Gene Assesses the First Reports from the Front.

Q: How many casualties were there among people fighting to get a copy of the June 7 paper?

A: Post authorities have assured me that the collateral damage, while significant, was well within acceptable levels.


Q: Have the testimonials from grateful newspaper publishers overwhelmed you, or merely inundated?

A: I understand that Anders Gyllenhall, the executive editor of the Miami Herald, is trying to get his niece and nephew, Maggie and Jake, to star in the film version.


Q: Based on the early returns, do you declare victory?

A: Yes, though as I noted, I think as of day two, it is clear to most readers that the strip's best days are behind it.


Q: Has David Clark threatened to strike unless he receives a bigger share of the syndication fees?

A: No, worse. He has threatened to sneak some penises into the strip.


Q: In a related question, so it really is true that poor people are happier and more fulfilled than rich people?

A: Yes.


Q: Is there any truth to rumor that you plan to kill off one of the major characters and replace him with a clone?

A: We already did that. You will notice that Barney in Day One has a small scar on one finger. In day three, it is gone. That is his clone.


Q: When will the 3-D version of the strip be debuting?

A: We are working on it. It will be x-rated. Lucretia is the key.


Q: Will Barney or Clyde make a guest appearance in Pearls Before Swine?

A: That's up to Pastis. I will reveal that in week 9 or so, a character from another strip makes a guest appearance in B&C. (ME: See also the above link to the Miami Herald video on YouTube.)


Q: To all those who doubted that you could write a comihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife-of-rich-man.html">c strip, how do you respond? Neener neener or nyah nyah nyah nyah?

A: I do not yet respond. It would be foolhardy.

Q: This question was raised by alert reader Alexander Mitchell:

> I wonder if the Herald got it just because of their past connection with
> Weingarten and the fact that he retains a level of connection - he is
> involved in the annual Herald Hunt (formerly the Tropic Hunt) and is
> friends with Dave Barry (who I believe is still (at some level) on staff
> there even though he now longer does weekly columns (he does do
> occasional pieces)), Carl Hiaasen and probably other senior types, etc.
>
> ted

My personal theory is that he has something with which he can
blackmail the staff at said papers.

The other question: since Papa Weingarten has demonstrated, through
his writings and online chats, to be somewhere to the left of Obama &
Co. and Bill Maher and maybe a bit to the right of Stalin, given the
subject matter of this strip, will it actually focus on humor and
character development, or eventually drift towards being an
overbearing polemic screed?

Not sure which you want me to answer. Why the Herald took the strip is addressed forthrightly here.

As far as politics, yes, by week 7 or so, Clyde and his friends will have marched on Pillsbury Pharmaceuticals with pitchforks, and beheaded Barney.

Thanks, Gene.