The Daily Cartoonist

Industry news for the professional cartoonist

Star-Ledger drops two pages of comics

Alan Gardner471 mins

According to Dave Astor, The Star-Ledger has shrunk its Sunday comics from eight pages to six
. The move resulted in only one dropped feature (39 to 38), but Dave says “many of the 38 strips ran very small on Feb. 17. Several of the pages had seven comics crammed into them — including a tiny, almost-unreadable “Prince Valiant” on page two.” Other papers such as the Modesto Bee and the Washington Post have already removed several pages from their offerings opting to squeeze more comics onto smaller sections.

47 thoughts on “Star-Ledger drops two pages of comics”

  4. I can confirm this change. I live near Newark and I read the Star-Ledger every day. I was dismayed to see that the newspaper shrunk its Sunday comics section from eight pages to six last Sunday. As far as I can tell no comic strips were actually dropped. However, some strips were so small that they were barely legible, “Prince Valiant” being the obvious example. Someone I know was telling me about how, because comics were being crammed in side by side on the same page, she actually thought they were one strip at first. I know that the purpose of this is to save money, but it’s really disgraceful and I’m expecting it to prompt complaints. Yep, it’s a sad situation.

  6. Wily Miller said, “Seven Sunday comics on one page?! Why bother running them at all at this point?”

    Apparently you’ve NEVER seen The Hartford Courant in Connecticut. Their sunday comics section has only 6 pages with a total of 28 comics. The cover (Page 1) of this section only has 3 comics on it, Classic Peanuts, Dilbert and Zits. Each of these 3 comics measure 6″(H) by 11″(L).

    The rest of this section runs approx. 5 or 6 comics per page, some measure larger than others. Most of the comics run horizontal, and a few run vertical.

    I could never understand why they would run each comic so large. I guess they’re trying to fill up as much space as they can with as few comics as possible.

    As if that isn’t bad enough, they wrap the comics section in a 4 page advertisement. So if someone isn’t really looking for the comics section, they’ll just pass right by it and eventually throw it away without even seeing it.

  7. What’s up with you guys? First you have the Sunday comics in one section, than you put them in 2 sections and today, 2/8/09, back to one section with 4 pages & only half the comics !!!!!!!!!

  8. UNBELIEVABLE !! – Is there nothing sacred enough to leave alone ! – There’s so much stress these days – I like to start the day off with a chuckle, a laugh, perhaps some insight – THEN – go on to tackle this tough world – and YOU deem it Ok to just cut off comics – just willy nilly – PLEASE stop it – leave my cereal & comic reading ritual alone !! NO MORE CUTTING PLS !!

  9. Pickles is one of my favorites. Please reconsider…it’s always “right on”

  10. I can understand the economics of cutting the comics but you seem to always zero in on the very best. Frazz and Pickles are wonderfully funny and full of insight. Don’t even think of cutting Zits.

    It’s a shame. A paper that used to be a nice lazy Sunday afternoon read takes less than an hour to finish now. Not much news, not much filler. And the news coverage for the rest of the week is just as slim. Too bad.

  11. All of the comics that were dropped were read by me every day.Comics in the sports section (which I never read except Nancy Jaffe’s column)? And where was Vicki’s Dish? the Sunday travel has been reduced as was the gardening section. When it comes time for renewal (I have had the paper delivered daily for more than 27 years) I will also be downsizing!! Less readers will also mean less advertizements which are your money makers.

  12. Please do not stop Zits. It is my favorite. There are some strips that I could do without..F minus, Rhymes with Orange, Get Fuzzy, and Mother Goose and Grimm.

  13. Why did you decide to keep “f minus”?
    It has never been funny or made any sense.
    Dilbert is the same old,same old day after day.
    The art work in ” close to home” is just plain insulting to the readers.
    These you decide to publish and you drop a great strip like “pickles”.
    Somebody needs their head examined.

