..and maybe they find out and get schooled thru Huey and Riley.

So Aaron gets a pass from me.

D
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I agree very well said. The Boondocks are a great comic strip, that people can learn from and enjoy with laughter as well. Aaron is a very talented young man. There are people who read the comic strip and say, "Damn that is me!" Me personally I can totally relate to the strip. I love reading it, and I enjoyed reading both the books that were published. It is a GGGRRREEEAAATT strip, Keep up the good work Aaron.

FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

I've liked Aarons strip even MORE since 9/11.

"Cuz when ya backs against the wall ya better have sumthin to say/ or they split ya face/not wit indo/sumthin smoove n cold/cuz da games froze/ and niggaz is stuck/ WHAT THE FUCK!!"-PeaceShine

"I'm done wit you little fucks and this little earth!!"-Baatin

i feel ya, and i appreciate waht he is doing. I just aint laughin as hard as I used to.

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cosign definitley

The Boondocks stays terrific. And this is kind of off topic, but what ever happened to the plans of a tv version?

sometimes when there's too many hands in the pot (directors, executives, writers, cast) things don't turn out the way they are originally planned. Aaron probably didn't like what the end result was gonna be

i'm guessing, of course

d

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If he ever got soft I would stop reading his strip and cancel my subscription to the L.A. Times. The great thing about Aaron is that he really doesn't give a fuck about the silly opinions of those who would attempt to silence or soften his voice.

He is a prophet but in a secular sense.

i'd always wondered whether the boondocks would age and develop in accordance with the times (ala for better or worse) or simply keep its characters in a time capsule so as to focus on timeless themes (ala peanuts).

seems like aaron has done a bit of both. the characters stay the same, but their ideas/experiences reflect the changes in the world around them. it's much like the simpsons was when that show was at its peak.

sometimes, the voice is a little too egocentric/self-serving for my taste, but i agree with you that his courage is admirable.

the la times calendar section is still the first one i go to each morning. and boondocks is my first destination therein.

well put. the boondocks is more than just humor it's social commentary at it's finest.


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I like the 'docks as much as the next suburban Black okp from Columbia,MD, but doesn't anyone else think that McGrugruder goes to far with the political bullsh!t?

Aaron says his influenses are Calvin and Hobbes and The Peanuts, they are great partly because of thier timeless qualtiy. The Boondocks, on the other hand, will mean nothing to someone who reads it 5 years from now.

If you read the 'docks book "Fresh for '01" damn near 10 pages will make no sense if you don't remember the political platform of Alan Keyes.

OKPs: Defend your positions at will

>I like the 'docks as much as the next suburban Black okp
>from Columbia,MD, but doesn't anyone else think that
>McGrugruder goes to far with the political bullsh!t?

no. He could actually go even farther but he holds back alot

>Aaron says his influenses are Calvin and Hobbes and The
>Peanuts, they are great partly because of thier timeless
>qualtiy. The Boondocks, on the other hand, will mean
>nothing to someone who reads it 5 years from now.
>
He has also listed Doonsebury as one of his influences. And speak for yourself...you have no idea what affects his comics may have on someone later on..thanks like saying no one will get old movies after a certain amount of time. The Wizard of Oz was rife with social commentary...in fact the entire film was basically a satire of the political climate of that time, 1939. Do kids know that? no. they just love it

>If you read the 'docks book "Fresh for '01" damn near 10
>pages will make no sense if you don't remember the political
>platform of Alan Keyes.

There are people right now who don't know the political platform of Alan Keyes. There are people who don't know who Donald Rumsfeld is..what difference will 10 years make?

d

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>>Aaron says his influenses are Calvin and Hobbes and The
>>Peanuts, they are great partly because of thier timeless
>>qualtiy. The Boondocks, on the other hand, will mean
>>nothing to someone who reads it 5 years from now.
>>
>He has also listed Doonsebury as one of his influences.

And I believe at least one review I've read reported that he "idolized" Bloom County, perhaps the most political (and perhaps funniest, as well) daily strip of the '80s. Bloom County is still funny as hell. My dad still keeps one of the books in the powder room. It's surprising how many of the issues involved are still relevant.

