Meet the Fort Collins Coloradoan's new, expanded comics lineup

Jim Davis' lazy, orange, lasagna-loving cat immediately captured my imagination.

I can't remember exactly when Garfield became an obsession, but I do know that my mania for the title character, Odie and Jon Arbuckle eventually swelled to include T-shirts, stuffed animals and multiple collections of Davis' work. If I were to rummage hard enough, I bet I could find that well-worn collection in my parents' attic today.

At age 43, I'm not a big comic strip reader. But I remember a time when Garfield, Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, and even that hard-to-read Prince Valiant were the weekend assignment for a young reader who was learning that newspapers, in fact, actually had something for him.

Comics are uniquely ingrained in American culture. They are a diversion, a reflection, and sometimes an inflection point. Some, like Peanuts, Blondie and Garfield, are instantly recognizable across the nation. We all know what's going to happen when Charlie Brown tries to kick the football.

Some are sticky-sweet homages to the innocence of youth. Hello, Family Circus. Some are a platform for stinging social commentary. And some, well, we just can't get into.

You can't make everybody happy, after all.

That's one truth I've learned over the years, and I assume what I'm about to tell you will be another of those moments. On Oct. 2-8, the Coloradoan will debut a new lineup of daily and Sunday comics as part of a larger rollout across the USA TODAY Network.

This unified lineup of 17 daily comic strips and 23 in the full-color Sunday edition is an increase for Fort Collins readers. 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 old favorites and new funnies. And, if you're a 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 Coloradoan print edition:

17 comics Monday-Friday (and in the Saturday e-edition): Blondie, Zits, Beetle Bailey, Family Circus, Hagar, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Peanuts, For Better or Worse, Baby Blues, Pickles, Pearls Before Swine, Jump Start, Ziggy, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, and Crabgrass.

23 full-color comics on Sunday: All weekday comics plus Foxtrot, Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and The Born Loser.

Plus, an expanded selection at Coloradoan.com/comics: Online, you'll also find Close to Home, Argyle Sweater, Mother Goose, Rose is Rose, Wizard of Id, B.C., Hi & Lois, Mutts, Curtis, Shoe, The Lockhorns and more.

It's a great lineup, with a little something for everyone. If one of your favorites isn't on the list, I hope you'll find a few laughs and a new go-to in the additions.

This unified, consistent package will eventually be available across all USA TODAY Network publications, so wherever you go, you can follow your favorite funny, whether it's in Fort Collins, Fort Myers, Florida or any number of places in between.

This change will allow us to further invest in the exclusive journalism delivered across the more than 200 communities served by USA TODAY Network newsrooms. I hope it also provides you ongoing laughs for years to come.

Thanks for your support of local journalism in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado, and thank you for reading the Coloradoan.

Coloradoan Executive Editor Eric Larsen can be reached at ericlarsen@coloradoan.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Meet the Fort Collins Coloradoan's new, expanded comics lineup