Those darn WaPo comics and cartoonists

 

Reader critiques: The ‘Doonesbury’ editors reveal Garry Trudeau’s epic prank

Washington Post May 24 2025: A13

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/23/unfunny-comics-doonesbury-qr-code-prickly-city/

A Dagwood of cartoon beefs

As I’ve previously proffered, there seems to be some form of comic collaboration occurring on the pages of The Post. On May 8, four strips featured takeout food, and two of them specifically mentioned pizza. Granted, Dagwood in “Blondie” is obsessed with eating the most unhealthy, gargantuan sandwiches almost every day. How does he stay so slim?

Eric Greene, Annapolis

The coldest of cuts

Wait. Was it a joke within a joke?

I scanned the QR code embedded in the May 18 “Doonesbury” that was supposed to take me to a list of MAGA’s banned words. Imagine my dismay when I got a dreaded 404 error message saying the site had “disappeared.” That message suggests that the site once existed and Garry Trudeau didn’t make the whole thing up. So how scary is that? Should we be worried Trudeau might meet that same fate? Should we worry that he might be renditioned to some black-hole prison somewhere? How worried should we be about Stephen Colbert, Dana Milbank and others who use their words and wit to skewer President Donald Trump and his minions? How worried should I be if The Post publishes this note? What a sorry state we’re in!

Janet Keefer, Pittsboro, North Carolina

Note from the prankster “Doonesbury” editors: The 404 error page is intentional! “The banned word list is banned!”

Slathered with blather

“WuMo” MustGo! It’s not funny or clever, as hard as Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler try. You’re wasting The Post’s (and readers’) money on them. I don’t have a replacement to suggest, but there must be other cartoon creators that are worth reading.

Lewis Gollub, Bethesda

Fresher greens

I request that you remove “Heart of the City” from your comics lineup. The characters are confusing. The content is unintelligible. It’s a waste of valuable space when there are probably hundreds of aspiring cartoonists who are more creative.

Pam Williams, Spokane

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Extra nopales

In her May 17 Free for All letter, “It’s unfunny because it’s true,” Anne Schwartz suggested that The Post consider eliminating “Prickly City.” It is the best political cartoon in the paper. Scott Stantis has stayed neutral, using his strip to point out inconsistencies and problems in the Biden administration and now highlighting illegal actions taken by the Trump administration. Comic strips are not necessarily funny. “Prickly City” rightly provides a warning to citizens to pay attention to what’s happening in this country. If anything, please move this strip to Page A2.

Janet Burt, Fairfax

Hold the knuckle

The “Beetle Bailey” cartoon glorifies bullying and physical abuse; The Post needs to eliminate it from the comics pages. Multiple members of my family have served in the U.S. military, and I find the cartoon’s depictions of military service offensive.

Catherine Nellist, Rockville

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(Edith Pritchett/The Washington Post)

Pass the Pepto

I always appreciate the concisely rendered messages of Joe Heller’s and Clay Bennett’s editorial cartoons. And I’m always laughing at my favorite comics: “Prickly City,” “Non Sequitur,” “Baby Blues,” “Lio,” “Pickles” and “Red and Rover,” and saving my favorite, “Pearls Before Swine,” to read last. But I am also looking at the half-page dedicated to Edith Pritchett’s cartoons. Please stop squandering precious space and subscribers’ money (both of which are at grave risk now) on the Pritchett void.

Jane Margaret Dow, Arlington

Lost and profound

I am not easily moved to tears, but Harry Bliss’s May 4 Book World article, “Loving my dog Penny meant digging her grave,” sure did the trick. My husband, Eduardo, and I share our lives with our two amazing Pomeranians, Dolce and Gabbana, who will be 10 this month. I cannot fathom the day either of them leaves us. However, as with many other important issues you touch on in marriage, this has been discussed, albeit with difficulty.

Even though his piece was hard to read, we fully agree with Bliss that the generosity and love our dogs give us unconditionally, at all times, is profound, “and profound things need to be written about.” We’ve discovered that we often find our humanity by interacting with these soulful creatures. No matter how many more years Dolce and Gabbana have left to grace us with their company, we can’t be thankful enough.

Carlos Navarro, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

That darn Edith Pritchett

What's haute, what's naute [ Edith Pritchet letter

Jennifer Hull, Greenville, South Carolina

Washington Post Feb 15 2024: A13.

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/14/rent-seeking-usaid-doge-musk-leonardo-da-vinci/

A gut punch. That's what I felt when I came upon Edith Pritchett's Feb. 3 cartoon, "The fashion philistine's guide to identifying haute couture." Many of the articles that led up to it were alarming, even frightening. I thank The Post for giving us the truth about the chaos unfolding in this country, but where was the courage in this cartoon choice?

