‘Boondocks’ remains on hiatus; return undecided

KANSAS CITY — “The Boondocks,” a controversial comic strip about a black family living in the suburbs, will take a longer hiatus from the nation’s newspapers than originally planned.

Aaron McGruder, who in February put his strip on what was supposed to be a six-month hiatus, has not decided when, or if, he will return to newspapers, Universal Press Syndicate announced Monday. The syndicate said that McGruder has made no statement about retiring.

The comic was to return in October and new strips would have had to be in by mid-September to meet newspapers’ deadlines for printing them, said Lee Salem, president of Kansas City-based Universal Press.

McGruder, 31, is busy with a Cartoon Network animated television show of his comic and other ventures and didn’t think it was the right time to decide whether to return to newspapers, Salem said.

“It’s my understanding, in the communications with Aaron and his agent, that the biggest problem is finding the right time to make a decision,” Salem said.

“The Boondocks” touched on several controversial issues, in-

cluding race and politics, through the characters of Huey Freeman, his little brother, Riley, and their grandfather, who moved the family from south Chicago to the suburbs.

McGruder was unavailable for interviews Monday. Salem said Universal hoped to have a decision from McGruder in the next month or two and wanted to continue its relationship with him in the future — in one form or another.

Newspapers that were running reruns in place of the strip may continue to do so free of charge until the last Saturday in November. After that, Salem said, each individual market can decide how to replace the strip.

Universal made the announcement Monday because newspaper comic page editors will have to decide soon how to fill the space, Salem said.

“We decided to get the word out now to notify our clients because we are mindful of their situation,” Salem said.

“The Boondocks” began syndication in April 1999 and appeared in about 300 daily and Sunday newspapers and online.