No joke? George P. Bush takes aim at trendy typeface

As far as Land Commissioner George P. Bush is concerned, it is a comedy of fonts.

So on Wednesday — April Fools’ Day, no less — Bush has launched an attack on Comic Sans, the trendy and playful typeface created by Microsoft in the mid-1990s.

Bush announced an immediate agencywide ban on the use of the font, according to a news release.

“While this unrefined font is appropriate for early childhood instruction in our Texas schools, the use of Comic Sans is not befitting when conducting business on key matters concerning the state of Texas,” Bush said in a statement. “Comic Sans has no place at an agency positioning itself as a technological pioneer.”

When his office was asked if Bush’s new dictate was an April Fools’ joke, the agency responded:

“The only joke here is Comic Sans, it’s completely unacceptable for state business,” said Chris Elam, publications director of the General Land Office.

While it is a popular font, it has drawn some critics, such as Ban Comic Sans and Comic Sans Criminal.

Workers with the land commissioner’s office have been told that staffers in the Publications Division are available to help “with any typeface emergencies.”

“Current agencywide substitute font recommendations are Helvetica, Times New Roman, or even Arial,” Elam said. “Any of the standard ones really. Except Papyrus. It’s terribad.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 11:16 AM with the headline "No joke? George P. Bush takes aim at trendy typeface."