  14. C’mon, does anybody still read Dennis the Menace? Mutts was cute when you first intro’d it, but it’s just not funny anymore…..And you want me to give up Rose and Frazz for Over the Hedge and Mother Goose, no way. And finally, I can relate to Pickles since I’m 72 yrs old and it’s like reading my diary.

  15. I remember when we would get the sunday newspaper and open the comic section on the living room floor, it was the best time….it’s a shame what happened to the comic section. I’m not talking about the strips themselves, the editor should make it more enjoyable to look at, in addition- I’d like to see more marketing and promotion of the comic section!! they forgot about it.

  17. Frankly, you can get rid of F-minus and even Wizard of Id is getting to be old hat. We need Rose is a Rose, Pickles and Heart of the City. I am seriously considering cancelling my subsacription. Like most people, I look forward to reading the “funnies” as we used to call them

  21. Why remove “Pickles and Rose is a Rose”? Why not remove “F Minus”, Rhymes with Orange, Dilbert, Mother Goose and Grimm, or Over the Hedge”? It is difficult to find FUNNY in the “Funnies” anymore.

  22. On Monday at that special part of the day when I get my chance at the paper fellow readers shared my feelings of bewilderment and annoyance! What now?! The comics not only cut, but in two seperate sections of the paper! Come on! It’s bad enough that the Sunday comics have been decimated to almost not existing at all. It’s just sad that any of them had to go and I realize that we will probably never see all the comics that are now out back in the paper. But what I do not understand is why the Cryptoquote is back in the middle of “the fold”, this will not do, at all.
    I did check out nj.com/comics, and it’s okay, but ya can’t read the comics or work the puzzles in the same places online as ya can with the newspaper.

  23. My worst realization after a 12 day absence was the scattering of the comics. I now have to find “classic comics” on some page I would not ordinarily read. What’s the problem? Are there other changes and deletions planned?

  24. I agree with Eliz Clarke (7/27/09). With what you have done with the comic strip I to will probably be downsizing.Like many people who read a newspaper, I believe go to the comics after reading all the bad news to get a few laughs to start their day. You have really trashed your paper. I have already started the process of finding a replacement.

    ML

  25. I would not miss, Sally Forth, Get Fuzzy, F Minus, Wizard of Id.

    Love & can’t live without., Baby Blues, Stone Soup, Peanuts, Mutts,Jump Start, Pickles

  26. you cant get rid of the Lockhorns. its crazy, but i use to feel like they depicted my life in so many ways. i could picture myself saying the same funny, crazy things. it also felt good to start my day off with me laughing out loud.

  27. If you are looking for comics to be in the paper why don’t you add “Far Side” by Gary Larson? Jan Carroll

  28. Lockhorns,Lockhorns,Lockhorns….
    No day is complete without them.
    Please, put them back. My wife and I get complete enjoyment from
    them. If there comes a time to drop them, then ALL comics should be done away with. I hope someone adheres to this….
    The same feeling goer for Beetle
    Balley. Thank You…..
    Jim

  29. I save the comic section to read after I have read all the other sections of the newspaper. Everyone needs to start their day off with a good laugh ! I LOVE the Family Circus, Pickles, Zits, Baby Blues and Stone Soup. I have absolutely no idea why Mutts, F Minus, Rhymes with Orange, or Over the Hedge is in the paper everyday….nothing funny about them !

  30. I am just noticing this story now, I was in New York at the time this story was published, ironically, and I was actually looking for the Newark Star Ledger to read on the plane going home out of La Guardia Airport

    Unfortunately, you can’t even find the Newark paper anymore at the New York airports or at New York’s Grand Central or Penn Stations; all locations in New York where I would find the paper previously.

    So not even the paper is trimming down, apparently so are their circulation areas. Makes no sense to dump the large NY train stations and airports.

