Trivia

A lifelong fan of the Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) films, his favourite character is Yoda whose quotes often find their ways into his works. Whats more, he named his production company "Rebel Base".

Met film-maker Reginald Hudlin in 1998 when McGruder signed his cartooning contract with Universal Press Syndicate--McGruder and Hudlin were represented by the same legal firm. Hudlin was instrumental in getting the show The Boondocks (2005) made without creative compromise and was an executive producer on the series. Their professional partnership ended in July of 2005 when Hudlin was named President of Entertainment for the Black Entertainment Television (BET) cable network, the channel which is often lampooned in the "Boondocks" comic strip and t.v. series.

Is a friend of US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, one of the few politicians to be openly critical and objectionable of the Bush administration. In 2002, Lee invited McGruder with her on a trip to Havana, Cuba, where the two met with President Fidel Castro.

McGruder created "The Boondocks" comic strip job in college at the University of Maryland. The school's paper, The DiamondBack, needed a new lead comic strip, after it's previous occupant, a strip by Frank Cho, ended when Cho graduated. McGruder got the job from the paper's lead editor, Jayson Blair. Cho would later go on to fame as the creator of his own comic strip and book series, "Liberty Meadows" (he has been publicly critical of McGruder and "The Boondocks"). Jayson Blair later rose to infamy when he became a reporter for The New York Times and was caught plagiarizing stories.

His art is anime-inspired, and he's occasionally cited the genre in his strip.

Among his most out-spoken critics are: Black conservative radio talk-host Larry Elder, who said that a cry-baby award should be created for Black celebs called "The McGruder" ("The Boondocks" responded with its characters holding "The Most-Embarrassing Black People" Awards a.k.a "The Larry Elder"); Robert L. Johnson, founder of the B.E.T-Black Entertainment Television network (known for its racy music videos, the characters of the strip refer to the network as "Black Exploitation Television" or "Butts Every Time"); and conservative Black columnist Ward Connerly (who the character Huey once said should be beaten with a spiked bat).

Won the "Chairman's Award" at the 2002 NAACP Image Awards. Backstage he conversed with National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, just as the George W. Bush administration had invaded Afghanistan. Although the exact nature of their conversation is unknown, McGruder (who is often critical of the Bush and his cabinet) reportedly referred to Rice as a "murderer" for taking part in the administration's "war on terrorism". McGruder himself says that Rice jokingly requested to be drawn into the strip. She was: in October 2003 the characters of the strip humourously attempted find Rice a boyfriend because "if she had someone she loved, she wouldn't be so hell-bent on destroying the world".

Known for being as outspoken in public as his characters. Appeared at the 138th anniversary for renowned left-wing magazine "The Nation" in December 2003. A year earlier, the magazine honoured the strip and its creator with a cover article, "Huey Freeman: American Hero" featuring the young character on the cover. At the 2003 gala, McGruder got into several shouting matches with guests, criticizing the mostly-Democrat crowd for their less-than-aggressive reactions to George W. Bush's policies.

Has a long rivalry with fellow comic-strip artist Bil Keane, creator of "Family Circus". When McGruder attended the Reuben Awards (the cartoonist industry's highest honour) in 2000, "The Boondocks" (which remains only one of a handful of strips featuring minority characters) was nominated for "Best New Strip", which it did not win. At one point Keane took to the stage to introduce an award and joked "There's a lot of diversity in comics these days. They don't have to be funny, they just have to be diverse."

When his comic strip, "The Boondocks", debuted in newspapers 19 April 1999, it had the single largest debut for a new strip with a record 160 papers printing it, with a count of 200 by year's end. To date (2004), the strip is carried in 300+ papers in the United States alone.

Usually a newspaper comic strip is completed and sent to papers roughly a month before its intended run-date. However, to keep the topics of his strip current, he uses a lead time of no more than only two weeks. In 2000, under pressure to meet in looming deadlines, he was hospitalized for exhaustion. He still holds the two-week deadline, but has hired artists Jennifer Seng and Carl Jones to assist with the artwork (not unlike the artistic staff of "For Better of For Worse" artist Lynn Johnston and "Garfield" creator Jim Davis).

Announced on 28 Feb. 2006 that he would be taking a six-month sabbatical from the strip starting on 20 March, just as the animated series had been renewed for a second season. He released a statement to newspapers saying "Every well needs occasional refreshing and I hope that this fall you will agree that time away from the demands of the deadlines has served the strip, your readers, and me."

The strip is so often pulled for controversial material that he sometimes puts in fake "substitute" comics in order to satirise the controversy itself. After 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999) premiered, he ran a strip called "Wacky Fun with Jar-Jar Binks". After having his strip pulled from several papers due to opinions post-9/11 he ran a strip called "The Adventures of Flagee and Ribbon."

Notable fans of the strip include Spike Lee, Julian Bond, Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Moore. Moore wrote the introduction to the "Boondocks" collection "A Right to be Hostile".

Resides in Los Angeles where he still serves as writer and artist on "The Boondocks." Executive-producing and writing the animated version of the strip. The programme debuted on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" line-up in Autumn 2005 to rave reviews. (December 2005)

Resides in Los Angeles where he still serves as writer and artist on "The Boondocks." Currently planning the strips animated debut with producer Reginald Hudlin. (August 2003)

Resides in Los Angeles where he still serves as writer and artist on "The Boondocks." Executive-producing the animated version of the strip with Reginald Hudlin. The programme is set to debut on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" line-up Autumn 2005. (January 2005)