This is an installment of 2022 U.S. Newspaper Comics: Debuts, Departures, and the Dearly Departed.
part 1: Debuts and Departures– – part 2: Detours and Deviations – – part 3: Dearly Departed
DETOURS/DEVIATIONS
Some changes to U.S. newspaper comic strips and cartoons in 2022
Mazetoons by Joe Wos switched from Creators Syndicate
to King Features Syndicate on January 2, 2022.
Along with his regular Memorial Day Sunday art for Fort Knox on May 29, 2022,
Norman Felchle also drew the January 2, 2022 Fort Knox.
Dick Tracy Minit Mysteries for 2022 featured guest artist Charles Ettinger
from January 6 – January 23 (this was actually a rerun from 2017.
A new Minit Mystery by guest writer Walt Reimer and returning artist Joe Staton
ran from September 18 – October 2, 2022.
As long as we’re on Dick Tracy: writer Mark Barnard stepped in to spell
Mike Curtis from January 24 – March 12, 2022.
Slylock Fox and Comics For Kids by Bob Weber, Jr.
Scott Diggs Underwood began co-signing the Sundays with the January 9, 2022 page
(excepting the March 6, 2022 issue).
“scottu” begins co-signing the dailies starting December 19, 2022.
Slylock Fox and Comics For Kids is officially retitled Slylock Fox in mid-August 2022.
Baby Blues (by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman) switches syndicates.
King Features Syndicate January 7, 1990 – January 31, 2022;
Andrews McMeel Syndication February 1, 2022 – present
Funky Winkerbean by Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers
James Pascoe (and Rob Ro colors) drew some Funky Winkerbean Sundays
as faux Atomik Komics comic book covers w/ Chuck Ayers incidental art:
February 13, March 6, May 8, October 9, and November 13.
The November 20, 2022 Sunday was by Thom Thaler w/ Ayers but credited to Pascoe.
After taking a sabbatical to go “Hollywood” Glenn McCoy returned to The Duplex –
dailies beginning April 18 and Sundays with the May 15, 2022 page,
Leaving The Flying McCoys panel in the hands of Gary McCoy.
Sherman’s Lagoon by Jim Toomey switches syndicates.
King Features until April 30, Andrews McMeel May 1, 2022 – present.
The Second Monday of May. The Pulitzer Prize committee broke with tradition
announced the winners in May instead of the Third Monday of April.
Also breaking a 100 year tradition was their elimination of the Editorial Cartooning award.
Those efforts are now shoehorned into an Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category.
Editorial cartoonist Mike Shelton retired. His last cartoon was May 21, 2022.
Due to illness Brian Basset’s Red And Rover spent the Summer of 2022 in rerun status –
rerun dailies: May 23 – June 25 and July 17 – September 10, 2022;
rerun Sundays: June 19 – July 10 and July 31 – October 2, 2022.
On June 1, 2022 Clay Bennett, Lisa Benson, Jack Ohman, Tim Campbell, and Jeff Danziger
leave the Washington Post Writers Group and, with Pedro X. Molina,
become the core of the newly established Counterpoint Syndicate.
Later in 2022 in (September) Eric Allie and Mike Beckom join Counterpoint Syndication.
Loose Parts by Dave Blazek switches syndicates.
Washington Post Writers Group ’til May 31, Andrews Mcmeel June 1, 2022 – present.
The Sunday Popeye (KFS), after running a few Hy Eisman reruns, was handed to
Randy Milholland beginning June 5, 2022 and new episodes began.
Illness struck Judge Parker artist Mike Manley. Scott Cohn subbed on the art chores –
dailies: June 13 – July 23, 2022 (signed July 4 – July 23, 2022);
Sundays: June 26 – July 31, 2022 (signed July 17 – July 31, 2022).
Mike Manley is the daily artist on The Phantom and needed help there too.
Bret Blevins and Scott Cohn ghosted the dailies from June 13 – July 9, 2022;
Scott Cohn signed The Phantom dailies from July 11 – August 6, 2022.
Pickles by Brian Crane left the Washington Post Writers Group
for Andrews McMeel Syndication beginning July 1, 2022.
After a bit over 18 years Neal Rubin retired from Gil Thorpe
handing the writing duties over to Henry Barajas as of July 11, 2022.
Due to illness Brian Duffy has either retired or taken an extended sabbatical.
His last regular cartoon was April 12. He issued one more on July 23, 2022.
Mike du Jour by Mike Lester left the Washington Post Writers Group to go with
Andrews McMeel Syndication as distrributor with the August 1, 2022 issue.
(He had taken his editorial cartoons from WPWG to AMS in June 2021.)
Ginger Meggs stopped running dailies on September 10, 2022
(a new one for November 26, 2022 to celebrate Charles Schulz).
Jason Chatfield continues the strip as it started 101 years ago as Sunday only.
On September 16, 2022 the National Cartoonists Society named Edward Sorel
Cartoonist of the Year, honoring him with The Reuben Award.
September (19?), 2022 saw Scott Stantis begin contributing freelancing
editorial cartoons to The Dallas Morning News.
In October 2022 Rina Piccolo begins occasionally co-signing the Sunday Rhymes With Orange.
She has been co-signing the dailies with Hilary B. Price for five years.
November 2022 brought with it the 10th annual Guest Jumbler week.
David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek turned the feature over to
Rick McKee (November 14), Johnny Sampson (November 15), Dana Simpson (November 16),
Rob Harrell (November 17), Tauhid Bondia (November 18), Mason Mastroianno (November 19).
Darrin Bell switched syndicates with his Candorville.
November 30, 2022 (a Wednesday) was the last Washington Post Writers Group issue.
On December 1, 2022 (a Thursday) King Features Syndicate became the distributor.
December 31, 2022 is the last day that Mother Goose and Grimm will be a King Features Syndicate comic strip.
Beginning the first day of 2023 Mike Peters takes it to Andrews McMeel.
featured image (popeye by randy milholland) © king features syndicate
When will Part 3 be ready.
For the Scott Stantis statement, it’s the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, not “The Dallas Moringing News”.
Another detour you didn’t mention: On the week of December 5-10, 2022 many Andrews-McMeel comic strips went into a week of reruns mostly from the December 5-10, 2016 week due to not getting that week’s strips in time because of a GoComics.com site outage that happened for a few days in November 2022.