Disgruntled L.A. Times Readers Will Cut You

I was so pleased to see the outcry against the Los Angeles Times’ decision to remove “Sally Forth” from the roster. This blog post from the fellow-travelers at Franklin Avenue is pretty great, and much appreciated.

Why do I care? Because my special friend Francesco Marciuliano writes it, and I see how hard he works to make the strip a fun mixture of absurdity and heartfelt realism. I think he succeeds quite well, too.

Comic strip readers are a strange, funny, rabidly loyal and also rather demanding lot, as I’m sure Joshua Fruhlinger of The Comics Curmudgeon would surely attest. I’ve sometimes wondered if some of Ces’s hip references would fly over older readers’ heads, but as these comments show, the older folks and the younger folks dig “Sally Forth.” I think everyone can relate to the real human drama that Ces injects into this daily, ongoing story.

For example, when I first met Ces, he was just beginning to emerge from years of shitty, untreated depression (and as he’s written about it elsewhere, I feel alright mentioning it here.) As he took the steps necessary to crawl out of that darkness, he looked back on what he’d been through and wondered if other people might relate. He also considered, in early 2007, that the economy was in the shitter and would undoubtedly only get crappier as time went on (this is important, as he writes the strips several months in advance of their being published.) Thus did his main character, Ted Forth, come to experience a job layoff and a deep, lengthy depression.

The thing is, when Ces had Ted go through the depression, the strip didn’t get depressing. It was still funny. But it became even more relatable than it had previously been, because his main character showed a previously unexpressed vulnerability that felt real and human. And people responded in droves. I was so proud when he would receive snail mail or email from strangers telling him how much they’d appreciated his respectfully funny take on depression, midlife crisis and career troubles, because they got it. They understood.

But back to the LA Times blog post, which is causing quite the kerfluffle.

I’ve chosen some of my favorite comments, and I’d like to take the time to thank these strangers. I’ve excised remarks that unfavorably compared another strip to “Sally,” because the point of my post isn’t to dog on the other hardworking fellows and ladies in this industry…it’s to show how much people care about Ces’s strip and its little world of deceptively normal-looking inhabitants.

Sarah Black got sarcastic: “Well, thank you so much LA Times for replacing Sally Forth, a great comic strip with characters I actually care to read about…”

Gary F. rolled out a threat: “…after 33 years of subcribing you are getting close to being replaced.”

Cary was not having it: “42 years of reading the LATimes, and I continue to be dismayed on a daily basis as to what has happened to my hometown paper….”

Bill Bickel made a great point: “I suspect TPTB at the L.A. Times don’t realize that Sally Forth today is NOT the Sally Forth of 10 years ago: It’s as ‘fresh and relevant’ now as anything on the comics page, with an occasional touch of ‘weird.’”

Cygnet put her foot down: “SALLY FORTH is contemporary, relevant, and funny. Its approach to layoffs and opposite-sex friends at work actually tapped early into issues which the hard news and feature writers are just now covering. Many a SF strip is part of our family chronicles and scrapbooks.”

Brian Gaughan is the jam: “A well written and entertaining strip like “Sally Forth” that just so happens to deal with real situations in a real entertaining and satisfying way is replaced…”

Susan Van Houten may or may not be Milhouse’s mom, but she totally rules: “Sally Forth’s humor is timeless.”

Jim got classical: “What in the name of the Bloody Blue Pleiades possessed you to replace ‘Sally Forth’?”

Margaret Hagen will not stand for this crap: “I have subscribed to the LA Times since 1957 and have read the comics daily and Sundays. Currently the Sunday comics have diminished to the point that not reading them doesn’t leave the reader out of the loop. As for the daily comics, They have shrunk from three pages to two which I can deal with. however unwillingly. Removing Sally Forth is a shock and almost unforgivable and I do hope will be reconsidered. “

Judith Lasker was pissed: “I’m so glad to see the majority of comments echoing my thoughts upon opening the comic section this morning.

Dropping Sally Forth? Helllllooooooooo, we saved this comic a year or so ago and now you’re doing it again?

Get a grip and respond to your readers, most of whom seem to agree with me and object to SF’s replacement. ;(((“

Katie Scott might dump the paper for the ‘Net: “This was done once before and the daily readers complained and “Sally Forth” returned to the comics page due to the popularity of the strip! I have put up with a lot of changes to the Times but if I have to get a subscription to comics.com in order to have ‘Sally Forth’ I will drop my 10 yr subscription to the Times to make up for it.”

Judy Scott will have Sam Zell’s head on a platter: “Let me guess; you stealth replaced ‘SALLY FORTH’ not because it was unpopular, or these new two are better written/drawn strips (they’re not) but because of BUDGET CONSTRAINTS! Huh? Sound familiar? I’ve been receiving the L.A. Times at the same home location for over 30 years and NOTHING done since Zell took over has pleased me – this is the last straw! Bring back SALLY or cancel my subscription!”

Ray lurves Ces’s tenure: “Man, I can’t believe you guys got rid of Sally Forth! That was one of the few comics I really enjoyed reading…I think it’s only gotten better since 1999.”

Marilyn Way is sweetly feisty: “I am saddened that you have removed Sally Forth. I may be older, but I thought the comic strip was relevant, refreshing and funny. I think it it time for me to make a change.”

If you’d care to add your voice, mosey on over to this site and leave a comment.

Regardless of what happens, I know the outpouring of support has truly touched Francesco, and it’s made me happy, too. “Sally Forth” doesn’t run in NYC, and so it’s hard for Ces to have a sense of how the comic truly affects people around the country. Incidents like this, discouraging though they may be, also provide a wonderful affirmation for the comic strip writer who generally spends his days writing alone. It can be a lonely endeavor, this writing thing, and positive comments are always appreciated.