Creator of popular comic strip tackles gay rights

[WillParkinson]

Creator of popular comic strip tackles gay rights

Inspiration comes from a variety of places for cartoonist Tom Batiuk.

The creator-writer-illustrator of the long-running “Funky Winkerbean” comic strip got his latest dose of inspiration from — of all things — a newspaper.

“I was reading a story over breakfast about a protest by a parent group at a school in Hilliard, Ohio, that seemed to be about tolerance toward gays,” Batiuk said by phone Wednesday from his studio.

As he sat pondering the story and its impact, Batiuk, 63, gradually got the idea to create a “Funky” storyline about a gay student couple who cause a flap when they want to attend the prom at the strip’s fictional Westview High School.

The monthlong storyline will kick off in more than 400 newspapers nationwide, including The Chronicle-Telegram, starting April 30.

“It struck me that whenever I sit in classes at Midview High, which I still do, my overall impression is that the younger generation’s attitudes toward gays is more open and accepting than their predecessors,” Batiuk said. “It’s not perfect, but it shows promise for an emerging generation that will bring this issue (intolerance) to an end.

“I wanted to take those two opposing viewpoints to reach across that divide of intolerance.”

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/04/19/creator-of-popular-comic-strip-tackles-gay-rights/

[Zookeeper]

1. Wow, very cool!

He is absolutely right. When Santorum's homophobic drivel was in the news, I asked my teenage son if gay marriage was even an issue among his peers; he did that teenage "dumb question from an old person" shrug and said "No."

The homophobes are fighting a losing battle.

Anyway, bravo for Batiuk.