Birth of a Nation

Like Huey Freeman, the central character in his Boondocks comic strip, Aaron McGruder is somewhat contrarian. In his strip, usually through Huey’s voice, he has questioned the motives of both George W. Bush and BET president Robert Johnson. He has criticized elements of hip-hop culture for glorifying violence and greed, and also called Bill Cosby on the carpet for being out of touch.

McGruder’s targets are frequently political, which led some newspapers to suspend Boondocks after its harsh criticism of Bush post-9/11. If anything, Boondocks hit back harder. Some people don’t understand McGruder’s humor, and some think the strip belongs with editorials—a la Doonesbury—rather than the daily funnies. “If you get the political message more than the joke, it doesn’t mean the joke isn’t there,” McGruder says. “That’s the problem with all humor, especially when you’re dealing with a very, very massive audience. What’s funny to some people is not that funny to others.”

According to McGruder, most of his targets try to contact him in some way or another. Generally, he’s too busy to pay attention. He’s currently on a book tour for a new graphic novel, Birth of a Nation, co-written by writer/director Reginald Hudlin (House Party, The Great White Hype, Serving Sara), and illustrated by Kyle Baker. At press time, McGruder was close to a deal with the Cartoon Network for an animated version of Boondocks to hit television next summer. All of this, plus the pressure of a daily comic strip keeps him from focusing much on any backlash.

“I’m completely isolated from all that,” he says. “I don’t read fan mail, I don’t read hate mail, I don’t talk to the newspapers. The only time I hear or think about my own strip is when the news calls and wants me to comment on something. I don’t really get feedback. I don’t really want it. It kind of complicates the creative process.”