CALGARY (660 NEWS) – A local newspaper and the publishers of a well-known comic strip have apologized after facing criticism for what some called an offensive comic.

Last Friday, a sketch from the American series “Close to Home” was published in the comic section of three Postmedia papers poking fun at the classic TV show “The Lone Ranger”.

In the comic, the native American character Tonto is seeing hunched over a bar, supposedly intoxicated with a glass in hand.

The sketch showed the punch line “Kemosabe! Tonto hear last call coming. Maybe eight or ten minutes away.”

Reaction on social was mixed to the comic, with some calling it offensive and insensitive. Others said the comic had no relation to Indigenous peoples today as it mocked a TV show from the 1950s.

The publishers of the comic, Andrews Mcmeel issued a statement about the comic apologizing for anyone who was offended.

“I would like to apologize to those who found the Feb. 21 panel to be offensive, as I in no way meant to characterize anyone in the comic in a racist way,” Close to Home’s creator, John McPherson, said in the statement. “My comics are meant to entertain, and I’m sorry that this one was hurtful to some readers. As the great-grandson of a Shawnee woman, I have always been interested in and concerned with the plight of native people, and I would never disparage them intentionally.”

Following the backlash, the Calgary Herald also issued an apology, vowing to never publish “Close to Home” again.