MALLARD FILLMORE . . . ON THE...

MALLARD FILLMORE . . . ON THE STUMP by Bruce Tinsley (Andrews & McMeel: $8.95, 96 pp., paperback original). Tinsley’s leaden comic strip about a duck working as a political reporter in Washington, D.C., inadvertently strengthens the cliche that conservatives lack a sense of humor. Comics that have successfully incorporated political commentary, whether conservative (“Dick Tracy,” “Little Orphan Annie”) or liberal (“Pogo,” “Doonesbury”) have invariably relied on character-driven stories. Mallard has no personality; he’s just a disgruntled observer, taking potshots at obvious targets and straw men.

Tinsley compounds the error by pulling his punches: When a mugger announces, “I gotta get 200-dollar sneakers . . . for my midnight basketball league,” he doesn’t show the character’s features, although midnight leagues are primarily for inner-city African American youths. The result is Rush Limbaugh without the depth.