Original January 20 post:
Another batch of Gannett newspapers announcing their adoption of The Gannett 34 comics pages.
The Austin American-Statesman takes The Gannett 34 literally, they will carry all the comics available to them.
From American-Statesman Executive Editor Manny Garcia:
Our refresh of the daily comics begins on Jan. 29, and we start our Sunday comics refresh on Feb. 4. Comics are very personal and vary from reader to reader. We have worked hard in this effort, taking months to prepare, because we understand the relationship that comics play in our lives.
Starting with daily, we will go from 36 to 33 comics, and also give you an improved print presentation.
Dailies
You’ll will continue to have daily “Argyle Sweater,” “Baby Blues,” “Baldo,” “BC,” “Blondie,” “Born Loser,” “Crabgrass,” “Garfield,” “Hägar the Horrible,” “Hi & Lois,” “Jump Start,” “Luann,” “Mother Goose,” “Mutts,” “Peanuts,” “Pearls Before Swine,” “Pickles,” “Rose is Rose,” “Sally Forth,” “Shoe,” “Wizard of Id,” “Ziggy” and “Zits.”
We are adding “Beetle Bailey,” “Close to Home,” “Crankshaft,” “Curtis,” “Dennis the Menace,” “Family Circus,” “For Better or Worse,” “Frank & Ernest,” “Marmaduke” and “NonSequitur.”
They replace “Bizarro,” “Candorville,” “Doonesbury,” “F minus,” “Frazz,” “Get Fuzzy,” “One big happy,” “Over the hedge,” “Phoebe & Her Unicorn,” “Prickly City,” “Red & Rover” and “Wumo.”
Sundays
On Sundays, we will still publish 34 comics. We will continue to have Argyle Sweater, Baby Blues, Baldo, Born Loser, Crabgrass, Family Circus, Foxtrot, Garfield, Hi & Lois, Jump Start, Luann, Mutts, Peanuts, Pearls Before Swine, Pickles, Rose is Rose, Sally Forth, Ziggy and Zits.
New to our Sunday lineup are BC, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Close to Home, Crankshaft, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, For Better or Worse, Frank & Ernest, Hägar the Horrible, Marmaduke, Mother Goose, NonSequitur, Shoe and Wizard of Id.
They replace Big Nate, Candorville, Doonesbury, Dustin, F minus, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Macanudo, Over the hedge, Phoebe & her unicorn, Pooch Café, Prickly City, Prince Valiant, Wallace the brave and Wumo.
Two weeks ago Mark Konradi let his Mississippi Clarion Ledger readers know of the coming changes.
This weekend he is sharing the news with The Hattiesburg American subscribers. Here via Yahoo! News:
On the week of Jan. 29, the Hattiesburg American and hattiesburgamerican.com will debut its new lineup of daily and Sunday comics. The first Sunday of the new lineup will be Feb. 4.
We will still devote the same four pages to comics each Sunday and the same one page each Wednesday and Friday.
On Wednesdays and Fridays, we have run 20 different comic strips each day. That number will grow to 22. On Sundays, we have run 22 comic strips. That number will increase to 23.
Made the cut
Old daily favorites such as Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Hagar and Blondie are sticking around. Also remaining in the lineup are popular strips such as Dennis the Menace and Pickles among many more.
Other daily strips that won’t change include For Better or For Worse, Frank & Ernest, Family Circus, Crabgrass and Zits.
Here are the Sunday classics that will remain: Peanuts, Crabgrass, Pearls Before Swine, Zits, Blondie, Pickles, Garfield, Beetle Bailey, Family Circus, Dennis the Menace, Ziggy, For Better or Worse and Hagar.
New to the paper
Some daily classics are returning. Those include: Peanuts, Baby Blues, Pearls Before Swine, Jump Start, Ziggy, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo and Born Loser.
Here are the Sunday strips being added: Baby Blues, Foxtrot, Jump Start, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and Born Loser.
Dropped from the roster
A few daily strips are going away. Those include Wizard of Id, Barney and Clyde, B.C., Hi and Lois, [Barney Google and] Snuffy Smith, Mother Goose and Grimm, Argyle Sweater, Andy Capp and Shoe.
Here are the Sunday strips leaving: Slylock Fox, [Barney Gogle and] Snuffy Smith, Barney and Clyde, Hi and Lois, Shoe, B.C., Argyle Sweater, Wizard of Id and Andy Capp.
In Louisiana Misty Castile of The News-Star was a little light on the details:
On Jan. 29, we will standardize our comics experience across our papers, to provide our readers with a refreshed, offering that incorporates beloved, timeless favorites.
What does that mean for readers?
On weekdays you’ll enjoy the fun and adventures of Marmaduke and Ziggy. Sundays you can enjoy Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and Born Loser.
Marmaduke and Ziggy are part of the Group 3 and the Sundays adds make up Group 4, so I will guess that the new comics pages will be Groups 1 – 3 for the dailies (a gain of two) and Groups 1 – 4 for Sundays (an even outcome, 22).
The readers will be losing the following comics that are not part of The 34 –
Sundays: Uncle Art’s Funland, In the Bleashers, Nancy, Frazz, and Heart of the City.
