New York, March 7 (U.S.): Cartoonists have dismissed the racist remarks made by “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams, and one artist even used his own strip this week to satirize the outrageous cartoons that were dropped by newspapers across the country.
Darren Bell turns his “Candorville” strip — which usually features young black and Latinx characters — into a way to address Adams’ racism by imitating the look and feel of “Dilbert,” complete with a stray tie.
“The only reason anyone knows who Scott Adams is is because of the comics page. So I thought someone on the comics page should answer him on the comics page,” said Bell, the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner for Photo Reporting and Commentary. Associated Press.
In strips that run Monday through Saturday, Bell has paired Dilbert with one of his characters, Lemont Brown, according to the Associated Press.
In one, Dilbert hopes Lemont will side with him in his quest for a proven laundromat in the business.
“You can machine wash the hoodie,” says Delbert. Lemont responds: “And can you wash the hood?”
Adams, who is white, was outspoken — and controversial — on social media long before he called black people a “hate group” on YouTube last month.
Adams repeatedly referred to black people as members of a “hate group” and said he would no longer “help black Americans”. He later said that he was exaggerating, but continued to defend his position.
said Bell, whose new graphic novel “The Talk” explores a biracial man’s upbringing in white culture.
Other cartoonists have come forward to denounce Adams, such as Bill Holbrook, creator of “On the Fasttrack,” a strip that features the multiracial family and focuses — like “Dilbert” — on the modern workplace.
“One of the things I wanted to highlight with my characters is that people get over their differences. It can work,” said Holbrook.
“That’s the light I wanted to focus on and still do. It’s all about where you want to put your focus.”
Holbrooke said that the Adams case is not a case of so-called cancel culture but rather a case of consequences.
“I fully support him saying whatever he wants, but then he has to bear the consequences of saying it,” he said. “It hasn’t been canceled. He suffers the consequences of expressing his views.”
Individual newspapers dropped “Dilbert” and Adams’ distribution company, Andrews McMeel Universal, said it was severing ties with the cartoonist. While some outlets replaced “Dilbert” with another strip, The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Massachusetts, decided to keep the space blank through March “as a reminder of the racism that pervades our society.”
The “Dilbert” controversy rocked the community of daily cartoonists who often created their work in their homes several months before it was published. While they’re reliably pro-free speech, they say they’re also heading toward a better future — or at least chuckle.
T. Vogner, editor-in-chief of the King Features Syndicate, which distributes tapes like “Candorville,” “Zits,” “Mutts” and “Dennis the Menace” — said in a statement to the Associated Press.
“We are proud of the cartoonists who are using their platforms to denounce the hate that Scott Adams is spreading and encourage others to join us as we stand together as a community to keep the world of cartooning a safe and welcoming place for all,” the statement said.
Bell credited the King Features Syndicate and his editors for allowing him to rip the strips for that week and switch to sending “Dilbert”, an unusual request.
“They apparently thought it was important enough to take the risk and make sure she got out on time,” Bell said.
Several comics creators have said they’ve stopped reading Dilbert over the past several years, finding the strip’s darker tone and its creator’s descent into misogyny, anti-immigration, and racism troubling. But Adams still had hundreds of newspapers left before last week.
“Six Chix” is the second black woman in comics history to be syndicated nationally, said costar Bianca Zunes, who co-wrote the “Six Chix” strip.
Xunise noted that the fallout was much quicker when she drew a strip that commented on both the Black Lives Matter movement and the coronavirus pandemic. More than 120 prints immediately dropped the ribbon.
She said being black in the world of cartoons always seems to trigger a backlash for unsavory readers and those dreading “wake-up” messages, but she is relieved that “Heart of the City” by now black cartoonist Staines has replaced “Dilbert” in The Washington Post . .
“We don’t want to push it to become a different form of fascism about censoring everyone’s ideas just for fear of being attacked,” Zunes said. “But some things don’t need to be said, especially if they’re dealing a direct blow to those who are marginalized.”
Adams was moving into unfamiliar territory, said Riccardo Liniers Serre, the creator of “Macanudo,” better known as Liniers. This is the third train for a cartoonist.
“Grieving in general is not fun. The funniest guy at a party isn’t the guy who just complains about everything. This is the annoying guy,” he said.
“I’m not complaining. I’m just trying to focus on all the good we have,” he added. “Because in the context of a newspaper with a lot of bad news, I try to have an optimistic space.”