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The Boondocks #3
A Right to Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury
Here’s the first big book of The Boondocks, more than four years and 800 strips of one of the most influential, controversial, and scathingly funny comics ever to run in a daily newspaper.
“With bodacious wit, in just a few panels, each day Aaron serves up—and sends up—life in America through the eyes of two African-American kids who are full of attitude, intelligence, and rebellion. Each time I read the strip, I laugh—and I wonder how long The Boondocks can get away with the things it says. And how on earth can the most truthful thing in the newspaper be the comics?”
—From the foreword by Michael Moore
“With bodacious wit, in just a few panels, each day Aaron serves up—and sends up—life in America through the eyes of two African-American kids who are full of attitude, intelligence, and rebellion. Each time I read the strip, I laugh—and I wonder how long The Boondocks can get away with the things it says. And how on earth can the most truthful thing in the newspaper be the comics?”
—From the foreword by Michael Moore
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2003
55 people are currently reading
853 people want to read
About the author
Aaron McGruder
12 books165 followersAaron McGruder is an American cartoonist best known for writing and drawing The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip about two young African American brothers from inner-city Chicago now living with their grandfather in a sedate suburb. Through the leftist Huey (named after Huey P. Newton) and his younger brother Riley, a young want-to-be gangsta, the strip explores issues involving African American culture and American politics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
April 8, 2009
Hilarious and biting. The local (Republican owned and operated) daily paper tried to cut this from their comic page and had to bring it back in response to popular demand. Some of the best social satire being done today.
October 3, 2021
This is one of the great comic strips that heads know but a lot of times you don’t see mentioned when people compile best of era work which I think had a lot to do with demographics of people who make those lists, even when they are well intended and knowledgeable etc.
Calvin and Hobbes is probably my favorite comics strip ever, you have to throw Peanuts in there, I love Farside, and I have great respect for the art of the classic Krazy Kat Sunday strips but in that same breath or a half breath after you got Boondocks, which unfortunately is still relevant today even if, like anything charged for and specific to an era, has some dated material within those still relevant themes.
A kid today can read this and be like “so what?”that this was in newspapers that millions of people read and before it was picked up it was rejected by major syndicates who liked it but thought it was a bit charged. They were wrong, it was just real.
Timeless works often get our highest respect but this is a strip that had something to say and unlike a lot of strips wasn’t nostalgic and appealing to what we already knew what appeared to existing readers, it was a now thing and took chances. In many ways, even though this is probably not factual, it felt like the first post-Boomer strip.
As it is it stands as a reminder of where things were at, how much has changed, and how much still needs changing.
Calvin and Hobbes is probably my favorite comics strip ever, you have to throw Peanuts in there, I love Farside, and I have great respect for the art of the classic Krazy Kat Sunday strips but in that same breath or a half breath after you got Boondocks, which unfortunately is still relevant today even if, like anything charged for and specific to an era, has some dated material within those still relevant themes.
A kid today can read this and be like “so what?”that this was in newspapers that millions of people read and before it was picked up it was rejected by major syndicates who liked it but thought it was a bit charged. They were wrong, it was just real.
Timeless works often get our highest respect but this is a strip that had something to say and unlike a lot of strips wasn’t nostalgic and appealing to what we already knew what appeared to existing readers, it was a now thing and took chances. In many ways, even though this is probably not factual, it felt like the first post-Boomer strip.
As it is it stands as a reminder of where things were at, how much has changed, and how much still needs changing.
April 25, 2007
I have man-love for Huey, and I'm not afraid to admit it.
August 3, 2016
Many of the cultural and political references are now dated, so it would take a lot for a teen today to access most of these strips. But Huey is just so damn revolutionary, and Riley is this unknowing cog in the black culture wheel... so much value here, so much satire. I was a fan of McGruder from day 1, and his jabs at racial and economic injustices hold lots of weight today. I would definitely hand this to the kid who is developing a critical consciousness, and some strips are perfect for starting discussion.
The strips are a gazillion times better than the show, IMO--but maybe that's because the background noises (Grandad whupping Riley, the drunken slurring of Ruckus) and the incessant use of the n-word make me uncomfortable (as a white woman). Even though it's still raunchy and punchy and outrageously anti-racist, it's much tamer than the cartoon on Adult Swim.
