Over the 10-year run of “Calvin and Hobbes,” Mr. Watterson and Mr. Salem feuded over licensing rights. Despite the potential riches from splashing the images of comic strip characters on T-shirts, mugs and other products, Mr. Watterson wanted none of it, saying that rampant commercialization would cheapen his comic strip. Universal eventually gave him the licensing rights.
At its peak, “Calvin and Hobbes” was syndicated to 2,400 newspapers. Mr. Watterson ended the strip in 1995.
Four years later, Universal began running “The Boondocks,” which satirized African-American culture and American politics through the eyes of its young lead character, Huey.
“The match of Aaron McGruder’s talents with the times was perfect,” Mr. Salem told Hogan’s Alley, a magazine about comics, in 1999. “Newspapers seemed ready to accept a strip that used satire, candor and a strongly held perspective to tackle this country’s toughest subject: race.”
Mr. Salem, who became Universal’s president in 2006, also oversaw the syndication of other editorial products, including William F. Buckley Jr.’s column and “Dear Abby.” But it was his nurturing of comic strips that earned him the 2013 Silver T-Square award from the National Cartoonists Society for his service to the profession. He retired in 2014.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Salem is survived by his son; his daughter, Laura Salem; five grandchildren; and a half brother, Ed Callahan.
Ms. Guisewite said that Mr. Salem had helped her master the comics format and create distinguishable characters.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/business/media/lee-salem-dead.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
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