Cartoonists are pushing back against racist remarks made by B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� creator Scott Adams, with one artist even using his own strip this week to lampoon the disgraced cartoon now dropped by newspapers nationwide.

Darrin Bell is transforming his strip B次元官网网址淐andorvilleB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� which usually features young Black and Latino characters B次元官网网址� into a way to address AdamsB次元官网网址� racism by mimicking the look and style of B次元官网网址淒ilbert,B次元官网网址� complete with wayward necktie.

B次元官网网址淭he only reason anyone knows who Scott Adams is because of the comics page. So I thought somebody on the comics page should respond to him on the comics page,B次元官网网址� Bell, the 2019 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting and commentary, told The Associated Press.

In the strips running Monday to Saturday, Bell paired Dilbert with one of his own characters, Lemont Brown. In one, Dilbert hopes Lemont will side with him in his quest to get a laundry room installed at work.

B次元官网网址淵ou could wash your hoodie,B次元官网网址� says Dilbert. Responds Lemont: B次元官网网址淎nd you could wash your hood?B次元官网网址�

Adams, who is white, was an outspoken B次元官网网址� and controversial B次元官网网址� presence on social media long before describing Black people as a B次元官网网址渉ate groupB次元官网网址� on YouTube last month. Adams repeatedly referred to people who are Black as members of a B次元官网网址渉ate groupB次元官网网址� and said he would no longer B次元官网网址渉elp Black Americans.B次元官网网址� He later said he was being hyperbolic, yet continued to defend his stance.

B次元官网网址淲hen somebody goes too far like Scott Adams did, everyone who knows better should stand up and use their First Amendment to draw a line B次元官网网址� to say that this is unacceptable,B次元官网网址� said Bell, whose new graphic novel B次元官网网址淭he TalkB次元官网网址� explores growing up as a biracial man in white culture.

Other cartoonists have stepped forward to denounce Adams, like Bill Holbrook, the creator of B次元官网网址淥n the Fastrack,B次元官网网址� a strip that features an interracial family and B次元官网网址� like B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� focuses on a modern workplace.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the things I wanted to spotlight with my characters is that people do rise above their differences. It can work,B次元官网网址� Holbrook said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the spotlight I wanted to focus on and still do. ItB次元官网网址檚 all a matter of where you want to put your focus.B次元官网网址�

Holbrook said the Adams case is not one of so-called cancel culture but of consequences.

B次元官网网址淚 am in full support with him saying anything he wants to, but then he has to own the consequences of saying them,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 not being canceled. HeB次元官网网址檚 experiencing the consequences of expressing his views.B次元官网网址�

Individual newspapers have dropped B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� and AdamsB次元官网网址� distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, said it was severing ties with the cartoonist. While some outlets replaced B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� with another strip, The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Massachusetts, decided to keep the space blank through March B次元官网网址渁s a reminder of the racism that pervades our society.B次元官网网址�

The B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� controversy has rocked a community of daily cartoonists who often create work in their homes several months ahead of publication. While reliably pro-free speech, they say theyB次元官网网址檙e also orientated toward a better future B次元官网网址� or at least a chuckle.

B次元官网网址淲e believe comics are a powerful medium and that cartoonists should perpetuate laughter, not racism and hate,B次元官网网址� said Tea Fougner, editor in chief of King Features Syndicate B次元官网网址� which distributes such strips as B次元官网网址淐andorville,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淶its,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淢uttsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淒ennis the MenaceB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� in a statement to the AP.

B次元官网网址淲e are proud of our cartoonists who are using their platforms to denounce the hatred spread by Scott Adams and encourage others to join us as we stand together as a community to keep the world of cartooning a safe and welcoming space for everyone,B次元官网网址� the statement said.

Bell credited King Features Syndicate and his editors for allowing him to rip up the strips intended for this week and pivot to the B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� send-ups, an unusual request.

B次元官网网址淭hey apparently thought it was important enough to take a risk and to make sure that it goes out on time,B次元官网网址� Bell said.

Many comic creators said theyB次元官网网址檇 stopped reading B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� over the past several years, finding the stripB次元官网网址檚 tone darker and its creatorB次元官网网址檚 descent into misogyny, anti-immigration and racism alarming. But Adams still had hundreds of newspaper perches before last week.

B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 move forward and progress as a culture and as a society if there are still people in these gatekeeping roles that are holding onto these archaic ideas,B次元官网网址� said artist Bianca Xunise, who co-authors the strip B次元官网网址淪ix ChixB次元官网网址� and is the second Black woman in comics history to be nationally syndicated.

Xunise noted 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 publications immediately dropped the strip.

She said being Black in the cartooning world seems to always trigger pushback from hateful readers and those fearful of B次元官网网址渨okeB次元官网网址� messages, but is heartened that B次元官网网址淗eart of the CityB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� now authored by the Black cartoonist Steenz B次元官网网址� replaced B次元官网网址淒ilbertB次元官网网址� in The Washington Post.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want to push so far that it becomes a different form of fascism over censoring everybodyB次元官网网址檚 ideas just out of fear of being offensive,B次元官网网址� Xunise said. B次元官网网址淏ut some things do not need to be said, and especially if they are a directly punching down towards those who are marginalized.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢acanudoB次元官网网址� creator Ricardo Liniers Siri, known professionally as Liniers, said Adams was moving into unfunny territory and thatB次元官网网址檚 a cartoonistB次元官网网址檚 third rail.

B次元官网网址淕rievance generally is not fun. The funniest guy at a party is not the one just complaining about everything. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the annoying guy,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 do grievance. IB次元官网网址檓 just trying to focus on whatever is good that we have around,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淏ecause in the context of a newspaper with so much bad news, I try to have an optimistic space.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址斺赌斺赌�

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

By Mark Kennedy

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Like us on and follow us on .