The strips are a gazillion times better than the show, IMO--but maybe that's because the background noises (Grandad whupping Riley, the drunken slurring of Ruckus) and the incessant use of the n-word make me uncomfortable (as a white woman). Even though it's still raunchy and punchy and outrageously anti-racist, it's much tamer than the cartoon on Adult Swim.
April 29, 2017
I don't love the pop culture criticism as much as the jokes about race, but I am glad I read this volume because this is when post-9/11 hysteria goes into full swing and the comic viciously criticizes the Bush administration. I'm glad I had the Boondocks in high school and I'm glad to be rereading it now.
August 20, 2013
SIX WORD REVIEW: Who listens to conscious black kids?
August 9, 2020
Like everyone, I've caught the snippets of comic strips here and there over the years and thoroughly enjoyed Boondocks. It is biting and clever; one of the wittiest comics in existence, imo. I was not aware of the running BET jokes, the Santa conspiracy thread, and many other recurring themes until I sat down with the whole collection and so I really recommend working through this rightfully labeled "treasury" for more gems that can be found when you see the author's through-line. It's a tome of genius that comes almost before its time, but delivered a much-needed punch to American society. Covering the Clinton-Bush and post 9/11 era and illustrating a heavy knowledge of history, it's like a memory book of America's worst moments, somehow delivered in the most entertaining way.
October 17, 2023
This volume gets to the post-9/11 Boondocks, where McGruder doubles down on making the strip a microphone to voice all his personal conspiracies on the US government. Like, he still takes time to weigh in on Attack of the Clones and Cuba Gooding Jr, but for the most part it's laser-focused criticism of Bush-era policies. Which, to me, is where the strip gains new life.
A handful of references go over my head because I was in 4th grade at the time most of these strips ran. Had to google who Pat Buchanan was, which in turn helped me understand a Futurama joke from around the same time.
A handful of references go over my head because I was in 4th grade at the time most of these strips ran. Had to google who Pat Buchanan was, which in turn helped me understand a Futurama joke from around the same time.
August 23, 2020
McGruder's sarcasm and truth-telling is both hilarious and thought provoking. And still, after all these years, relevant.
June 22, 2022
Biting and funny political commentary with a surprising heart.
November 12, 2010
This is the first of Aaron McGruder's series of "Boondocks" comic books. The main characters are Huey and Riley Freeman, two African American children from a rough part of Chicago. Their Grandfather moved them to a wealthy suburban neighborhood called Woodcrest, which is mostly white and has not seen many black people. Huey Freeman, 10, is named after Huey Newton, a former leader of the black panthers. He is not afraid to address hypocrisy in adults especially when it comes to whites and racism which causes many awkward moments. His younger brother Riley is a product of current "gansta rap", which gets him in trouble with the neighborhood adults and causes may confrontations between his backside and his gandfather's leather belt.
I must say that my overall impression of the book, was just what I had expected from Aaron McGruder. I had previously heard of then his comics in the back of newspapers, and I had heard the controversy they stirred. It's daring nature to address issues that most people would not touch with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. Things from gender relations to police brutality has been covered in these pages. This comic book holds nothing back and makes the human population do two things it desperately does not want to do, think and ask "why". By the end of this book you will be thinking about issues you overlook each day even when they happen right in front of you. You'll be asking why are things the way they are today, and slowly as you become to form a sensible hypothesis through thinking and asking you will become less ignorant to things that happen, not only in the U.S., but the entire world as well.
What I like about this book is that while it is deep and sometimes dark it can still make you laugh, which was the difference between me giving it five stars instead of four. But there is a fine line between funny and offensive and I think that McGruder is tap dancing on that line. Which makes me ask... "why is this comic strip allowed at my public library." I am almost certain that this comic book will offend, confuse, anger, and scare some people so how come someone has not sued this comic strip and gotten it off the shelves?"
I guess as long as "The Boondocks" is on the shelves, no matter how many time his comics get rejected for being to bawdy and daring or how many of his episodes get banned in the U.S., Aaron will continue to tap dance on that line and lead a revolution of the minds. And just a the prologue says "the revolution wasn't televised, it was the comic page".
