Gee…it’s hard to believe that last year in that other Batiuk strip you two were in high school.
Still, that’s a powerful message coming from Lillian the Lizard’s table display. And if there were ever any customers in her bookstore it would certainly mean something.
MR BATUIK! How dare you…give an opinion I agree with! Maus, 1984, Beloved are the only ones I recognize, but—I AGREE! Book banning is bad! Of course, GC just banned a week of your strips about wildfires, so I…I…I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO THINK! Except…Good job with this one! Doubleplus good!
Let’s all applaud Mr. Tom Batiuk for making the bold stand in acknowledging that these other literary works exist. Maybe sometime in the future he’ll state an opinion on their quality.
Maybe he’ll even do that before running another week of strips to have an avatar declare how golden age The Flash comics “saved him”. Let’s find out.
About 15 years ago I was browsing in a Barnes & Noble, came across the table featuring books from the local schools’ summer reading lists. There among the Dickens, Orwell, Faulkner, Steinbeck, etc. was “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” When that book came out (preceded by the BBC radio dramas) it was considered somewhat subversive and countercultural. Now, here it was some 30 years later being assigned as literature for high school students. It made me feel old.
Buy as many of these “banned” books as you can get your hands on. Last year, I was able to get Maus for my great-granddaughter, but after reading it, it’s a little intense for a 9-year old.
I believe in “age appropriate” literature…in other words, don’t ban the books, but make sure there are age limits. I’ve read 1984 in high school. Good stuff. But, like alcohol and tobacco, there are certain books that should not be allowed in the hands of children. Yes, they should be in our libraries, no they shouldn’t be banned or burned.
No, don’t you guys see? This doesn’t have anything to do with “current events”. Lillian had a premonition of the totally logical and unexplained Great Burning that is coming to Westview in the near future, as referenced at the end of Funky Winkerbean.
Two of the titles, and the pile that looked like newsprint, I could not read. I made out: Catcher in the Rye, The Alchemist, To Kill a Mockingbird, Maus, 1984 by Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 and Beloved.
When I was in high school a long time ago (the 70s), I never heard about books being banned in school, aside from the occasional ruling that a book like Catcher In The Rye couldn’t be required reading. We could still read the book for class by our own choice, however, and I know that it and other controversial books weren’t removed from the libraries. (That’s where I first got Catcher.) And I grew up in a moderately conservative area.
My parents were among the conservatives, but they never would have considered pushing to have books they disliked banned. One time, my dad saw a pile of books I was returning to the public library, and he happened to pick up one that was about the wild ways of a well known rock star. Dad told me that he didn’t want me reading books like that, but that was as far as he went. For what it’s worth, he was probably right that the book wasn’t worth reading, but he didn’t try to get it banned.
What’s going on these days? I think it’s that some folks have figured out that they can profit politically by stirring up these kinds of divisions among people. I definitely see that where I live now. They want to make people afraid of the knowledge their kids might learn from certain books or classroom subjects. And a lot of the time, the fearful people have never read the books they’re complaining about.
To Kill.. and Fahrenheit 451 are great, but I finally read 1984 and found it quite depressing. I kept waiting for something heroic but nothing of the sort happened.
When they started banning books I bought a lot of different titles and gave them to the nieces and nephew for Birthdays. They loved it, as did their parents who had also read them (like I did) for junior and high school English classes.
They are ignorant. We must teach the would-be bookburners. They cannot help not having a decent upbringing. On the other hand, I say: Kick them in the knee and laugh at them.
J.J. O'Malley 10 months ago
Gee…it’s hard to believe that last year in that other Batiuk strip you two were in high school.
Still, that’s a powerful message coming from Lillian the Lizard’s table display. And if there were ever any customers in her bookstore it would certainly mean something.
billsplut 10 months ago
MR BATUIK! How dare you…give an opinion I agree with! Maus, 1984, Beloved are the only ones I recognize, but—I AGREE! Book banning is bad! Of course, GC just banned a week of your strips about wildfires, so I…I…I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO THINK! Except…Good job with this one! Doubleplus good!
angelolady Premium Member 10 months ago
Banning To Kill a Mockingbird is traitorous.
wherescrankshaft 10 months ago
Let’s all applaud Mr. Tom Batiuk for making the bold stand in acknowledging that these other literary works exist. Maybe sometime in the future he’ll state an opinion on their quality.
Maybe he’ll even do that before running another week of strips to have an avatar declare how golden age The Flash comics “saved him”. Let’s find out.
Pedmar Premium Member 10 months ago
About 15 years ago I was browsing in a Barnes & Noble, came across the table featuring books from the local schools’ summer reading lists. There among the Dickens, Orwell, Faulkner, Steinbeck, etc. was “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” When that book came out (preceded by the BBC radio dramas) it was considered somewhat subversive and countercultural. Now, here it was some 30 years later being assigned as literature for high school students. It made me feel old.
oakie817 10 months ago
a lot of those, like ‘1984’, for example, were required reading in my high school English classes
pocho45 10 months ago
What a great comic!!!