>The
>Wizard of Oz was rife with social commentary...in fact the
>entire film was basically a satire of the political climate
>of that time, 1939. Do kids know that? no. they just love
>it

That one might actually get you in a little bit of trouble. People have analyzed the Wizard of Oz as an allegory for every damn thing. The main political reference isn't usually considered to be contemporary 1939 politics, rather turn-of-the-century (when the book was written) politics, with some shady references to William Jennings Bryan, the cross of silver speech, the gold standard and whatnot. Here's a link: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_392.html, and be sure to check the link at the end of the story.

and i'll check out the link

and even if its not entirely true, its fun watching Oz with those things in mind..lol

d

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Thank You Damali. and Clyde how could you say the Boondocks will have no affect on people who read it 5 years from, first it is a comic strip written by an African American MAN, second of all it is the first of it's type (EL ORIGINALLL), and third people will remember because of the simple fact that it is GOOD. why are you so negative CLYDE DAMN. Damali i totally agree with you, you have taken the words right out of my mouth.

FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

The great thing about Calvin & Hobbes (still the GOAT comic strip) is that even now, 6 years after the last strip was drawn, it's still as funny as it was back then. Now granted, some of the Boondocks "current" things are still as funny as they were when you first read them, but honestly, I might not even buy the next book when it comes out. I mean, how funny will "American Idol" jokes be 2 or 3 years from now?

you cannot compare Boondocks and C&H. The only thing they have in common is that they are a strip. Boondocks is and always has been political from day 1. Huey always made it clear he was pro-Black and knowledgeable about current events. There were strips about Star Wars, the Illuminati, Jolly Jenkins...its always been based on current events and race relations (Jasmine and Cindy)...so if you loved it then, that's what you were *really* lovin. that's what made it so funny.

d

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seems to be the argument. you can make timless strips about current events (see bloom county) or you can make current event strips that get dated quickly.

flaggee and ribbon=timeless because it affected so many people

alan keyes=dated. hell, i keep up w/ current events and i did'nt know who the hell he was talking about.

i think american idol jokes can stand the test of time because it touched millions in our country.

i have every bloom county book ever published and what made berke brethed dope is he would flip a current event (hollywood writers strike/sports lockout) into the characters in the strip (bloom county characters go on strike and replaced by scabs)


i think we all love boondocks (the reason we're replying in the first place) it's just some of us who love it just wish it was'nt so current event based and wish there was a balance of funny strips about school, the neighborhood and life in general. the whole current event thing is a crutch now.

Word. Thats all I'm sayin'. Aaron McGruder is very knowledgeable about the politcal arena, an sometimes he finds himself goin' over a lot of people heads. So if he's doin' that now think about 2 years from now. C'mon ya'll, don't front like you get all the political references in every comic.

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-- Oscar Wilde



-J. Clyde Morris

never appeared, to my memory

but Aaron had him listed on the old boondocks website as one of the characters..which was why i put a question mark by his name

d

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i could tell dude was tired. it wasnt funny anymore and he seemed to be burnt out (it's gotta be hard doing a strip)

it's okay now. still has it's days. some up, some down. i think the sunday strip where he did a takeoff of ghostface's song 'sun' was one of the best strips ever.

that one had me rolllliiinnnnggg....

i appreciate the strip still, just dont like the fact that there is no storyline anymore.

you could dream a little dream or you could live a little dream i'd rather live it, cuz dreamers always chase but never get it.

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i love his political commentary better...

knew Aaron in passing from college radio days.

clipped several of his original strips from the Diamondback cuz i just KNEW it was something special. all the debate it got at U of MD - lol, it's funny to see where he is now.

anyway - one of the strips i clipped is of Huey or Riley (i can't remember now) is in class and is being asked where he's from and he shouts out BROOKLYN!

i'm getting it blown up and framed as we speak for placement in the cribbo.

keep on pushin', Mr. McGruder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Caesar did it too when he first came thru..

d

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That clip is one of my favorite Clips. That is the same clip where Caesar is wearing the Mos Def T-shirt. I really enjoy reading the Boondocks Strip.


FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

That was Cesar who shouted out Brooklyn. Huey and Riley are from the midwest: either Chi-town, or the D.

cuz I cant imagine it being in there now...
its funny cuz they claim they fired him....

there is enuff controversy over the cartoons in the Dback now.. I cant even imagine..
it would do the campus some damn good if someone made something along the lines of a boondocks again..
now its just offensive shit that makes students mad.

and i have a tremendous amount of mcgruder just for trying to do find out what he now knows and for the risks he takes. my thing is just that i get bored with it after a while. i still think it's funny and i still like the messages, but the strip doesn't seem like it's taking any turns or growing in any way. maybe that's not bad. i'm not even completely against it either. i just think that you can still have the messages that mcgruder releases through this strip and have more of a plot involving the various characters you mentioned.

back when the boondocks still included jazmine and cindy and the various other characters, mcgruder had political messages. lets not forget the election. he was very in tune with what was going on and there was still a story to it. even after september 11th.

all i'm saying is that there can be a balance. just because you want a story with a plot and many characters doesn't mean you can't to touch on many political and real-life subjects, just like having a story that touches on lots of political and real-life subjects doesn't mean you can't have a plot and characters. i'm not disappointed with the boondocks, but i WOULD like it better if it had more plot to it as well as the messages that are so well displayed.

