Occasionally, however, a cartoonist dies and there are no people interested in continuing the comic strip. The comic disappears.
And sometimes, like this past week, a cartoonist takes time off to smell the flowers or leap across the meadows - or do what ever cartoonists do when they are searching for inspiration.
Aaron McGruder is not drawing "Boondocks" for at least the next six months. He's out looking for inspiration.
While he started doing that this week, more than 300 readers called and e-mailed wondering where the heck "Boondocks" was.
Some folks thought political pressure was behind the disappearance:
* "Well, looks like the Trib has silently dropped the Boondocks cartoon. I imagine the reason is complaints from the majority political persuasion. In your shoes, my response to them would have been, if you don't like it, don't read it. Instead you chose censorship, adversely affecting the many who appreciate the humor and political point of view of the cartoon."
* Or, "Why has the Trib removed the Boondocks comic strip from its lineup? It is funny and edgy and something that is sorely lacking in most of your other comics. In fact, most of them are so unfunny and unoriginal, that not having the counterpoint of a more cutting edge type of humor found in something like the Boondocks, dumbs down your paper even more. Who made this editorial decision?"
* Or, "I am disappointed to see that The Boondocks comic strip has been stopped, and hope it is just temporary. It would appear the Tribune thought it wasn't 'white' enough for its Utah audience. We need to see more diversity and different viewpoints, not less, even if just in a comic strip. Some of the satire was wonderful. I hope you get enough feedback that will push for its return."
Others thought the strip may have been too sophisticated:
* "So I guess Boondocks stretched the minds of too many readers too far. Looks like you had to substitute some pabulum fueled strip in its place. Too bad, way too bad. I see a trend that started with new ownership."
Others thought editors were cutting out political viewpoints in the comics:
* "Where was Boondocks today? It is the only comic strip I read other than Doonesbury. Please don't tell me you have buckled in to the right-wing critics again? Bring it back. I am a long time reader of the Trib (50 years) and feel all viewpoints need to be present in a newspaper. Do not cave. I hope this was a one time situation."
The bottom line is this: We made a mistake on what day Boondocks would go on hiatus. Editors intended to inform readers, but the plan was to be put in action this week on the mistaken belief that the comic continued until Sunday.
We did boot this one. We should have run a story prior to Monday explaining the Boondocks vacation. Then on Monday, and maybe Tuesday, we should have put an explanation of the situation in the space where Boondocks normally runs. That would have been helpful to readers. We will think about this kind of reader service if another cartoonist dies or goes on vacation.
Click and Clack? About 200 readers have called and e-mailed over the last two weeks wondering where Click and Clack, who used to run on Fridays in the automobile section, have gone.
As employees at the Newspaper Agency Corp., which prints, sells the ads, and distributes The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News, get the new printing presses up and running, they are printing the advance sections, such as the automotive and real estate sections, first. This means they are using new software and new presses. In the rush to master these, they left Click and Clack out of its new home on Sundays for two weeks. Look for it Sunday in the automotive section.
Number of people asking "where's Boondocks?"
303
Number of people asking "where's Click and Clack?"
107
Number of people curious about wide white margins on paper
3
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The Reader Advocate's phone number is 801-257-8782. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. reader.advocate@sltrib.com
