# FoxTrot, lead times, and the blackout **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494 "2003-08-29T19:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/1 "2003-08-29T19:31:36Z")
This past week, the comic strip [FoxTrot](http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/index.phtml) has been running a series of strips about the characters dealing with an “ink outage”: Calling other comic characters to confirm that it’s widespread, emergency reserves only being enough to sketch the tops of Jason’s and Peter’s heads, etc. It seems pretty clearly to be a reference to the Great Eastern Blackout… But don’t cartoonists work on a several-month leadtime? That is to say, the strip must be finished and delivered to the syndicate months before it will actually run. FoxTrot has even poked fun at this practice in the past: One of the characters complains how hard it is to be up-to-date in a comic strip, and another walks in and asks if they’ve heard about Watergate. So how did Bill Amend manage this one? Coincidence? A pre-filed set of strips, set aside at the syndicate “to be used in the event of major blackout”? Special arrangement with the Powers that Be? ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/2 "2003-08-29T19:41:55Z")
Hey, those strips probably only take a few seconds to draw, since they are mostly blank. Amend probably has some sort of mechanism in place to bump strips to the top, i’ve noticed he is usually up to date on geek stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/3 "2003-08-29T20:11:20Z")
I don’t think it’s a coincidence. [Yesterday’s comic](http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/2003/08/28/) talks about people blaming the USA or Canada, and that would be pretty darn coincidental, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/4 "2003-08-29T20:19:41Z")
If I recall correctly, it takes about six weeks to two months for Sunday strips, but I don’t think that it takes that long for daily strips. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/5 "2003-08-29T20:42:23Z")
I’m sure all syndicated cartoonists have a procedure for getting strips out within 24 hours’ notice or whatever, for emergencies. Like if tomorrow’s **Dilbert** had a joke about dead nuns, and Mother Theresa died this afternoon (yes, I know, hush), the syndicate might call up Scott Adams to fax over another strip, which would then be sent to the papers as a more tasteful replacement instead. As **Governor Quinn** says, Sunday strips need six week’s lead time for the color printing to get done, so that’s a different matter. This is why synchronizing color and black-and-white strips for larger story arcs is seldome done, because of the difficulty in coordination. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/6 "2003-08-29T22:15:59Z")
Normally I don’t like **Foxtrot** , but this series has been pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/7 "2003-08-29T22:23:59Z")
The Sunday after _Star Wars: Episode II_ premiered, FoxTrot had an inside joke based on the film. I guess he must have somehow found out about that plot point before the film came out, huh? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/8 "2003-08-30T01:28:32Z")
some comic strips have tighter deadlines. i seem to remember doonesbury having a 2 week lead time because trudeau works better with looming deadlines. sunday strips are rarely related to what happens during the week, so they can be put in around an existing story line, like fbofw and foxtrot. i’m thinking amend maybe on the 2 week plan as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/9 "2003-08-30T04:20:01Z")
> [@](#): > > The Sunday after Star Wars: Episode II premiered, FoxTrot had an inside joke based on the film. I guess he must have somehow found out about that plot point before the film came out, huh? You’re remembering a different strip than I am. The strip I remember right after AOTC was something like Peter: “So how did you like the movie?” Jason: “Really, what are the chances that I wouldn’t like a Star Wars movie?” Peter: “About the same as the chances that Lucas would let a cartoonist in on an advance screening, so he can say something substantive?” Jason: “Well, maybe not that low.” In other words, yet another joke at the lead-time. But if Amend has a method for bumping in “current event” strips, why don’t all cartoonists have the same thing? Or at least, why don’t we ever see any of them using it? ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/10 "2003-08-30T04:58:42Z")
Well, to be fair, _The Boondocks_ is pretty much consistently up on current events. _Doonesbury_, as well. They tend to have a little bit more lag time because those strips have to be fully drawn. These _Foxtrot_ strips are pretty much just text and a couple of lines, so they were easier to produce so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Shemem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Shemem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shemem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/11 "2003-08-31T05:13:12Z")
Oh, I recall from my copy editor days one particular daily syndicated comic that frequently didn’t arrive until the last minute, if not later, because of the artist’s procrastination. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/12 "2003-08-31T05:33:47Z")
Another example of FoxTrot’s short lead times: he did an "all your base are belong to us"strip VERY early in the lifespan of that cliche. As for finding out about Star Wars II early, I don’t think its that hard. Weird Al wrote his entire Star Wars song based only on what he read on internet spoiler sites. cite: [http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsY/yankovic\_qanda1.html](http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsY/yankovic_qanda1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/13 "2003-08-31T06:49:55Z")
I remember reading that Bill Amend does his strips only a few weeks in advance, much to his syndicate’s chagrin. This, plus his knowledge of the internet (he tends to be VERY fast at catching the latest pop-culture things going around on the internet) is probably how he manages to stay so current. I wouldn’t be suprised if they keep some “timeless” strips on reserve, to use after the ones based on current things. ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/14 "2003-08-31T06:56:31Z")
Really? I remember that strip, and I thought it was a tad stale around the edges, but, of course, I suppose for a comic strip that it’s pretty amazing that they got it within a year… ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxtrot-lead-times-and-the-blackout/198494/15 "2003-08-31T07:01:38Z")
Really? I remember that strip, and I thought it was a tad stale around the edges, but, of course, I suppose for a comic strip that it’s pretty amazing that they got it within a year…