That darn Toles! (continued)

Witches are your neighbors and acquaintances

Washington Post Saturday, September 25, 2010; A11

What is a witch? The Tea Party's Senate candidate in Delaware, Christine O'Donnell, said that she dabbled in witchcraft. Post columnist Richard Cohen ["Republicans, bewitched," op-ed, Sept. 21] and cartoonist Tom Toles [Sept. 21] commented on it. I wonder if either knows what a witch is? Is it the Hollywood version from "Snow White" or "The Wizard of Oz?" If not, then what?

A witch could be standing in line behind you at the checkout counter or sitting next to you on the Metro. And he or she probably does not cackle or have a wart on her nose or carry a broom. There are several thousand of them in America. They are hard to tell from Episcopalians or anyone else.

If The Post is going to write about them, perhaps you should invite one or two to talk to your staff to provide some background and answer questions.

John B. Holway, Springfield

That darn Cho!

Another Saturday, another letter to the editor...

You should have named Le Pont des Arts in Paris
Washington Post September 4, 2010
Judith Judson, Arlington

...at least they reran Cho's picture.

That darn Luckovich

Cheap shot
Washington Post June 26 2010


I am disappointed in the poor taste that you showed by running the Mike Luckovich cartoon [Drawing Board, June 19] of Gen. David H. Petraeus collapsing last week at a congressional hearing on the war in Afghanistan.

The cartoon took a cheap shot that was far beneath you.

James Lawler, McLean

That darn Babin

Another letter to the editor - this time on Rex Babin:
Cruel treatment of the Gores, Gerald Kamens, Arlington, Washington Post (June 12 2010).

Letters to Post on 'political' comic strips

What's wrong with drawing on politics?
Washington Post Saturday, May 15, 2010; A13

Prickly City is too prickly says letter

Another letter to the editor - Prickly City' is too political for the comics pages, Jonathan Bosch, Washington Post Saturday, May 8, 2010.

That darn Toles, continued even more

Ummmm, doesn't the idea of less guns = less gun crimes ever occur to anyone? On the other hand, I guess if one thinks that editorial cartoons shouldn't be propaganda, one lives in a different world than I do. They're editorializing after all.

Propagandist cartoon draws on the District's gun laws
Washington Post Tuesday, April 6, 2010; A12

The April 1 editorial cartoon by Tom Toles seemed to imply that the 2008 Supreme Court ruling that forced the District to revamp its gun laws led to last week's shootings that left four people dead in Southeast Washington.

The only problem with Mr. Toles's blatant propaganda is that the still-restrictive gun laws make it impossible for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. Does anyone think the suspects in the shootings owned guns legally?

Tom McAnear, Arlington

That darn Toles, continued some more

Today - a letter defending Toles from the earlier letters.

That darn Luckovich

Cartoon is out of sync with painting it resembles
Washington Post Saturday, March 20, 2010


The March 13 Drawing Board cartoon drawn by Mike Luckovich for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was inaccurate.

It purported to depict the Constitutional Convention. What was actually depicted was the famous John Trumbull painting, "Declaration of Independence," showing the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock by Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the "Committee of Five."

Today the image appears on the reverse of the two-dollar bill. The image is also found in the life-size mural in the U.S. Capitol. Jefferson was in Paris as minister to France when the Constitutional Convention was held.

H. Wayne Elliott,
Charlottesville

That darn Mussey

Marie Drom says in a letter to the editor of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star "Mussey's cartoon was not a bit funny" (2/10/2010)

That darn Lio!

Free for All roundup of short critiques of The Post
Washington Post Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas spirits

What a heartwarming Christmas message the "Lio" comic strip put forth Dec. 23. I only hope that when my 5-year-old is waiting in front of a liquor store to score some booze, he remembers that I prefer single-malt Scotch!

Mitch Katz, Falls Church

That darn Archie

'Archie' on Bended Knee
Washington Post Saturday, August 22, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103417.html

Regarding the Aug. 19 Style article "Arch Rivals":

Lost in the "Archie" comic's Betty/Veronica debate are the voices of Archie's parents. Has his father's 401(k) been so depleted that the parents are more concerned with their own golden retirement funding than they are with their son's moral compass and his welfare?

Maybe we've overestimated Archie himself these many years. Perhaps, the man is so insecure that he needs a trophy wife for validation.

Archie's decision to propose to Veronica may be revealing of his true character, not out of character.