I must say that my overall impression of the book, was just what I had expected from Aaron McGruder. I had previously heard of then his comics in the back of newspapers, and I had heard the controversy they stirred. It's daring nature to address issues that most people would not touch with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. Things from gender relations to police brutality has been covered in these pages. This comic book holds nothing back and makes the human population do two things it desperately does not want to do, think and ask "why". By the end of this book you will be thinking about issues you overlook each day even when they happen right in front of you. You'll be asking why are things the way they are today, and slowly as you become to form a sensible hypothesis through thinking and asking you will become less ignorant to things that happen, not only in the U.S., but the entire world as well.
What I like about this book is that while it is deep and sometimes dark it can still make you laugh, which was the difference between me giving it five stars instead of four. But there is a fine line between funny and offensive and I think that McGruder is tap dancing on that line. Which makes me ask... "why is this comic strip allowed at my public library." I am almost certain that this comic book will offend, confuse, anger, and scare some people so how come someone has not sued this comic strip and gotten it off the shelves?"
I guess as long as "The Boondocks" is on the shelves, no matter how many time his comics get rejected for being to bawdy and daring or how many of his episodes get banned in the U.S., Aaron will continue to tap dance on that line and lead a revolution of the minds. And just a the prologue says "the revolution wasn't televised, it was the comic page".
January 8, 2009
i can't believe aaron mcgruder got away with publishing this strip in daily newspapers for so long. it wasn't just that its political content was alienating to huge chunks of the readership of centrist, mainstream print news. it wasn't just that the strip catered to a niche audience (be honest here - no matter how much _you_ like hip hop, your average newspaper reader has no idea who shyne or c-murder were, and had never actually listened to biggie, 2pac, or wu-tang). and even though the boondocks wasn't shy when it came to talking about race relations, even that isn't why i'm surprised so few newspapers dropped it. no, i'm amazed the boondocks ran until mr. mcgruder got tired of doing it every day because sooner or later, he made fun of pretty much everyone who could conceivably have been reading. and he wasn't gentle. read long enough, and he was going to go after you, personally. straight for the metaphorical jugular. it seemed like he was purposefully trying to piss off everyone who might possibly have any goodwill built up towards him.
probably he managed it because the strips are fuckin' hilarious.
since the boondocks have jumped to tv cartoon format on adult swim, it's changed in a lot of ways. he's got more time to build plots, and color and music to tell the story with. this is both an asset and a liability. more time to fill is less urgency to the pace of the jokes, and when the tv feeds you color and sound, you lose the opportunity to imagine your own. it's still funny, but i still miss the daily mouthful of the original. this collection is the next best thing, still wicked fun even if the topical jokes are more dated by the day.
go remind yourself why your local paper put up with the boondocks until aaron mcgruder wouldn't put up with the local papers any more. if you missed it the first time around, keep an eye out for the strip that ran on thanksgiving 2001. that strip is a particularly sharp reminder why the best comedians are always angry - true comedy comes when something is so outrageous, the only sane way to deal with it is laugh.
probably he managed it because the strips are fuckin' hilarious.
since the boondocks have jumped to tv cartoon format on adult swim, it's changed in a lot of ways. he's got more time to build plots, and color and music to tell the story with. this is both an asset and a liability. more time to fill is less urgency to the pace of the jokes, and when the tv feeds you color and sound, you lose the opportunity to imagine your own. it's still funny, but i still miss the daily mouthful of the original. this collection is the next best thing, still wicked fun even if the topical jokes are more dated by the day.
go remind yourself why your local paper put up with the boondocks until aaron mcgruder wouldn't put up with the local papers any more. if you missed it the first time around, keep an eye out for the strip that ran on thanksgiving 2001. that strip is a particularly sharp reminder why the best comedians are always angry - true comedy comes when something is so outrageous, the only sane way to deal with it is laugh.
October 26, 2021
4.5 [Liked it+] Super smart and subversive writing. Great art. I feel like McGruder really captures many of the common racial problems still plaguing the country. Each character is pretty one-dimensional, but they play their parts very well (the angry activist, the gangsta thug, the White savior, the Black sellout, etc). I appreciate that he is willing to call out Huey’s occasional shortsightedness. Also, it goes to show how history can make you forget how bad things were. Man, Bush and Cheney SUCK.
April 27, 2008
Way more than just a cartoon strip. Aaron McGruder (literally) draws a portrait of how Black America might be perceived both by its members and by those who never have and never will experience life as an African-American. These strips are hilarious and thought-provoking. They made me reconsider the perceptions I have of how race plays into every aspect of American society and especially the danger of taking related images in the media for granted.
