No Joke: More Strip-Mining of Boston Globe Comics

January 9, 2023

For the past handful of years, the hardreading staff has diligently chronicled the Boston Globe’s chuckleheaded handling of its comics pages. Beset by a chronic case of schlimmbesserung (making something worse by trying to make it better), the Globeniks are forever replacing decent strips with inferior ones.

Representative reaction from us after a 2019 Globe reader survey led to wholesale changes in the comics lineup: “Seriously? Rose Is Rose instead of Get Fuzzy? Adam @ Home instead of Zippy? We’re sorry to say this, but Globe readers are idiots.”

Not to mention Globe editors.

On January 2 the Globe unceremoniously kicked Mother Goose and Grimm to the curb via this microscopic notice (actual size).

(To be sure graf goes here)

To be sure, no one has ever confused Mother Goose and Grimm with Calvin and Hobbes or The Boondocks, but Ma and Grimmy are like cartoon comfort food, which is more than you can say about Pardon My Planet, judging from its maiden voyage in the Globe on New Year’s Day.

Pardon my plaint, but that’s just not funny. More like grim.

UPDATE: Splendid reader Mark has informed the hardreading staff that “[a]pparently you’re not the only one who missed it. Mother Goose was back as of today.”

Indeed she was, complete with another microscopic notice.

Universal Hub’s redoubtable Adam Gaffin also weighed in.

Grimm situation at the Globe resolved

By adamg on Mon, 01/09/2023 – 8:36pm

John Carroll reports he could not believe his eyes the other day when the Globe replaced “Mother Goose and Grimm” with one of those depressing strips about 20somethings being depressing.

The Globe’s Kevin Slane, though, reports the venerable strip is back today.

All’s well that ends well, yeah? Let’s hope the Globe editors stop all their strip teasing for a good long while.

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Boston Herald Comic Mocks Globe’s Comic Stripping

February 22, 2019

As the hardreading staff has diligently chronicled, the Boston Globe joined dozens of other newspapers in dumping Non Sequitur for inviting Donald Trump to do something anatomically impossible in its comic strip last week.

 

 

In yesterday’s Boston Herald comics page, Pearls Before Swine offered this commentary.

 

 

Beyond that, Two Daily Town has received several protests to the Globe’s defenestration of Non Sequitur.

Draw, as it were, your own conclusions.

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Boston Globe Finally Gets Zippy, Dumps Non Sequitur

February 14, 2019

As the hardreading staff has previously noted, the Boston Globe had no immediate reaction to last Sunday’s Non Sequitur comic, which contained what was widely described as a “profane and vulgar” message to Donald Trump inviting him to do something, well, anatomically impossible.

 

All week newspapers have been busy dropping the strip (The Daily Cartoonist stopped counting at 45), and today the Globe followed suit with this Page 2 editor’s note.

 

 

So, instead of this on today’s comics pages . . .

 

 

Globe readers got this.

 

 

If Non Sequitur had to go (which, in truth, it didn’t), Zippy the Pinhead is an excellent replacement.

(To be sure graf goes here)

To be sure, there were a couple of protests on Twitter.

 

 

But that’s pretty much all the blowback we saw.

According to the editor’s note, the Sunday Globe will continue to stiff Zippy, opting instead for Half Full, which is, to be fair, half funny.

Hey – six out of seven Zippys ain’t bad.

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Boston Globe Tells President ‘Go F— Yourself’ Part 2

February 12, 2019

As the hardreading staff noted yesterday, the strip has hit the fan over Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur comic on Sunday, which featured this smash note for Donald Trump (it’s now been erased from the web version).

 

 

That caused a number of papers to drop the strip, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Butler (PA) Eagle, Orlando Sentinel, the Sun Sentinel of South Florida, the Post Bulletin of Rochester, MN, the Post-Standard of Syracuse, the Columbus Dispatch, and . . . well, tally them yourself here.

But not, as yet, the Boston Globe.

So we tweeted this a couple of hours ago to Globe editor Brian McGrory.

 

 

So far, no reply.

All this mishegas coincides with yesterday’s launch of the expanded Globe comics pages, which now look like this.

 

 

As it happens, the four restored comics – Mother Goose & Grimm, Bizarro, Rose Is Rose, and Adam @ Home – share the kiddie table on the right with Non Sequitur.

 

 

Memo to Globe readers who voted for Rose Is Rose and Adam@Home: Here’s what you brought back to the party.

 

 

When you could’ve had this . . .

 

 

. . . and this.

 

 

As Indiana Jones might say, you chose poorly.

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Boston Globe Tells Donald Trump to ‘Go F— Yourself’

February 11, 2019

Well the strip has really hit the fan over Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur comic on Sunday, and the Boston Globe is in it up to its eyeballs.

Yesterday’s Non Sequitur depicted this color-it-in “Bearaissance” with Leonardo Bear-Vinci. (Image from Globe e-paper.)

 

Problem is, tucked into the middle of the strip was this exhortation to Donald Trump.

 

 

As we write this, two newspapers – the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Butler Eagle – have dropped the strip, and the Twitterverse is relatively calm. We doubt it will remain that way.

And we look forward to the Globe’s reaction to the rumpus. Feels like a lose-lose, no?

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Globe Relocates Comics Pages Willy-Nilly

June 30, 2016

The hardreading staff is a longtime devotee of Boston Globe comic strips such as Dan Piraro’s Bizarro, Bill Griffith’s Zippy the Pinhead, and Darby Conley’s Get Fuzzy, and we’ve long had a morning routine of reading the Globe Sports section, then turning to the back of the Metro section to read the funny pages.

Until yesterday.

When suddenly – magically! – the comics pages appeared at the back of the Sports section. (D6 and D7 for those of you keeping score at home.)

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-30 at 2.23.30 AM

 

No advance warning.

No Editor’s note.

No nothing.

And then today – poof! – the comics pages are back at the rear of Metro.

Hey, Globeniks: Some respek, eh?

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Comic Strips Not ‘Living’ Large in Boston Globe

January 12, 2015

Well the new Living section (which replaces the late, unlamented G section) debuted in the Boston Globe today, and here’s how the paper’s press release touted the launch:

Unknown

The Boston Globe Launches New Living/Arts Section with Daily Themes and Fresh Content

Monday through Saturday section to feature everything from food to technology to parenting tips; debuts January 12

Boston (January 12, 2015) – The Boston Globe launched today the new Living/Arts section – a daily broadsheet section focusing on arts, culture, entertainment, and lifestyle. Previously the “g” section, Living/Arts is now bigger and bolder with a fresh design and collection of new compelling features and columns.

The Living/Arts section will include the Globe’s award-winning coverage of arts and culture, as well as family, events, books, style, restaurants, and nightlife, among other new features, in an engaging and eye-catching package.

The new section will revolve around daily themes, Monday through Saturday . . .

 

And etc.

There’s no mention in the press release of the comics pages, mainly because they’ve moved to the back of the Metro section. And, to all appearances, they’ve moved down in size as well.

G:

 

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 1.36.18 PM

 

Metro:

 

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 1.36.56 PM

 

It’s hard to tell from the Globe’s ePaper edition, but here’s an individual matchup.

G Zippy:

 

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 12.40.15 PM

 

Metro Zippy:

 

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 12.39.25 PM

 

The hardreading staff recycles so religiously, we don’t have an old G section lying around the Global Worldwide Headquarters for a paper comparison, but we’re searching elsewhere in hopes of putting an old-fashioned ruler to the strips.

Meanwhile, if any of you splendid readers can enlighten us further, please do.

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