Dear Boston Globe:
I voted for it (like there was a choice), but Red and Rover is gone, and good riddance. Inauthentic fan letters notwithstanding, the strip is nothing more than a marketing ploy, fine-tuned to hit two notes (baby boomers and their children) in cynically calibrated harmony.
The strip is set in the 1950s, featuring tin can phones, afternoons watching “Leave it to Beaver,” and nary a Negro in sight. Yes, this is America idyll, back when boys were boys, girls were named Mary Lou, and people who owned cats were obviously queer. Do we really need to feed Baby Boomers more pre-adolescent fantasies that, yes, they grew up in a utopia and went on to become the Best Generation Ever?
But let’s put aside content for a moment here and talk about the comics business itself. Brian Basset is already author of yet another demographic smart bomb, “Adam,” a paean to caffeinated X’er parenting in the culturally-inert exurbs that runs daily in the Globe. So if for no other reason than fairness to other comic artists trying to catch a break, let’s not let this marginally competent comic artist take up two slots when he’s hardly demonstrated his worthiness as the author of one.
4 Comments
have you ever considered that red and rover seemed to parallel calvin & hobbes, albeit with more schmaltz? it seemed like an ill-timed, feeble attempt to fill in a gap that was left when calvin & hobbes was discontinued. what it lacked in flair and originality, it tried to make up in cheap jabs to people’s sentiments, which apparently it couldn’t do very well even despite the growing trend of sensationalism. i second the globe’s decision.
‘Tis a most sad thing that R&R is back on the Globe comics page due to reader unrest. (Probably, like, 10 letters to the editor).
Get a life>>> When you comment on something at least get your decades correct. It takes place in the late 60’s or 70’s probably before you were even thought of. If you read the comics strip you would know that he has a crush on Marcia Brady. What comic did it replace? You probably would shoot down Peanuts also. I like this comic and I’m glad that the Washington Post prints it along with other good comics like The Boondocks. You probably have more things to whine about in Boston than one comic strip. Go back to your coffee shop and brood awhile.
I agree that Red and Rover seems like an atrocious copy of the retired strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Each day, when I read Red and Rover, I usually find that the comic is a cheap imitation of a better constructed Calvin and Hobbes comic. If you are familiar with both of these comics, I’m sure you will easily pick up the similarities- take a look for yourself. I believe that this is become a bigger issue, as each day Brian Basset rips off another one of Bill Watterson original ideas.
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] comics editor has caved to public pressure and restored Red and Rover to the Sidekick section. What a shame. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
Post a Comment