October 22, 2016
This is a must-read historical record of the closing of the 20th century and the opening of the 21st. McGruder's documentation of events from 1999-2003 helps contextualize the cultural climate of 2016. I am inspired to create a shelf on Goodreads for books such as A Right to Be Hostile. I will keep this book in my collection for the foreseeable future so I can lend it to any friend who is interested.
November 25, 2019
The Boondocks is at once laugh out loud funny and painfully biting.
From the first issue to the last this comic will have you laughing out loud, cringing, and questioning your own place in all of this mess. The Boondocks is brilliant, a comic subversive enough to be censored and brilliant enough to get trough that censorship and continue to find its readers. As a Marylander I'm not certain whether I should be proud that Aaron McGruder grew up here or doing some serious soul-searching about what he went through when he lived here.
I would recommend this book to most without hesitation, and eagerly await to hear their commentary. I can't wait to read more of these comics, and for the show to return in 2020 on HBO. Surprisingly few of these comics have aged poorly, which is a problem in and of itself. Man, shouldn't we be doing better than all of this?
From the first issue to the last this comic will have you laughing out loud, cringing, and questioning your own place in all of this mess. The Boondocks is brilliant, a comic subversive enough to be censored and brilliant enough to get trough that censorship and continue to find its readers. As a Marylander I'm not certain whether I should be proud that Aaron McGruder grew up here or doing some serious soul-searching about what he went through when he lived here.
I would recommend this book to most without hesitation, and eagerly await to hear their commentary. I can't wait to read more of these comics, and for the show to return in 2020 on HBO. Surprisingly few of these comics have aged poorly, which is a problem in and of itself. Man, shouldn't we be doing better than all of this?
October 24, 2023
Supposedly this is meant to be a subversive commentary on race. When this ran as a comic strip in the Chicago Tribune, it provoked people to cancel their subscriptions to the newspaper. No surprise, it was racist and anti-white, and unfit for family viewing.
But were these perceptions wrong? The answer is no. We see Huey and his brother as perpetually angry, making the white people he unwillingly lives around discomfited. In reality, instead of being afraid of him, they would have likely ended up scorning him and beating him up. The "angry black male" trope was trite decades ago, and most people react not with discomfiture but with ridicule, yet the author is evidently too naive to realize this. He mentions slavery and "stolen land", which people have known about for decades. This might have been subversive in 1959, but by the 1990's it is long since old hat. What does it matter what happened a century and a half ago? What about nowadays? Funny how McGruder fails to mention issues such as crime and police brutality. Instead, he complains about movies and entertainment, such as Jar Jar Binks supposedly being a black stereotype.
Then again, it should be noted that McGruder himself, unlike his characters, did not grow up in the ghetto but instead had a middle-class life. Which makes his hostility sound more like whininess than righteous anger.
But were these perceptions wrong? The answer is no. We see Huey and his brother as perpetually angry, making the white people he unwillingly lives around discomfited. In reality, instead of being afraid of him, they would have likely ended up scorning him and beating him up. The "angry black male" trope was trite decades ago, and most people react not with discomfiture but with ridicule, yet the author is evidently too naive to realize this. He mentions slavery and "stolen land", which people have known about for decades. This might have been subversive in 1959, but by the 1990's it is long since old hat. What does it matter what happened a century and a half ago? What about nowadays? Funny how McGruder fails to mention issues such as crime and police brutality. Instead, he complains about movies and entertainment, such as Jar Jar Binks supposedly being a black stereotype.
Then again, it should be noted that McGruder himself, unlike his characters, did not grow up in the ghetto but instead had a middle-class life. Which makes his hostility sound more like whininess than righteous anger.
June 30, 2024
Boondocks je jeden z mála satirických amerických komiksových stripů, co mají velmi odvážný humor a ani to není zároveň republikánský blábol- naopak je to dost inkluzivní a spíše nahrává americké levici. Hlavní pětice afroamerických dětí v bohaté čtvrti je dost zajímavá: hlavní hrdina Huey je anarchistický socialista, jeho bratr Riley si chce hrát na gangstera a říká si Escobar (nejvíc vtipná postava), Jasmine je míšenka co bojuje se svou identitou a Ceasar je vážný Star Wars nerd. Tyto postavy figurují ve stripech který často řeší nějaký vážný problém v té době co ho autor napsal- např. prezidentské volby, operace CIA, ale hlavně se autor vyjadřuje k etnickým otázkám. Jako třešnička na dortu je to, že postavy mají nějaký dospělý zájem/problém, ale stále jsou to děti a chovají se jako děti, což dělá super humor navíc. Jo a dědeček je taky něco :-)))
March 16, 2019
I was unaware that The Boondocks was a comic strip. I only knew it from the show. This was a fun read and great satire. Aaron McGruder writes and draws this great comic strip that satirizes African American Culture and American Politics as seen through the young, black radical Huey Freeman and his older brother Riley Freeman.
