Meet The Star's new comics lineup

Stacie N. Galang, Ventura County Star
·3 min read

As a kid, my absolute favorite T-shirt had the character Garfield with the thought bubble, "I hate Mondays."

I don't particularly remember hating Mondays, but I loved Jim Davis' grumpy cat, his mates and his attitude toward life. If anything, I related more to his love of lasagna and eating in general.

So I'm pleased to share Garfield will return to The Star's comics pages in coming days as part of a revamp that newspapers do from time to time.

Many comics will remain, but that also means a few long-running strips will part ways with the pages of The Star. Change is rarely easy or welcome. We hope our readers will find new favorites in the upcoming lineup.

My own interests in the newspaper have changed since I wore that Garfield shirt. While I still like the comics and the crossword — my early passions — I now tend to check the news and opinion pages first. Occasionally, yes, I check out the legal ads. It's a treasure trove for stories.

My household gets three print papers on Sunday, so I try to divide and conquer what I can and when I can. If there's time, I'll binge a few podcasts too.

I appreciate a good routine. Many of you make reading the funnies yours.

Comics have historically evolved to reflect the culture and tastes of the times. This lineup was developed through a combination of a survey of readers across the nation and continued feedback from our loyal subscribers.

The Star will have roughly the same number of comic strips as it has now: 22 on weekdays and 18 in the full-color Sunday edition. On Oct. 2-8, the paper will debut this new lineup as part of a larger rollout across the USA TODAY Network.

For clarity, here's the full lineup you'll see in each of The Star's print editions:

22 comics Monday-Friday (and in the Saturday e-edition): Baby Blues, Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Born Loser, Crabgrass, Crankshaft, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or Worse, Frank & Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Jumpstart, Luann, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, Peanuts, Pearls Before Swine, Pickles, Ziggy and Zits. This number stays the same, though some strips will change.

18 full-color comics on Sunday: Most weekday comics plus Foxtrot. Sundays will not have Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and Born Loser. The total is down two from the current 20.

Going away from our pages for now will be Arctic Circle, Between Friends, Bizarro, Carpe Diem, Hi and Lois, The Lockhorns, Macanudo, Mother Goose & Grimm, Prince Valiant, Rhymes with Orange, Sally Forth and Sherman's Lagoon.

But readers have access to an expanded selection at vcstar.com/comics. Online, you'll also find Bizarro, Hi and Lois, The Lockhorns, Prince Valiant, Rhymes with Orange and more.

Peanuts and Garfield are among the comic strips featured in the USA TODAY Network's new comics lineup that debuts on Oct. 2.
Peanuts and Garfield are among the comic strips featured in the USA TODAY Network's new comics lineup that debuts on Oct. 2.

This unified, consistent package will be available across all USA TODAY Network publications by early 2024, so wherever you go, you can follow your favorite funny, whether it's in Ventura County, 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 a few extra laughs.

Thanks for your support of local journalism in Ventura County and thank you for reading The Star.

Stacie N. Galang is news director of The Star. She can be reached at 805-437-0222 or stacie.galang@vcstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Meet The Star's new comics lineup