Citizen Times comic strips to get a refresh; Check out old favorites and new funnies

Even though some newspaper comic strips have endured for nearly a century, featuring characters with outdated hairstyles (sorry, Blondie) and outfits (really, Beetle Bailey?), who never learned not to kick the football (Good grief, Charlie Brown!), we remain enchanted.

An icon of American culture, comics have served to connect young readers to the broader world of newspapers, provide a reflection of the times and have managed to hold readers’ attention through the advent of the internet and TikTok.

But now in the Citizen Times, it’s time for a comic strip refresh.

If you love having your “Peanuts” in the morning paper with some coffee and a sulking “Garfield” and “Dennis the Menace” ― who hasn’t grown up since he was born in the 1950s ― those classic comic strips will stick around, but get ready for some new faces.

From Oct. 2-8, the Citizen Times will debut a new lineup of daily and Sunday comics as part of a larger rollout across the USA TODAY Network.

The Asheville Citizen Times comic strips and many other newspapers across the USA TODAY Network will get a refresh starting Oct. 2, 2023.
The Asheville Citizen Times comic strips and many other newspapers across the USA TODAY Network will get a refresh starting Oct. 2, 2023.

This unified lineup will feature 28 daily comic strips in the Monday through Friday papers and the Saturday e-newspaper, and 23 in the full-color Sunday edition. A larger selection can always be found at citizentimes.com/comics, such as The Amazing Spiderman, Curtis and the Pajama Diaries. Digital lineups remain unchanged.

The lineup was developed through a combination of a survey of readers across the nation and continued feedback from our loyal subscribers. You'll find some new funny pages and some old favorites. For the devout comics reader, you might miss some strips that will fall off our pages.

For clarity, here's the full lineup of comics that you'll see in each Citizen Times print edition:

Sunday: Blondie, Zits, Beetle Bailey, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Peanuts, For Better or Worse, Baby Blues, Pickles, Foxtrot, Pearls Before Swine, Jump Start, Ziggy, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, Crabgrass, Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and Born Loser.

Daily and Saturday e-edition: All Sunday comics except Foxtrot (which only runs on Sunday), plus Close to Home, Argyle Sweater, Mother Goose, Rose is Rose, Wizard of Id and B.C.

Expanded online edition: Find even more comics online at citizentimes.com/comics.

We think it's a great lineup, with a little something for everyone. If one of your favorites isn't listed here, I hope you'll find a few laughs, cartoon food for thought or new friends as close as Charlie Brown and Snoopy in the additions.

This new, unified package will be available across all USA TODAY Network publications by early 2024. This change will allow us to further invest in the exclusive local journalism delivered across the more than 200 communities served by USA TODAY Network newsrooms. I hope it also provides you and your family with ongoing smiles and a sense of home for years to come.

Women's opinions: Editor: Women of Asheville have plenty of opinions; let's hear them

More: Adult victim wins $1M against child sex abuser, coach at former Asheville Christian school

Thank you for your support of local journalism in Asheville and Western North Carolina, and thank you for reading the Asheville Citizen Times.

Karen Chávez is Executive Editor for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Tips, comments, questions? Call 828-236-8980, email, KChavez@CitizenTimes.com or follow on Twitter @KarenChavezACT.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Citizen Times comic strips reboot Oct. 2, 2023