  31. If the Lockhorns, or Dennis The Menace, or Non sequitur goes, So do I. These cartoons start my day

  32. I read your comics every morning. The only ones i never read or have any interest in are: Sally Forth, Beetle Bailey, Frazz, Jump Start, Dilbert, and Luann. All the other comics i really enjoy, especially Mutts, over the Hedge and Pearls Before Swine. Stone Soup is always entertaining. Thanks for having these wonderful funnies, so my day starts with a smile and a laugh. Jeaneen

  33. My first complaint is that the print on the daily comic pages is too light–often, it’s extremely hard to read.

    Second, in the daily paper, I don’t look at and wouldn’t at all miss Dilbert, Luann, Over the Hedge, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Frazz, F-Minus, Stone Soup, Rhymes with Orange or Non-Sequitor. Most of the time, I see no humor in any of them, and often I don’t even get them.

    As to Sunday, the only one I look forward to in the first section of comics is Prince Valiant; the rest are a waste as far as I’m concerned. I look at and enjoy most of the second section comics.

  35. You will probably break up our marriage if you take the “Lockhorns” comic strip out of your papers. It has kept us communicating for more than 40 years. They are pasted all over the house, in the kitchen (food) in the closet (clothes) in the basement (tools) in the office room (Computers “Buy one Leroy and prove them wrong ), bathroom (cosmetics – Loretta, you don’t have time for a second coat”). Please, please, please leave the Lockhorns in your comics. It is the first thing we look for when we receive the paper at our door. You do not want to break up a beautiful, wonderful marriage and I’m sure you don’t want to lose a good customer. I will have to consider discontinuing the subscription of both myself and my mother-in-law if the Lockhorns are omitted. I’m begging you. Please leave them in. Thanks for listening and I hope you make the right decision.

  36. Wow … real people. I mean subscribers. Real newspaper subscribers.

    A comprehensive sounding board about their paper’s comic page isn’t such a bad idea.

  38. We are Star Ledger fans for a long time. Favorite comics are the Lockhorns, Shoe, Andy Capp, Hagar, the Horrible, Beetle Bailey, Family Circue, Blondie, Peanuts Classics. Our young grandchildren are just getting “hooked” on some of these. Thank you.

  39. I can’t beleive that someone actually likes PRINCE VALUM. ( what a stupid comic) please loose: FRAZZ,NON SEQUITUR,F MINUS,GET FUZZY,JUMP START,RHYMES WITH ORANGE DILBERT.Please bring back CALVIN & HOBBS. B.C. MARK TRAIL,FREDDY, & THE SMITH FAMILY. Thank you. 🙂

  40. Joe is way off. RHYMES WITH ORANGE DILBERT is one of my favorites! They should name a desert after it. But it can’t beat B.C. MARK TRAIL!! Prehistoric conservation gets me every time.

    Oh, wait. This thread is 3 years old?

    Never mind.

  42. Dose anyone pay attention to what the readers want? Bring back the Lockhorns !!!!!!

    Thank You,
    Jim

  44. “Dose anyone pay attention to what the readers want? Bring back the Lockhorns !!!!!!”

    I know, right? It’s like they don’t even bother searching the Internet for comments on other blogs about decisions they made 3 years ago.

    It’s really frickin’ unprofessional.

  45. The Star Ledger arrives, we glance at the front page headline, then split the paper, Sports, to him, the Today section to me.
    I have been reading the comics since I am five years old, now our grandchildren read them with me. Our favorites are Mutts, especially when we read it with the pronunciation, Pickles, Baby Blues, Stone Soup, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace. My father-in-law’s favorite was Andy Capp. When I read it I am reminded of his funny sense of humor. Shoe is hilarious, sometimes.

    Tired of Sally Forth, nothing but complaints. Funky Winkerbean has become inappropriate for the Comic page with the characters going “upstairs together”. Dagwood is trying to enter the 21st century. Frazz is hit or miss, delighted when it is a hit, F Minus is zero. Jump Start is repetitive. Luann, Over the Hedge and Rhymes with Orange have good days, but need more.

    Peanuts Classics is a classic.

  47. This is a sign of things to come, cut back the comic pages,..
    Cut the comics out completely…

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