Sunday Funnies Stuff ‘n’ Fluff – updated

Seems Creators Syndicate has shut down the Doodles feature with the October 17, 2021 issue.
It was not updated today. The last new Doodles page ran September 5, 2021.

© Creators Syndicate

At least one paper didn’t get the order placed correctly (in time?) with their paginator.

From the Bennington Banner:

As far as Murphy’s Law goes, it isn’t the worst thing to go wrong. But when one has an item missing from one’s Weekend Fun & Games section, aka the comics pages, like we do today, it’s noticeable. Even more glaring is what is stated in its place: “DOODLES HAS ENDED YOU NEED TO CONTACT CREATORS TO PICK A REPLACEMENT FEATURES [sic] AND LET REED BRENNAN KNOW WHAT IT IS.” Whoops. We didn’t mean for that to happen.

“Doodles” ended because its cartoonist passed away. Our replacement for “Doodles” is called “Caption It!” Obviously, “Caption It!” did not make it in that spot like it should have. Thus, you see that note instead on Page 3 of our Weekend Fun & Games section.

So far The Banner is like all other newspapers on the Doodles client list – every report for the papers that ran Doodles has seen it replaced with Steve Breen’s Caption It!

© Creators Syndicate

 

A new adventure means a new Sunday title panel by Jeff Weigel for The Phantom.

   
© King Features Syndicate

And we have to note Karen Moy‘s pull quote in today’s Mary Worth title panel.
(There is a history to Groucho’s quote.)
While we’re checking out title panels … Hey, Mike Manley, what season is it?

© King Features Syndicate

 

Detour

Nothing to do with Sunday comics but thought we’d mention it here. A couple months ago it was noted that GoComics had let the Comics Sherpa site go fallow. Now, finally, we were getting ready to delete the link to the site from our bookmark list. Before doing so we clicked on it expecting to see some kind of 404 message.

  
© JGD Company, Ltd.; © Harvey Comics

Surprise! A company called JGD has apparently bought the Comics Sherpa name and is using it to hand out coloring pages for the kiddies. Dozens of pages are available to download or print with the majority of them Halloween themed. As seen above they have use of some Harvey Comics characters.

 

Joe Martin is confusing me.

To the best of our knowledge Joe Martin’s Cats With Hands went into rerun status last year. The dailies contain the original date of issue, while the Sundays, though carrying the current date, added a “Best of…” lead into the title.

Beginning October 17, 2021 the Sunday pages no longer carried that notice as part of the title.

© Neatly Chiseled Features

Has Cat With Hands returned to new Sundays? Did Cats With Hands do away with “Best of” for marketing reasons but continue as reruns? Were the Sunday Cats With Hands ever really reruns?

More Joe Martin confusion:

© Neatly Chiseled Features

What’s with the font in the last panel of today’s Willy n Ethel?

 

While on the subject of reruns…

     
© Mark Tatulli

Mark Tatulli does a great Pumpkinhead in Lío.

 

A public service to readers of Tom Batiuk strips.

    
© Batom, Inc.; © Mediagraphics, Inc.

3 out of 4 of Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft comics went sideways this weekend.

 

Disappointment with 

 
© Tribune Content Agency

We were holding off on this hoping to pair it with the current Gasoline Alley. But Jim Scancarelli didn’t go with the Walt and Skeezix more-or-less annual Autumn walk today, and next week will probably be a Halloween Sunday. So here is the very first of the nature hikes by Frank King from 98 years ago this past week (October 21, 1923). Maybe Jim will give us a stroll in November?

 

Update (later that same day)

Back to King Features title panels – Thomas Yeates gives us a new title panel for Prince Valiant today. Wasn’t expecting that and checked the local paper late (having read the comics online earlier).

© King Features Syndicate