We’ve been getting queries about whether I’m quitting Candorville, and I can only assume it’s because of a recent Editor & Publisher article. I sent a note to E&P to clear it up, but it was so articulate (we’re talking Barack Obama articulatoriness here) that I thought I’d post it in its entirety below:–Candorville was canceled in Chicago a couple months back, and while Chicago readers keep asking for Candorville to return, those readers are being ignored. Then, the Chicago company ordered cuts to the LA Times comics page that resulted in Candorville being dropped, leaving a city with a large, vocal and active Black population with little or no reflection of itself on the comics page.While I’m disappointed with Chicago and LA, and my disappointment was reflected in my initial comments to bradblog, mine is an otherwise growing list, and I have no intention of quitting, not until I die or the newspaper industry goes under – whichever comes first.Candorville is a fresh, new voice on the comics page. It’s the only feature presenting social and political satire from an African-American perspective. Everywhere it runs, some readers love it, some hate it, but from the e-mails I receive they obviously look forward to loving or hating it every day. It’s exciting to them, and it’s exciting for me to create something that provokes such passion and dialogue about the important issues of our times.Sometimes I think editors won’t be happy until every strip looks like Family Circus. Candorville is unique in art and approach, and editors struggle with unique when it comes to comics. But, except for setbacks in Chicago and LA, C-ville has been growing. I and the Writers Group are convince that we’re on the right track.Candorville attracts the same demographics as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report – two extraordinarily popular TV shows that, not coincidentally, focus on socio-political humor. This is what my generation wants from their entertainment. We want hard-hitting, funny satire that takes issues on directly, not just mindless escapism. That “Marmaduke” and “Blondie” are safe in LA – a city where the majority does NOT look or live like Blondie & Dagwood – says more about the LA Times preferring blandness to excitement and wanting to disengage from readers rather than making them think and keeping them entertained with material that’s relevant to their worlds.Thankfully, most papers we deal with recognize the value of using edgy, diverse features to attract a younger demographic. Those papers are looking out for their futures rather than catering to their past, and as long as those papers are out there, I’ll be around drawing Candorville.