Some of the things he was making fun were dated for me because of my age but when I did get it was hilarious. The art was good even though McGruder stated that the characters looked like grotesque versions of themselves.
I'm glad that the Boondocks has been making a comeback with more people talking about it. Saying McGruder was a prophet and ahead of his time. He's been writing more strips and hopefully, he continues to do so.
Some of the things he was making fun were dated for me because of my age but when I did get it was hilarious. The art was good even though McGruder stated that the characters looked like grotesque versions of themselves.
I'm glad that the Boondocks has been making a comeback with more people talking about it. Saying McGruder was a prophet and ahead of his time. He's been writing more strips and hopefully, he continues to do so.
March 23, 2018
Interesting change about midway through this book, where it shifts from fairly political/racial family sitcom-type situations (standard comic strip fare, with McGruder sensibilities) to the post 9/11 gonzo, 100% political/racial strip that it is today.
I like the strip in both incarnations, and I appreciate that McGruder can preach and still get a joke in every strip. I agree with most of his politics, and he does take an occasional (and deserved) poke at the Democrats, but if your politics lean conservative, this probably isn't for you. ;)
I like the strip in both incarnations, and I appreciate that McGruder can preach and still get a joke in every strip. I agree with most of his politics, and he does take an occasional (and deserved) poke at the Democrats, but if your politics lean conservative, this probably isn't for you. ;)
June 17, 2024
Read all of the 1999-2006 comics, from what I could find online.
Half the time (1999-2000 and 2004-2006), it's an enjoyable comic strip with great social commentary through character interaction. The other half of the time (2000-2004), it's Huey and Caesar watching the TV or discussing the news/pop culture at the time, which is very boring. These comics are only understandable to someone knowledgeable of the contemporary pop culture, and even when I understood it, reading what's effectively Huey reacting to an Onion headline is not funny.
Half the time (1999-2000 and 2004-2006), it's an enjoyable comic strip with great social commentary through character interaction. The other half of the time (2000-2004), it's Huey and Caesar watching the TV or discussing the news/pop culture at the time, which is very boring. These comics are only understandable to someone knowledgeable of the contemporary pop culture, and even when I understood it, reading what's effectively Huey reacting to an Onion headline is not funny.
February 25, 2025
I had very fond memories of the cartoon I used to watch on MTV Italy (at least the first two seasons. I'm aware that there are other two seasons, but they never aired in Italy), but I pretended that I had never seen it because you can't compare a comic strip collection with a cartoon, they are two different medias. Of course, the historical and cultural references can be a little dated, but I appreciated it anyway.
March 5, 2019
The kids from the comic are not the same as the ones from the show. TV really watered down huey, for sure. Any true fans of the Boondocks will greatly appreciate a look at the original source material.
November 12, 2019
Despite these strips coinciding with the turbulent 2000 election of W and the subsequent political nightmare years, I enjoyed his hilarious, unsparing antagonism of the hypocrisy and atrocities of the administration.
January 6, 2022
Loved the show but never read any of the comics. This was a fun read. Some of the material is dated because it was written in the early 2000s but if you were around to remember, it’s pretty good! Would recommend it to fans of the show fo sho
December 28, 2016
I haven't read the Boondocks in a long while, and man it was great coming back to them. Always hilarious and deeply relevant. So good.
August 29, 2017
This is my favorite graphic_anything.
Read
October 14, 2021they talk about Huey broadcasting and talk about all the article he made and published
October 19, 2021
Delightful. I read the comics as a child and I didn't get it at all, so I'm very pleased one of my roommates left this book lying around for me to rediscover.
December 31, 2021
Contains my favorite strip of all time: "Eric Clapton?! I said BLUES!! Don't make me come down there and slap somebody."
Hard to believe these are 20+ years old.
Hard to believe these are 20+ years old.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews