Far out, man. A joint task force between Brian ‘Box’ Brown and King Features Syndicate has dovetailed to distribute Brian’s Legalization Nation comic strip to a wider audience.
© Brian Box Brown
KFS Editor Tea Foughner and Comics Kingdom both announced the dope deal today.
From Comics Kingdom Facebook page:
Today, we’re excited to announce LEGALIZATION NATION has joined the King Features Syndicate family! Look for it on comicskingdom.com weekly! “Legalization Nation, the latest comic series by award-winning cartoonist Brian “Box” Brown, is a cartoon covering all things cannabis, from the black market to patients’ rights, to cannabis businesses and state laws. A new “docu-comic” available
Box Brown and Tea/King Features have a past relationship.
© King Features Syndicate
Brian contributed to Tea’s Popeye Cartoon Club with a wonderful last panel flop,
and to her Flash Forward revival with one of the funniest strips of the series.
The Hearst presentation of Legalization Nation goes beyond Comics Kingdom.
Hearst subsidiary Green State has already teamed with Brian to feature the comic.
In an introductory article at Green State (also at SFGate/SF Chronicle website):
Brown said the comic was born out of his own frustration with how cannabis is handled by American institutions, including state governments, big corporations, the medical system and the media. He hopes the information in Legalization Nation will empower consumers.
“Cannabis legalization is broadly popular across the nation, but there is still so much stigma surrounding it,” Brown told GreenState. “I don’t see the patient or consumer perspective being represented in cannabis media. There is so much reporting that gives credence to sigma, focuses on the big business aspects of the sector and serves large corporations. I had to speak up.”
Each Legalization Nation comic explains a different aspect of cannabis law, history, business, or culture. It does not shy away from pointing out flaws in the system, often unpacking hotly debated issues, but importantly, remains objective enough to avoid making itself a political cartoon.
He said he chose to make Legalization Nation a reoccurring comic rather than a book because of the ever-changing nature of cannabis law in the U.S.
“I felt like legalization is just moving so fast that by the time I got a book on the shelves, it would be out of date. Legalization Nation allows me to observe and address issues in cannabis as they happen.”
The article ends noting the comic strip will see print:
Legalization Nation is slated to be featured on GreenState.com and in several Hearst newspapers [emphasis added]. Check out GreenState.com weekly and follow @yourgreenstate on Instagram for the latest from Legalization Nation.
As far as I can suss the comic strip first appeared online on February 10, 2021 at Box Brown’s Patreon site. No date yet as to when it will debut on Comics Kingdom. Also unknown is when it will make its first appearance in a Hearst newspaper.