Message to Trump hidden in a corner of Wiley Miller's "Non Sequitur"
This is a somewhat rare story. Wiley Miller (1951), author of the nationally syndicated "Non Sequitur wiley Miller (1952), author of the nationally syndicated cartoon "Non Sequitur ", included what he called an "Easter egg" in his Sunday 10 February strip and announced it (screenshot) on his Twitter account:
"Some of my more observant readers have found a little Easter egg in Leonardo Bear-Vinci's vignette - can you find it?"
I think that if the author had not warned of the existence of this sentence nobody would have noticed it. But there were many who congratulated him on the message.
The hidden message in question turned out to be a direct insult to Donald Trump that more than one found among the rest of the unreadable phrases:
"We fondly say go fuck yourself to Trump".
A reader alerted Pennsylvania's Buttler Eagle newspaper to the message in the cartoon and the company, which has not taken kindly to it, has decided to suspend the cartoons wiley Miller, which it published every Sunday.
"We apologise that such a disgusting stunt has been used on readers. The Butler Eagle will suspend this comic immediately," said Ron Vodenichar, publisher and CEO of the Buttler Eagle.
I don't quite understand the cartoonist's move, since that week's cartoon was an invitation to colour in the cartoons of a character called"Leonardo Bear Vinci" and there was nothing in the context that had any relation to Donald Trump, or I'm missing something.
Perhaps he thought it would be a fun and unexpected game, but it has lost him at least one medium in which to publish. What is certain is that when he announced it he knew what he was playing at.
It is also curious how many media outlets avoid writing the full sentence and instead write:"Go F**k Yourself". Media rules, I guess.
According to the "Non Sequitur" website, Miller's cartoon is published in over 700 newspapers and it is not known if any other media published it with this "Easter egg" and if they have decided to suspend it, nor is it known yet why this hidden message to Donald Trump was added to the Sunday cartoon, but it is very clear that the author does not like him very much.
Apology from the union and the cartoonist
On Monday, Andrews McMeel, from the syndicate representing Wiley Miller, issued a statement of apology:
"With respect to the Sunday 'Non Sequitur' comic published on February 10, which contains vulgar language, we regret that it slipped through our editing process. Had we discovered it, we would not have distributed the comic without removing it. We apologise to the customers and readers of Non Sequitur for our error in overseeing it"
And the cartoonist also apologised, admitting that he got heated and that the cartoon was not the final version for the public, that he intended to remove the expletive before submitting the work, but forgot, and that if he had intended to make a statement for readers to understand, he would have done so in a more subtle and sophisticated way."
Miller, speaking an interview nBC News assured:
"I own it. I did it. "It's what I felt at the time.
"I did it, it's what I felt at the time."
It was a mistake. If you look at it, it's just scribbled and it wasn't meant to be read, it wasn't meant to be readable. I intended to take it down before I scanned it and sent it off. I completely forgot about it.
According to NBC, Miller also promised that this will be his last vulgar attack on Trump in his cartoons.
More than 45 newspapers suspend Miller's cartoons
This has not stopped other media outlets from following in the Buttler Eagle 's footsteps and suspending the publication of "Non Sequitur" in their pages, and the list continues to grow.
Butter Eagle, The Joplin Globe, The Effingham Daily News, The Anderson Herald Bulletin, The Tulsa World, The Winston-Salem Journal, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Twin Cities Pioneer Press, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Dallas Morning News, The Columbus Dispatch, The Orlando Sentinel, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Chicago Tribune and other Tribune Publishing Group newspapers
The Spokane Spokesman-Review, The Rochester Post Bulletin, The Olean New Times, The Bradford Era, The Wisconsin State Journal
And two more that, although not confirmed, will almost certainly do the same:
The Chattanooga Times Free Press, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
You can see the list of media outlets and their opinions on the matter in this list, which is being updated by The Daily Cartoonist.
It looks like many more outlets will be suspending the cartoon.
In a comment on the list, Mike Lester considers that continuing to update it has become cruel, so The Daily Cartoonist has decided to stop adding media unless readers want it to continue.
And while the number of media outlets suspending Wiley's comic continues to grow, readers are also defending the author and expressing their disappointment at the reaction of newspapers and call for the return of what they consider one of their favourite cartoonists.
After a few weeks, Los Angeles Times announces the return of Wiley's cartoons to its pages, little by little, other publications are bringing back "Non Sequitur".
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