For the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the comics page won’t be as funny as usual.
Blondie and Dagwood will salute the American flag. Spider-Man will stop to praise a firefighter. And Hagar the Horrible will “thank the heroes.”
The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is being marked in many ways, but few with the reach of 93 comic strips devoted to remembrances of the shared tragedy.
“The Sunday comics offer the biggest canvas for us,” says Brendan Burford, comics editor for King Features Syndicate. “Readers look to the comics page to reflect the national conversation, and on Sunday, Sept. 11, that’s going to be the conversation. I think the impact is going to be profound.”
Cartoonists have joined together before — most notably on Thanksgiving after 9/11 in 2001 — but never at this scale. In addition to King Features, strips from Creators Syndicate, Tribune Media Services, Universal Press Syndicate and Washington Post Writers Group will participate in “Cartoonists Remember 9/11.”
After being published, the 9/11 cartoons will be featured at cartoonistsremember911.com and original art shown at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, the Toonseum in Pittsburgh and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York.
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