Cartoonists to Protest Lack of Color in the Comics
By Teresa Wiltz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 6, 2008; C01

You could call it a sit-in, of sorts. Perhaps a
sketch-in would be more appropriate, a comic call to
arms, with cartoonists of color protesting for greater
presence in newspaper pages. Protesting in the best
way they know: drawing about it, en masse, all on the
same day.

Because, these artists say, "Candorville" does not
equal "Boondocks" or "Curtis" or "Wee Pals" or "Herb
and Jamaal." And "La Cucaracha" does not equal "Baldo"
or "Gordo" and especially not "Cafe con Leche."

But for one day -- this Sunday -- 11 cartoonists of
color will be drawing essentially the same comic
strip, using irony to literally illustrate that point.
In each strip, the artists will portray a white reader
grousing about a minority-drawn strip, complaining
that it's a "Boondocks" rip-off and blaming it on
"tokenism." "It's the one-minority rule," says Lalo
Alcaraz ("La Cucaracha"). "We've got one black guy and
we've got one Latino. There's not room for anything
else."

Plans for the protest began with Cory Thomas, a Howard
University grad whose strip, "Watch Your Head," deals
with college life at a predominantly African American
university. Thomas, Trinidad-born and D.C.-bred, says
he was frustrated by the number of times his strip was
turned down by newspapers that didn't feel the need to
sign him up, because, well, they already had a black
comic strip. Most editors, he says, only allow for one
or two minority strips, viewing them all as
interchangeable. Never mind that his strip is a world
away in sensibility from the scathing sociopolitical
musings of Darrin Bell's "Candorville" or the
family-focused fun of Stephen Bentley's "Herb and
Jamaal."

So Thomas drew a strip addressing that, and then
enlisted the help of Bell. From there, they got others
to agree to participate: Bentley, 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. Alcaraz, who says he found out
too late to meet his deadline, will be chiming in on
Feb. 11.

(Full disclosure: Both "Candorville" and "Watch Your
Head" are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers
Group. The Post runs four comic strips by cartoonists
of color: "Candorville," "Watch Your Head," "Baldo" by
Hector D. Cantu and Carlos Castellanos, and "Curtis"
by Ray Billingsley, which runs during the week but not
in the Sunday pages.)

"I'd be shocked if an editor ever looked at a new
white strip and said, 'We already have a white strip,'
" Bell says.

Still, others argue that it's not that simple. For
one, there are demographics to consider, says Rick
Newcombe, CEO of Creators Syndicate, which syndicates
"B.C.," "Herb and Jamaal," "Working It Out" and "Cafe
con Leche."

"In defense of newspaper editors," says Newcombe,
"it's only natural to buy [comic strips] according to
categories. You might have one according to sports, or
one according to office etiquette or work. But I agree
with the cartoonists: It should be colorblind."

Observes Lee Salem, president and editor of Universal
Press Syndicate, which includes on its roster
"Doonesbury," "Baldo" and Nate Creekmore's
"Maintaining": "There are only so many spaces on the
page. News editors are going to have to face 'How much
uproar am I going to have if I drop a strip I
currently run and replace it with a new strip?' "

If racial quotas are a factor, "it's a minor one,"
says Salem, whose syndicate launched "Boondocks." "I
tend to think that quality prevails."

In a contracting industry, where space is at a
premium, it is that much harder for any cartoonist
looking to make a mark. Then, too, newspapers struggle
-- as do all media -- with minority representation in
their newsrooms. According to a 2005 survey conducted
by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the
percentage of minority journalists working in daily
newsrooms declined slightly from 13.82 in 2006 to
13.62 in 2007.

Cartooning has always been an intensely competitive
business; it can take years before even the most
talented artist takes off. Charles Schulz labored for
years before "Peanuts" caught on with the public. Then
there's the fact that not all cartoonists are created
equal. Some simply are more talented than others, says
Aaron McGruder, whose hard-hitting strip, "Boondocks,"
was a big hit between 1999 and 2006, syndicated in
more than 300 papers.

"I don't look at it as a purely racial or racist
issue," says McGruder, who is African American. "I'm
sure it's a factor. But I'm not convinced. Despite the
hurdles and the issues of race, I was given more than
a fair shot. Nobody ever mistook my strip for
'Curtis.'

"The industry itself is struggling. It's like they're
the black passengers on the Titanic protesting to get
to the top deck, and overlooking the fact that the
whole ship is sinking."

Which is to say that this is also about economics: The
more newspapers one's strip appears in, the fatter the
paycheck. Observes Bentley, who's been drawing "Herb
and Jamaal" for more than 20 years: "We're all in this
because we want to have a voice within the paper. But
this is also for us to make a living. We can't make a
living if there isn't enough to sustain a life."

For nearly six years, Gary has enjoyed success with
his race-neutral strip, "Working It Out," a satiric
look at office politics featuring mostly white
characters. The strip runs in 40 papers, a respectable
number for a strip that's relatively new. Last April,
he launched "Cafe con Leche," which is based on his
life and explores married life between an African
American and a Latina. Only two papers to date have
picked it up, the Indianapolis Star and the Florida
Sentinel Bulletin in Tampa, an African American paper.

"It's always like, 'We have "Watch Your Head," ' or
this other cartoon, and that's discouraging to me,"
Gary says. "The only thing we have in common is
minority characters. It's really sad."

"I doubt it's going to inspire some kind of change or
some nationwide revolution or anything," says Thomas,
who lives in Alexandria. But the Sunday comics
sketch-in, if nothing else, might bring "a little
visibility, get people to think about it."