Jhony-Yermo 10 months ago
Great cartooning. A+
comixbomix 10 months ago
The real “witch hunt” of our times.
ladykat 10 months ago
Buy as many of these “banned” books as you can get your hands on. Last year, I was able to get Maus for my great-granddaughter, but after reading it, it’s a little intense for a 9-year old.
Robert Miller Premium Member 10 months ago
I believe in “age appropriate” literature…in other words, don’t ban the books, but make sure there are age limits. I’ve read 1984 in high school. Good stuff. But, like alcohol and tobacco, there are certain books that should not be allowed in the hands of children. Yes, they should be in our libraries, no they shouldn’t be banned or burned.
CrzyDyeman 10 months ago
When did ‘1984’ get banned and why?
Mopman 10 months ago
No, don’t you guys see? This doesn’t have anything to do with “current events”. Lillian had a premonition of the totally logical and unexplained Great Burning that is coming to Westview in the near future, as referenced at the end of Funky Winkerbean.
mountainclimber 10 months ago
Ban fascism, not books.
DawnQuinn1 10 months ago
Must be a Republican school. Pretty much every classic book is banned because the Southern Baptist Convention refuses to admit the truth.
ncorgbl 10 months ago
NO books should be banned in the United States of America. NONE.
mfrasca 10 months ago
“Kerosene is nothing but perfume to me.”
- Guy Montag.
jfr Premium Member 10 months ago
Two of the titles, and the pile that looked like newsprint, I could not read. I made out: Catcher in the Rye, The Alchemist, To Kill a Mockingbird, Maus, 1984 by Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 and Beloved.
Otis Rufus Driftwood 10 months ago
Quite a learning experience.
csroberto2854 10 months ago
and thus starts the burnings
Robert Nowall Premium Member 10 months ago
If they want to burn “Catcher in the Rye,” I’d be happy to lend them a match.
French Persons Premium Member 10 months ago
The only book that should be banned is “Lisa’s Story”.
Comics-Reader Premium Member 10 months ago
When I was in high school a long time ago (the 70s), I never heard about books being banned in school, aside from the occasional ruling that a book like Catcher In The Rye couldn’t be required reading. We could still read the book for class by our own choice, however, and I know that it and other controversial books weren’t removed from the libraries. (That’s where I first got Catcher.) And I grew up in a moderately conservative area.
My parents were among the conservatives, but they never would have considered pushing to have books they disliked banned. One time, my dad saw a pile of books I was returning to the public library, and he happened to pick up one that was about the wild ways of a well known rock star. Dad told me that he didn’t want me reading books like that, but that was as far as he went. For what it’s worth, he was probably right that the book wasn’t worth reading, but he didn’t try to get it banned.
What’s going on these days? I think it’s that some folks have figured out that they can profit politically by stirring up these kinds of divisions among people. I definitely see that where I live now. They want to make people afraid of the knowledge their kids might learn from certain books or classroom subjects. And a lot of the time, the fearful people have never read the books they’re complaining about.
Conservative Man 10 months ago
1984 is not not banned by conservatives because it describes Joe Biden and the democrats to a tee
kathleenhicks62 10 months ago
Ban people that don’t read.
James Noury Premium Member 10 months ago
It’s a sad world we live in.
tammyspeakslife Premium Member 10 months ago
Don’t worry people. The Bible will be on that list one day. That’s when people will want to read it
The Orange Mailman 10 months ago
To Kill.. and Fahrenheit 451 are great, but I finally read 1984 and found it quite depressing. I kept waiting for something heroic but nothing of the sort happened.
Teto85 Premium Member 10 months ago
If you are afraid reading a book would change someone’s way of thinking then you are not afraid of books, you are afraid of thinking.
Drbarb71 Premium Member 10 months ago
Thank you Bariuk and Davis for this strip! Those who scream “free speech” then want to ban books are Anti-American and defy the Constitution!
crazeekatlady 10 months ago
When they started banning books I bought a lot of different titles and gave them to the nieces and nephew for Birthdays. They loved it, as did their parents who had also read them (like I did) for junior and high school English classes.
Jaime Jean M 10 months ago
It’s ludicrous to put The Alchemist together with classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and the rest. It’s one of the worst books I’ve read.
csroberto2854 10 months ago
i think this is supposed to be a dig on the Republicans banning books that they can’t comprehend
be ware of eve hill 10 months ago
The only thing that needs to be burned in today’s strip is Lillian.
BURN THE WITCH!!!
ckeller 10 months ago
The idea of Fahrenheit 451 being burned is hilarious.
the real savage 10 months ago
They are ignorant. We must teach the would-be bookburners. They cannot help not having a decent upbringing. On the other hand, I say: Kick them in the knee and laugh at them.
ToneeRhianRose 4 months ago
Banning any of the books on that table is a tragedy!