- - - - -

www.wingnutjazz.com <--- !!!!!!
peace & love

in talking about having a storyline w/ many characters, as well as touching upopn current events. With multiple characters, even when talking about whatever's going down in the world, you can get at it from many angles, whereas now we just have Huey alone going off on this and that. You can still talk about everything that's being torn apart in the strip, but look at the event from the points of view of all of the characters. What DOES Jasmine think about it all. With the addition of an ongoing storyline, you can both address current events AS WELL as the complexities of all of the characters personalities and hangups, which adds for a more nuanced and multilayered political commentary.

el

characters sometimes help the message. i found myself going "yes!!! that's exactly how it is!!!" with cindy in the strip acting like an idiotic ditz. it was satire of the american people and cindy was a symbol for all that. you can address so many issues using the characters. i always felt that the boondocks touched on political subjects even with the characters.

fuck, look at doonesbury. its almost always touching on current events and that strip has more characters than any other one in my paper.

thank you for understanding.

- - - - -

www.wingnutjazz.com <--- !!!!!!
peace & love

I totally agree with you, i was just making that point for the haters that were downgrading the strip. People try and keep a gret young mind behind close doors, you feel me?


FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

and i came to the conclusion that i liked the boondocks more back then, but i don't dislike it now and still read it daily. i wouldn't mind it if jazmine, her parents, cindy, mr petto, etc, made an appearance every now and then.

la is
combing my hair is still a waste of time

I know i miss those characters as well cindylu. I thought Cindy was hilarious, and what about the principal of the school who named George Washington Carver a national holiday, and he decided not to have school. LOL

FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

those strips are still some of my favorites

la is
combing my hair is still a waste of time

don't change a thing.

as watching shit turn white.

He's the shit.

Honestly, I still love the strip to death. His words get ballsier, but at the same time, like alot of people, I think it's atleast downgraded in "flavor" a tad.

I think he should keep doing what he's doing, but on occasion, throw a little flavor in there with someone else. I think he should have a week of him discussing Bill O'Reily with Tom...a debate waiting to happen.

since there are so few hip hoppers who overtly espouse a political view. For that, I tolerate it.

But it's not funny any more. He's not nearly the storyteller Berke Breathed is/was. His characters - at this point - are only there to be mouthpieces for his political views. And his artwork is a lot less impressive, since he's pretty much drawing the same three panels over and over again.

I already have political views that are similar to his. Without the other things I expect from a comic strip - nice art, good/compelling story telling, and/or humor - BOONDOCKS is redundant to me. I tolerate it, because if it vanished tomorrow an important voice would be missing from the political landscape, but PERSONALLY, I don't need it.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out....McNulty, THE WIRE

the mis-educated black man actually believes that the white man's ice is colder...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I agree w/ you wholeheartedly. A Dub is a genius. PERIOD.

i ain't say all that :)

he's courageous. but he's got a ways to go before i bestow the genius cap. *as if i'm someone who could actually do that..lol*

d

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I swear to God. I don't watch the 10pm/11pm news at all and rarely do I pick up a newpaper. Most of the time I know what is happening in the world from the Boondocks when Aaron makes fun of it. It's sorta like making something u wouldn't normally care seem interesting.

EXACTLY DEEPHUNK and CLYDE says it will not be remember 5 years from now!


FRESH for '01...You SUCKAS!

-Michael Caesar
Boondocks

you are overstating to the point of exaggeration.
& your sincerity about it is alarming - if not frightening.

however, i appreciate the hell outa that cat & hope he keeps it up.

that you can't read :)

i said "our" voice is the most powerful thing we have. meaning each one of us...our ability to speak out against injustice

sheesh..

d

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& i read that shit three times, too.
guess i was too busy being scared.

can't do nothing but praise the boy

I enjoy seeing Huey day after day. It is like I'm speaking. It is never boring nor repetitive. I believe that Aaron is on a differen plane of thought. I'm just going along for the ride.

Like Bep, J5, De La Soul, or Outkast. Thats the thing that bothers me about the Roots. Id rather hear a few more songs than a 10 min convoluted drum solo.