How Low Will The Comics Stoop?

[Dave]

It's a sad day when we can't even trust the Sunday comics to be kid-friendly! Some of y'all may have heard about this already. Anyway, I found this article at TheLedger.com:

Newspapers Keep Hands Off 'Doonesbury'

By Gary White

The Ledger

gary.white@theledger.com

In the 33 years since Garry Trudeau created "Doonesbury," he has expanded the realm of what can appear in comic strips.

Certain topics, however, remain untouchable -- at least for some newspapers.

The content of the "Doonesbury" strip scheduled to run today, a discussion of a recent report linking frequent masturbation to a decrease in the risk of prostate cancer, prompted some newspapers to withhold publication.

The Ledger, which includes the "Doonesbury" strip in its Sunday comics section, opted to substitute a strip from September 2002 that was supplied by Trudeau's distributor, Universal Press Syndicate.

Louis "Skip" Perez, executive editor of The Ledger, said his decision was based on the readership of the Sunday comics, traditionally a province of children as well as adults.

"We felt the subject matter was over the top for the type of content most of our readers expect in a Sunday comics section," Perez said.

The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors recently conducted an informal survey of newspapers about the "Doonesbury" strip.

Of the 34 papers responding, 12 planned to use the regular comic, 19 planned to use a substitute, and three were undecided.

In Central Florida, the Orlando Sentinel plans to use the strip, and The Tampa Tribune will not.

Cheryl Schmidt, senior editor for features at the Tribune, said the newspaper chose to run the alternate "Doonesbury" in part because it hadn't found space to publish the news story about the Australian cancer study. She said questions of taste and a judgment that the strip wasn't particularly funny also figured into the decision.

In the "Doonesbury" strip at issue, two regular characters, former 1960s radical the Rev. Scot Sloan and his younger housemate, Barbara Ann "Boopsie" Boopstein, sit at the kitchen table in the house they share. Sloan, reading a newspaper, mentions a story about the study suggesting masturbation can help prevent prostate cancer.

"Hey!" Boopsie responds. "Enough of that."

When Sloan asks why, Boopsie says, "Talk like that makes me uncomfortable! People shouldn't sit around talking about sex like it's just the weather! It's just not appropriate!"

Sloan dismisses her concerns by saying, "You're dating yourself, Boopsie." Another housemate, Zonker Harris, arrives in time to add, "Hey, did you guys hear self-dating prevents cancer?"

Edited September 7, 2003 by Dave

[Thomas Michael]

I saw that strip today, in the Dallas Morning News, of all places.

[Norseman82]

I saw it in the Chicago Tribune.

Sad to say, comics are not for kids anymore.....

[Chastisement]

You know, it amazes me that everyone jumps on the bandwagon claiming that masturabtion is great and is now healthy for you, based on ONE STUDY, yet 38 out of 41 international studies have found a link between abortion and breast cancer, yet that won't even get a mention in scientific circles because it's "too policital".

Makes me sick to my stomach.

[Jake Huether]

Yeah! and they wouldn't dare touch a study of how masterbation leads to an interest in Porn, etc. Or maybe a study of how masterbation effects marriage... They only pick how the sin is "good" for you.

Our society would like to lead us to hell. I ain't following.

[Lil Red]

In my newspaper, they run Doonsebury in the editorial page, not with the other comics.