The Boondocks has taken the syndication world by storm. Introduced in April 1999, the edgy new comic strip produced a stronger launch for Universal Press Syndicate than Calvin and Hobbes and For Better or For Worse. The impressive list of early papers included the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Dallas Morning News. In fact, the notoriety landed Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder in publications ranging from Time magazine to People magazine which named him one of the ''25 Most Intriguing People of '99.''The first collection, The Boondocks, gathers together material from the record-setting first year of this sensational new strip. Centered around the experiences of two young African-American boys, Huey and Riley, who move from inner-city Chicago to the suburbs (or the ''boondocks'' to them), the strip fuses hip-hop sensibilities with Japanese anime-style drawings and a candid discussion of race. Funny yet revealing, the combination of superb art and envelope-pushing content provides one of the most unique strips in syndication today.