Chan Lowe: Reject Corner!!!
Deep down in the nether regions of my brain, I knew this cartoon wasn't going to pass muster with my editor. I've worked on editorial pages long enough to know when I've crossed the line.
"Oh, come on," Mrs. Lowe-Down said when I told her the idea over breakfast.
"Your older readers will love it!"
"Yeah, but this is the editorial page, not a Mae West movie," I replied.
Nevertheless, I thought the idea was so clever that I sketched it up anyway and
showed it, tongue-in-cheek, to my editor, Antonio Fins. What did I have to
lose? It's his job, not mine, to determine taste issues in our section of
the paper.
Tony did not disappoint. Herewith, his response:
"Chan, Chan, Chan. How long have you been at this paper? By now, you know that cartoons with overtly sexual references, or double-meanings, don't get into print. Yes, values have changed and edgier content is getting into newsprint, but we still have to uphold certain standards.
"But, look, I get it. You need to push the envelope. And I need to stop the envelope and take all the fun out of your job.
"So, no."
What do you think? Was Tony right?
CHAN LOWE has been the Sun Sentinel’s first and only editorial cartoonist for the past twenty-six years. Before that, he worked as cartoonist and writer for the Oklahoma City Times and the Shawnee (OK) News-Star.
Comments
any reference to body parts north of the knees and south of the beltbuckle are a no-no mr lowe. that would include any refernces to any functions of those parts.
Posted by: ron wilson | October 4, 2010 12:44 PM
I can't believe people actually said "I don't get it; please explain it..." That joke has been used well past Mae West movies. Now, if you tried to explain WHY the guy walking through the metal detector was...you know...THAT would have gone over the line.
Posted by: LRP | October 4, 2010 6:02 PM