2018 Comic Strip Detours

 

This is an installment of 2018 Newspaper Comics: Debuts, Departures, and the Dearly Departed.
(part 1: Debuts – – part 2: Departures – – part 3: Dearly Departed – – part 4: Detours)

 

2018 Detours
Detailing some changes in syndicated U. S. newspaper comics in 2018.

 

BIZARRO by Wayno and Dan Piraro
Beginning January 1, 2018 Wayno (Wayne Honath) took over as the daily cartoonist.
Dan Piraro remains the Sunday cartoonist and daily supervisor/editor.

 

 

DICK TRACY by Mike Curtis and Joe Staton
The January 1, 2018 strip informed that Charles Ettinger was the guest inker.
Did Ettinger ink the entire week?
Also: Dick Tracy featured a special “Minit Mysteries” episode
from April 1 (Sunday) to April 8 (Sunday), 2018 with John Lucas as the guest artist.
Dick Tracy featured another special “Minit Mysteries” episode
from August 19 (Sunday) to September 2 (Sunday), 2018 with Rick Burchett as guest artist.
Dick Tracy ended the year with a “Minit Mysteries” episode
from December 30 2018 (Sunday) to January 13, 2019 (Sunday) with Donnie Pitchford as guest writer.

 

 

above: the January 7, 2018 Sunday Get Fuzzy, a rerun from 2005
GET FUZZY by Darby Conley
Get Fuzzy has been daily reruns since 2013,
the Sunday strip, ostensibly new, goes rerun nearly half the time.
In 2018 there were over two dozen Sunday reruns.
October, November, and December 2018 contained only one new Sunday for each month.

 

 

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by Alex Saviuk
Alex Saviuk replaced Larry Lieber as the daily penciller from January 8 – January 13, 2018.
Later in the year Alex replaced Larry as the ongoing daily penciller beginning September 9, 2018.

 

 

FUNKY WINKERBEAN by Tom Batiuk
Rick Burchett took over pencil art duties in 2017, in 2018 Chuck Ayers returned.
Chuck and Rick seemed to be playing musical chairs on the art chores,
though lately (since October 2018) it has been all Ayers.
Also: Funky had two special Sundays featuring “Atomik Komix” covers.
In the past Batiuk’s “Batom Comics” Sunday specials were done
(and signed) by guest comic book artists. These Atomik Komix are
signed “Fairgood”, who is a character name in the strip.
So did Tom Batiuk draw these July 1 and July 8, 2018 Sundays?

 

 

NANCY by Olivia Jaimes
Nancy dailies started out 2018 as Gilchrist reruns from January 1 – 20, 2018.
Nancy Sundays went Gilchrist rerun January 28 – February 11, 2018.
New Nancy dailies by Guy Gilchrist ran January 22 – February 17, 2018
New Nancy Sundays by Guy Gilchrist ran January 7 – 21 and February 18, 2018
Nancy daily reruns by Gilchrist ran February 19 – April 7, 2018
Nancy Sunday reruns by Gilchrist ran February 25 – April 29, 2018
New Olivia Jaimes Nancy dailies started April 9, 2018
New Olivia Jaimes Nancy Sundays began May 6, 2018

 

 

GASOLINE ALLEY by Jim Scancarelli
Gasoline Alley, both daily and Sunday, started 2018 as Jim Scancarelli reruns.
New daily Gasoline Alley strips by Scancarelli began Thursday June 14, 2018 (excepting July 4 and November 24 were reruns).
New Sunday Gasoline Alley strips are trickier. No sure start date
and some new Sunday strips may have been thrown in with the Sunday reruns around February (4th? 18th?).

 

 

DEFLOCKED by Jeff Corriveau
Deflocked switched syndicates in 2018.
King Features Syndicate May 5, 2008 – May 5, 2018
Andrews McMeel Syndicate May 6, 2018 – on

 

 

FORT KNOX by Paul Jon
Fort Knox, as is the tradition, turned its 2018 Memorial Day Sunday strip (May 27) over to artist Norman Felchle.

 

 

THE DUPLEX by The Flying McCoy Brothers
The first week of dailies (January 1 – 6, 2018) is signed “Glenn McCoy”.
From January 8, 2018 on the dailies are signed “g. McCoy” (Gary McCoy).
All Sundays for 2018 are signed “G & g McCoy”.

 

 

IN THE BLEACHERS by Moore and Benz
All dailies have been signed “Moore + Benz since 2016 and remain so
(the Sundays continue to be unsigned for 2018).
But beginning September 22, 2018 the GoComics credits the panel to Ben Zaehringer.

 

 

LA CUCARACHA by Lalo Alcarez
With a few exceptions the dailies have been drawn by Junco Canché since May 21, 2018
and the Sundays, with a few more exceptions, have Canché art since August 5, 2018.
These have been credited to “SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST: Junco Canché” in the strips gutter
and are signed with an angled “J” in a box with four dots (….) above the J.

 

 

BIG NATE by Lincoln Peirce
Big Nate began the year, due to family responsibilities, in rerun mode.
Daily reruns ran January 1 – July 14, 2018, new daily strips from July 16, 2018 on.
Sunday reruns ran December 31, 2017 – July 29, 2018, new Sundays began August 5, 2018.

 

 

ALLEY OOP by The Benders
Jack and Carole Bender retired in 2018 with their last new strip running September 1, 2019.
Reruns began with the Sunday September 2, 2018 installment.
[Word is new strips will begin January 7, 2019 by Joey Alison Sayers and Jonathan Lemon.]

 

Corrections and additions
welcomed and encouraged.