AMERICA’S best-known comedy magazine has taken a satirical swipe at JK Rowling, suggesting it’s time for her to move on from the Harry Potter franchise.
Since the final novel in the magical series was published Rowling has pressed forward with a two part play and a forthcoming trilogy of films set in the same world.
She has also made regular revelations about characters to detail-hungry fans – most famously announcing Dumbledore’s homosexuality on a book tour in late 2007.
But now iconic magazine The New Yorker appears to be making fun of the Edinburgh-based author’s never-ending engagement with the wizarding world she created.
On Thursday they published a cartoon titled: “J. K. Rowling and the Chamber of Too Much Information.”
Created by Ben Ward, it is captioned: “The beloved creator of Harry Potter has some thoughts on her characters’ lesser-known quirks.”
In the four-panel comic strip a fan approaches Rowling at a book signing, telling her that the series changed his life.
Rowling replies, “I always love meeting my fans”, before bursting out with a series of random details about her fictional characters.
She tells the perplexed fan, “Did you know Dobby had irritable bowel syndrome?” – referring to the elf character who accompanies Harry on his adventures.
Adding details on other character, she tells the baffled fan: “Hagrid has a goth son.
Dumbledore thought ‘Ok Computer’ was overrated. Hermione blogs about artisanal yoghurt.”
With the fan begging her to stop and screaming “noooo” she stands up, and tells him: “Harry grew a ponytail. He teaches karaoke now, and he goes by the name H-Dog!”
Reacting to the comic online, many fans seemed to agree that the time had come for Rowling to move on to other projects.
Portia Walsh commented: “So blinking true! I hate the way she keeps manufacturing snippets to keep herself in the news.”
Muhammad Mubeen Irfan added: “Yup – that’s what she needs to do now. Stop talking about Harry Potter.”
But Kimberley Agg disagreed, writing: “She manufactured the entire series out of her head to begin with! The woman can do whatever she likes!”
The New Yorker – first published in 1925 – is one of the best-known publications in the US.
Famous contributors to the magazine include Woody Allen, Roald Dahl and Truman Capote.
