# Continuing Peanuts is unjust to new cartoonists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370 "2015-11-12T14:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/61 "2015-11-12T23:22:05Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I know Frank Cho. He did that incredibly tacky thing to protest the generally low quality of new comics being nominated, not to pocket yet another prize. It wasn’t a cool thing to do, but he kind of had a point. Suuuure. But he still won and \*took the prize. \* Technically, it wasnt against the rules (then) but it’s still cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/62 "2015-11-12T23:36:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Suuuure. But he still won and \*took the prize. \* Technically, it wasnt against the rules (then) but it’s still cheating. He also weathered some really bad publicity and never tried anything like that again. Out of curiosity, which other contestant should have gotten the prize instead? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/63 "2015-11-12T23:43:05Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > He also weathered some really bad publicity and never tried anything like that again. Out of curiosity, which other contestant should have gotten the prize instead? Give me all the materials and make me a judge, and I’ll give you a fair and unbiased answer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/64 "2015-11-12T23:46:44Z")
Actually, I just looked up the nominees for the 1999 Ignatz Awards and have to retract some of my earlier comments. There were definitely some worthy nominees: **Liberty Meadows #1** (Frank Cho, Insight Studio Group) \* **American Splendor: Transatlantic Comics** (Pekar, Sacco, Stack & Warneford) **Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight** (James Sturm, Drawn & Quarterly) **The Jew of New York** (Ben Katchor, Pantheon Books) **Oracle** (Joe Zabel & Gary Dumm, Amazing Montage) In Frank’s defense, he was very young at the time and hasn’t done anything like this since. He’s grown a lot as an artist since then, too. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/65 "2015-11-12T23:52:32Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Actually, I just looked up the nominees for the 1999 Ignatz Awards and have to retract some of my earlier comments. There were definitely some worthy nominees: > **Liberty Meadows #1** (Frank Cho, Insight Studio Group) \* > **American Splendor: Transatlantic Comics** (Pekar, Sacco, Stack & Warneford) > **Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight** (James Sturm, Drawn & Quarterly) > **The Jew of New York** (Ben Katchor, Pantheon Books) > **Oracle** (Joe Zabel & Gary Dumm, Amazing Montage) > > In Frank’s defense, he was very young at the time and hasn’t done anything like this since. He’s grown a lot as an artist since then, too. And, I have to admit Liberty Meadows is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/66 "2015-11-13T01:40:28Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I do wonder what percentage of people buy newspapers just for the comics. Are there really people out there that are going to cancel their subscription if they don’t have Peanuts anymore? I still subscribe to a daily newspaper, and while it’s not for the comics, the comics page is the first I turn to. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/67 "2015-11-13T02:27:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s my feeling, too. I don’t think there are really any up-and-comers who want to be in newspaper comics anymore. I think the fact that Peanuts runs like this is a testament to that. A few years ago Scott Kurtz of PVP tried to get into print news papers and it did not work out. For people who are interested in where comics are going should watch the documentary Stripped. It is really good. lots of interviews with established print artists. Like Bill Watterson, Greg Evans, Jim Davis, Mort Walker and tons of web comics creators. [http://www.strippedfilm.com/](http://www.strippedfilm.com/) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/68 "2015-11-13T02:39:07Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I don’t intend to knock Charles Schultz or his legacy in any way. Peanuts was probably the most influential comic strip ever created and subsequent generations of cartoonists owe Schultz a debt of gratitude. > > My beef is with the continued of running “Peanuts Classics” strips in newspapers everywhere. Schultz died 15 years ago and while many of his daily strips have aged reasonably well (notice they don’t run strips with Apollo mission references) the fact that they’re still occupying space on the funny pages means that’s space that isn’t otherwise allocated to new and upcoming cartoonists. > > This is likely a problem that will ultimately take care of itself, as there won’t be newspapers for many more years, but in the meantime it’d be nice if they’d stop reprinting decades-old Peanuts strips and give the space to some new cartoonists. How does any of this rise to the level of injustice? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/69 "2015-11-13T03:24:06Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > How does any of this rise to the level of injustice? Well, we want to encourage new artists right? How is running Peanuts, a strip by a long dead man, doing that? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/70 "2015-11-13T03:46:20Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Ah, Comics Curmudgeon! Remembering the glorious snark at the Foobpocalypse. The Foobiverse’s Journal is still running at LiveJournal, critiquing the Mostly Recycled strip. > > (I haven’t read a dead-tree newspaper in years. Don’t miss them.) I love Comics Curmudgeon, it often makes me laugh more than any comic! The Foobiverse’s Journal is a strange thing. I read it for years up till the end of For Better or For Worse, and the critiquing was pretty interesting. In the last few years, though that strip is re-runs, whoever is writing the FJ is not just critiquing strips from years ago, but is so viciously attacking Lynne Johnston personally, laboring mightily every day to make some kind of sneering dig at her, that I think they are - seriously - mentally ill. They’re obsessed with her! They talk about her life, her family, her travels, her retirement, her marriages like deranged stalkerish head cases. All the better to tie into whatever is wrong with the strip that day. Creepy! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/71 "2015-11-13T04:06:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, we want to encourage new artists right? How is running Peanuts, a strip by a long dead man, doing that? As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, by drawing in and captivating new comic-strip fans. You think Mary Worth is gonna do that? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/72 "2015-11-13T04:12:32Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, by drawing in and captivating new comic-strip fans. You think Mary Worth is gonna do that? Mary Worth is also no long done by the original writer and artist, bith are long dead. But no, since i dont think Peanuts brings in new comic-strip fans, just the old fans who have never seen a paper without it. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/73 "2015-11-13T04:44:52Z")
I’ve never read a Peanuts comic, as far as I can remember, but if they were good then and are good now I have no problem with them continuing to see print. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/74 "2015-11-13T05:45:06Z")
My local paper stopped running Doonesbury and replaced it with some Far Side knockoff called “Wumo”. I was displeased and told them they had a moral obligation to run Doonesbury as long as their competition was running “Mallard Filmore”, which has to be the nonfunniest thing ever. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/75 "2015-11-13T06:07:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But no, since i dont think Peanuts brings in new comic-strip fans, just the old fans who have never seen a paper without it. Little kids are seeing it for the first time. They can draw Charlie Brown and Snoopy, which is a huge factor in why kids love it. The humor is timeless. What new strips have all that going for it? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/76 "2015-11-13T06:22:02Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > My local paper stopped running Doonesbury and replaced it with some Far Side knockoff called “Wumo”. I was displeased and told them they had a moral obligation to run Doonesbury as long as their competition was running “Mallard Filmore”, which has to be the nonfunniest thing ever. Garry Trudeau [hasn’t been writing new daily Doonesbury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doonesbury#Alpha_House_and_hiatuses:_2013.E2.80.93) strips since 2013, as he’s been working on Amazon’s web series “Alpha House”. He’s doing new Sunday strips now, but apparently his syndicate has been running old Doonesbury strips Mon-Sat. (The Chicago Tribune replaced Doonesbury with Animal Crackers, which is quite possibly the unfunniest strip I’ve seen in many years.) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/77 "2015-11-13T10:38:08Z")
Who reads Rex Morgan? Who reads Mary Worth? The same very old people who still read newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/78 "2015-11-13T14:14:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, we want to encourage new artists right? How is running Peanuts, a strip by a long dead man, doing that? And someone get those Renoir paintings out of the art galleries! That asshole’s been dead for I don’t know how long 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/79 "2015-11-13T14:20:54Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Just to note that the recently-revived Bloom County is, AFAICT, only appearing on Berke Breathed’s Facebook feed. Given the way his last couple of strips crashed & burned, this is probably for the best. If Berkely Breathed follows his recent pattern, he’ll be losing interest in the strip right about now. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370/80 "2015-11-13T15:30:43Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I love Comics Curmudgeon, it often makes me laugh more than any comic! I stopped going there several years ago because all of his targets were painfully obvious-he never expanded beyond the same 8 or so ancient/zombie strips. The only thing more boring than a comic strip which has died creatively is a blogger who can’t stop riffing on them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-peanuts-is-unjust-to-new-cartoonists/737370.md?page=5)