After a little over two years publishing in The Augusta Press (TAP), comic creators Rick McKee and Kent Sligh say goodbye to readers, and look forward to the next possible project.
Artist McKee and writer Sligh said they have chosen to end the comic due to the declining need for comics in newspapers.
“Yes, unfortunately, this is the end for the strip. We began ‘Mt. Pleasant’ two years ago in what was already a challenging newspaper market, with very limited space available for new comics,” they said. “While we have had some success, we don’t see the newspaper market improving … so, we regret that we’re ending Mt. Pleasant as a daily comic feature, but hope to revisit these characters and this world in another format.”
While McKee said he and Sligh are not entirely sure what will happen to the comic universe and its characters in the future, they hope to somehow stay involved with their audience as they pursue their next chapter.
“I’ve spent my entire life with newspapers, so I hate to say it,” said McKee. “But I just don’t think there’s a future in newspapers anymore – especially for cartoonists.”
As more shut down every day, McKee, who has been creating cartoons since 1986, said he felt it was near to impossible for cartoonists’ work to stay afloat in the newspaper industry.
With main characters inspired by his own two children and experiences taken from his childhood, McKee said it was personally very hard to say goodbye to the series because of his family’s attachment to characters Ella and Albie.
MORE: Rick McKee Comic Strip Feb. 27, 2023
“The kids are loosely based on my own, although mine were never that bad. My daughter’s middle name is Ellen, and my son’s middle name is Alexander,” he said. “My daughter used to run around with mismatched socks, so the look of the kids is based on mine.”
After moving to a farm from the city, McKee said he had to use his imagination to entertain himself. He would often accomplish this by using the family barn as a laboratory for different experiments. He also shared how the “Mt. Pleasant” series was named after a community in Florida that McKee lived in when he was younger.
Keeping all that history and inspiration in mind, McKee said one his favorite comics involved Ella’s older brother, Albie, tricking her into wearing a football helmet thinking it was a functioning VR headset. Another favorite of his featured Ella outsmarting Albie into catching a football and then falling into a pit.
“It’s tough to pick a favorite,” he said. “I just thought they were funny, and they were fun to draw.”
Looking back on his time creating content for TAP, McKee said he hoped audiences remembered the purpose of “Mt. Pleasant” was to bring readers family-friendly laughter and smiles, while avoiding political topics. Sligh and McKee purposefully strayed away from political commentary, because they wanted to create a comic that everyone, from any age and background, could enjoy.
“Comic strips are entertaining, and they are art … it just helps people get out of their normal world,” he said. “I just hope people remember that it was a fun comic, and that we wanted people to see themselves and their family in it as they read.”
As the partnering duo move on from TAP, McKee and Sligh wanted to make sure they took the time to say thank you to viewers with their final comic featuring Ella saying goodbye for the last time.
“We sincerely appreciate all the love and support that The Augusta Press, and its readers have shown us,” said McKee and Sligh.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
