'Boondocks' Creator: Newspapers Too 'Sanitized' and He Won't Do a Daily Comic Again

By: E&P Staff "The Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder criticized the limitations of newspapers in an interview with the Sixshot.com electronic hip-hop magazine.

McGruder last year ended his "Boondocks" comic to concentrate on his "Boondocks" TV show, which is now in its second season on the Cartoon Network.

"There absolutely is much greater freedom on television," said McGruder. "You can go way beyond the scope of what a strip can do. In terms of content the newspapers are very conservative and sanitized, so I can express a greater range of ideas on television."

McGruder confirmed that the TV show "played a factor in me walking away from the strip because I tried to do both and it took a huge toll on me." He did note that "I constantly play with the idea of doing an online or wireless strip. It's something that I think could happen. Whether it happens after the show or while the show is running depends on how many hours I can go without sleep."

SixShot.com asked McGruder if he would consider doing a daily newspaper comic again. "No, because I can't meet their schedules," he replied. "Seven days a week is just too much and they make you do all or nothing. I could perhaps do a weekly strip but it would need to be under my terms."

The McGruder interview -- which can be seen here -- was linked to today on BaldoComics.com. That's the Web site of the "Baldo" strip by Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos of Universal Press Syndicate, which distributed "The Boondocks" strip.