From the Ames Tribune editor: We're updating the comics. Here's why.
The funny pages are getting a makeover.
The Ames Tribune will soon debut a refreshed offering of comics, with an updated package that incorporates many of our readers' beloved favorites but also includes several new strips that have proved popular around the country.
All USA TODAY Network publications will now provide a unified, consistent package. Network editors continuously evaluate content and best ways to serve our audiences. The selections for the new comics package were based on surveying and listening to readers across the country. Comics have historically evolved to reflect the culture and tastes of the times, and selections reflect those considerations as well.
Our new comics package will go into effect with the Tuesday, Oct. 3, issue of the Ames Tribune.
Many of the comics you’ve grown to love will continue to run in each edition Tuesday through Sunday. Thirteen comics in the current package will still be published: Non Sequitur, Dennis the Menace, Blondie, Baby Blues, Zits, Crabgrass, Garfield, For Better or For Worse, Pickles, Pearls Before Swine, Jump Start, Hagar the Horrible and Peanuts.
Because of a change in configuration, the total number of comics each day will drop from 19 to 17. The discontinued comics are Real Life, Bizarro, Frazz, Hi & Lois, Luann and F-Minus. But you'll be receiving four comics that are new to Tribune readers or returning from past years: Beetle Bailey, Family Circus, Ziggy and Marmaduke.
All print comics will also appear in the eNewspaper. And lots of additional comics are available to Tribune readers at Amestrib.com/comics. In fact, you can still get your fix there on two of the discontinuing comics: Bizarro and Hi & Lois.
As you'll see from the accompanying stories in the Sunday, Sept. 24, edition, we take our comics seriously. Stories delve into the history and cultural impact of this unique art form and provide a brief overview of each comic that will appear in the Tribune's new package. Additional stories the next two Sundays will introduce you to some of the authors of popular comics.
These changes won’t impact your subscription rates. My mission as editor is to deliver the highest-quality product to our subscribers. This change allows further network investment in local journalism you can rely on and trust.
One more heads up: The transition will cause a one-day gap in publication of the comics package. The Sunday, Oct. 1, edition of the Tribune will not have a comics page. However, you can still see the comics online at Amestrib.com/comics.
Brandon Hurley is editor of the Ames Tribune and Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at bhurley@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: From the Ames Tribune editor: We're updating the comics. Here's why.