Materialism and egocentrism vs. altruism and selflessness . . . the battle continues.

DONNA MANZ

Vienna

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It has been a long time since I read "Archie" comics but, based on what I know, it is hard for me to believe that Archie Andrews would marry Veronica Lodge. We can only hope that he comes to his senses, recants his proposal and marries his one true love -- Jughead.

ROBERT J. TETLOW

Vienna

Remembering Buck Rogers

Buck Rogers started as a pulp novel, moved to comic strips, then radio, then serials, then tv. He's had a long life.

Paging Buck Rogers
Washington Post Saturday, July 25, 2009

Reading Jennifer Ouellette's July 19 Outlook article, "Apollo With Warp Drive? Make It So," was an enjoyable trip through 20th-century science fiction.

Not mentioned were the radio space adventures of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," which ran in the 1930s and '40s. It was one of the earliest of the juvenile adventure series portraying the characters of Buck, Wilma and friends from the future continuously battling the evil forces led by Killer Kane and Ardala.

Listeners of the radio program also heard of the marvelous inventions and ways of the future. I would surmise that they were not too surprised at hearing of the 1969 moon landing.

-- Edwin Morgenstern

Silver Spring

That darn Toles continued

Don't Blame the GOP
Washington Post Saturday, July 25, 2009


It is silly to expect objectivity from any editorial cartoonist, but Tom Toles's July 21 cartoon, which blamed Republicans for the delay since 1993 in enacting health-care reform, ignored both historical and current fact.

It was a Democratic-controlled Congress that rejected the Clinton administration's "Hillarycare" health-care reform plan in 1994, before Republicans swept to a majority in both the Senate and House.

And, of course, it is impossible not to notice that Democrats once again control both houses of Congress, so if they reject the "Obamacare" version of health-care reform this year, the Republican minority once again cannot be at fault.

-- Lynda Meyers

Arlington

That darn Beetle Bailey!

No Salute for Beetle Bailey
Washington Post June 20 2009

Mort Walker and The Post owe an apology to the men and women of the U.S. military for the June 18 "Beetle Bailey" cartoon insinuating that our armed services have a mission only to "blow things up" around the world. As a veteran and the parent of two servicemen, I believe an apology is also owed to the families whose loved ones died protecting our freedoms, including the right to publish offensive cartoons.

-- Jack Koehler

Annapolis

OT: AAEC president Rall has a letter in the NYTimes

I'm not sure how widely this will be picked up, and since I'm home with a sick kid, and saw it in the paper, here you go - "And Now a Word From the Artists: Pay for Our Work," Published: June 18, 2009.

That darn Post!

Actually, I mostly agree with this letter - a rarity - except for the 'understandable reaction' since comic strips are apparently among the most popular features of the paper.

Stop All That Razzmafrazz
Washington Post Saturday, June 6, 2009

Earlier this year, The Post reduced the number of comic strips it carries in print and shrank the size of those that remained.

This was an understandable reflection of the economic pressures that The Post and the newspaper industry face. At the same time, the comic strip "Agnes" was relegated to the KidsPost page, a move that was rightfully criticized by readers as not being the best example for children. It was then replaced with "Frazz."

However, KidsPost does not appear every day, depriving those of us who enjoy "Frazz" of two installments a week. When "Frazz" appears, we adults are reduced to searching for KidsPost and surreptitiously reading the comic before we are accused of being juvenile, or worse.

Returning "Frazz" to its rightful place with the other comics would be appreciated by those of us who pretend to be adults while enjoying the humor of the comics.

-- Ken Poole

White Post, Va.

That darn Berge!

I apologize for insensitive cartoon
Washington Blade (May 22 2009): 19

To the Editors:
Re: “Disappointed by insensitive cartoon mocking blindness” (letter to the editor by Eric Peterson, May 1)

In response to the letter by Eric Petersen, I am writing to apologize for my recent cartoon about New York Gov. David Paterson. In drawing the cartoon, I had worried that some readers might perceive it as a slam against the governor’s blindness, rather than, as I was intending, a comment on LGBT leaders’ lack of readiness when he brought marriage rights issues to the fore.

Please accept my explanation that while the cartoon took Gov. Paterson’s blindness as a given condition, I in no way wanted readers to think that the cartoon was attacking him for it. I appreciate Gov. Paterson’s extraordinary courage and leadership on this issue, and I hope the drive for marriage equality in New York proves successful.

I thank Mr. Petersen for his thoughtful response to the cartoon, and I sincerely apologize.

PAUL BERGE
Sturtevant, Wisc.