Comments on: Duffy runs full page cartoon in competing paper

By: Paul Fell

Paul Fell — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:16:04 +0000

Thanks for your support, Wiley, but I still stand by what I said and did in my debacle with the Lincoln Journal Star. What I admitted to was that I could have been a lot less snarky in my remarks in the MSNBC.com interview that preceeded my firing, but when you’ve been screwed over for as long as I was, you tend to run out of patience. When you haven’t received a raise in 6 years and then have your employers hire another freelancer to do what you’ve been doing for years does tend to piss one off. There come a point in you life when you have to decide that you have been pushed around enough or accept the fact that you will be everyone’s punching bag.

Also, my situation was way different than Brian’s in that I was a freelancer, not a staffer. If our young friend Neal Davidson will recall, if his memory goes back all that far, is that when I lost my staff position at the old Lincoln Journal in 1992, I behaved with dignity and restraint. I was not the one at fault in that job loss, and while the Journal went out with a permanent black eye, I was able to start my freelance career without the stigma of a long, drawn-out catfight. All the readers, as is true in Brian Duffy’s case, know who the dumb butts were at the Des Moines Register.

Oh, and Neal, why don’t you try and make a living as a freelancer, living by your wits, talent and willingness to work your butt off for year after year and then get back to me with your thoughts, okay…?

By: Wiley Miller

Wiley Miller — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:42:02 +0000

That’s exactly what makes Paul a voice of experience that should be listened to, Neal. He traveled the wrong path, acknowledged it, and is now passing along sage advice for others on which is the right path.

By: Neal Davidson

Neal Davidson — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:02:30 +0000

Funny that Paul Fell would be telling to go with dignity and “never stoop to the level of those who screwed you,” when he more or less did all of those things.

By: Morris Dovey

Morris Dovey — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:51:09 +0000

Next up for the Register: full page used car ads on A-1.

I wonder if Brian has considered selling e-subscriptions to his work…

By: Rich Diesslin

Rich Diesslin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:35:35 +0000

Sweet. ;)

By: Paul Fell

Paul Fell — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:37:39 +0000

When they toss you out on the street, go with dignity like Brian did. It will stand you in good stead in days to come. Never stoop to the level of those who screwed you.

Sooner or later, what goes around comes around.

By: KRANKY (JOE RANK)

KRANKY (JOE RANK) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:12:05 +0000

This is a great example of one of my pithy little sayings: “Never offend a cartoonist or a songwriter ( I’m both ). They WILL get revenge!” .

I like how the 50 cent was crossed out on the machine, replaced by 75….and the big black spot above the fold where the Duffy cartoon used to be. Nice subleties!

By: Phil Tography

Phil Tography — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:45:27 +0000

sly and smart, this is a great exapmly where the (cartoonist) pen is mightier then the sword

By: Wiley Miller

Wiley Miller — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:15:14 +0000

“What does that say at the bottom of the newspaper vending machine?”

RAGBRAI. That’s a huge annual event in the Summer, a bicycle race across the State of Iowa sponsored by the Register. Thousands of cyclists from all across the country participate. It’s kind of a beerfest on wheels. Brian was a big part of promoting the event every year… for the Register’s benefit.

By: Ted "Dippity-do" Dawson

Ted "Dippity-do" Dawson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:02:29 +0000

Duffy rocks. What does that say at the bottom of the newspaper vending machine?