Dailies: Frazz, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, and Close to Home (not included in the 1 – 3 groups).
Rick Christie, Executive Editor of The Pam Beach Post, told readers of that paper’s coming changes:
Now change is coming to our comics pages. Those pages are getting a refresh, beginning Monday, Feb. 5. You’ll see some new comic strips, with quite a few of the existing comics remaining.
Favorites like “Family Circus”, “Garfield,” “For Better or For Worse,” “Hagar The Horrible” and “Marmaduke” aren’t going anywhere. You’ll still find them in our daily and Sunday pages. On Sundays, you can still seek out “Crabgrass,” “Peanuts,” “Zits,” and “Pickles” to name a few.
We’re adding some older favorites that we haven’t been able to feature in a while. These are comics some of you might remember from your childhood. Now every day, you’ll find: “Peanuts,” “Hi & Lois,” “Dennis the Menace,” “Wizard of Id,” and “Non Sequitur.” On Sundays, look for “B.C.,” “Shoe” and “Ziggy” to become regulars.
We will be saying goodbye to some comics in print like “Doonesbury,” “Mary Worth,” “Wumo,” and “The Lockhorns.”
I don’t have access to recent editions of The Post and so can’t add to what is mentioned above.
I will note that this pushed the switcheroo deadline back to February 5, 2024.
JANUARY 21 UPDATE
This morning saw a flood of USA TODAY Network (Gannett) newspapers announce coming comics changes. All contain some combination of The Gannett 34, below we note those left behind from those that mention them.
Here are the comics that didn’t make the cut in our daily edition:
The Argyle Sweater, Close to Home, Heathcliff, Pluggers, Lola, Marvin, Rubes, Adam@Home, Arlo and Janis, Prickly City, Red and Rover, Breaking Cat News, Curtis, Sally Forth, Tiger.
And here are the ones that will no longer run in the Sunday edition:
Grand Avenue, Close to Home, Red and Rover, Frazz, The Argyle Sweater, Rubes, Marvin, Arlo and Janis, Curtis, Doonesbury, Breaking Cat, The Fusco Brothers, BroomHilda, Between Friends, Lola, Prickley City, Tiger.
To make way for the new, we must let go of a few beloved comics. The strips being replaced are “Andy Cap,” “B.C.,” “Carpe Diem,” “Doonesbury,” “Drabble,” “F Minus,” “Fred Basset,” “Macanudo,” “Mother Goose,” “Mutts,” “Rose is Rose,” “The Other Coast” and “Wallace the Brave.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
To make room for the new strips, these nine will no longer be printed in the daily newspaper: Grand Avenue, Baldo, Crankshaft, Between Friends, Arlo and Janis, Curtis, Mutts, Luann and Marvin. In addition, these Sunday-only strips will no longer be printed: Mother Goose and Grimm, Caption It!, Dogs of C-Kennel, Hi and Lois, and Get Fuzzy.
The Shreveport Times; Sioux Falls Argus Leader; Spartanburg Herald-Journal;
I’m sure these comics have their fans, but they didn’t make the cut:
Daily: B.C. (one of my old favorites, which will still appear on Sunday), Wizard of ID, Shoe (still on Sunday), Macanudo, Herman, Curtis and Hi and Lois (both remain on Sundays).
Sunday: Skylock Fox, Macanudo, Rubes, F Minus, Wumo, Nancy, Dustin, Carpe Diem, Big Nate and Reality Check.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal:
So which comics are going away? Eleven comics will be switched out of the Monday-through-Saturday lineup: Gasoline Alley, Big Nate, Middletons, Doonesbury, Snuffy Smith, Loose Parts, Brevity, Grizzwells, Heart of the City, Arlo and Janis and Reality Check.
A total of 13 comics will no longer appear in Sunday’s funnies: Prince Valiant, Doonesbury, The Phantom, Hi and Lois, Curtis, Snuffy Smith, Tiger, Hocus Focus, Slylock Fox, Heathcliff, Shrimp and Grits, Brevity and Big Nate.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal; Anderson Independent Mail; Battle Creek Enquirer; The Holland Sentinel;
For the Daily News’ daily comics page… We are discontinuing Born Loser, Carpe Diem, Frank & Ernest, Herman, Pluggers and Shrimp & Grits.
For the Daily News’ Sunday comics pages… We are discontinuing B.C., Caption It, Herman, Shrimp & Grits, Snuffy Smith, Slyock Fox and Uncle Art’s Funland.
The [daily] Jackson Sun will no longer run Arlo and Janis, Jump Start, Wallace the Brave, Drabble and Ziggy.
On Sunday the Sun will no longer print Dustin, Snuffy Smith, Wallace the Brave, Shoe, Bizarro, Tiger, Hocus Focus, Mark Trail, Drabble, Arlo and Janis and Slylock Fox.
New Philadelphia Times-Reporter; Bucyrus Telegraph Forum; Pekin Daily Times; Beaver County Times;
Rockland/Westchester Journal News:
We will bid goodbye to “Rose is Rose”, “Between Friends”, “Luann”, “Doonesbury”, “Curtis”, “Mother Goose & Grimm”, “Shoe”, “Rhymes with Orange”, “Get Fuzzy”, and “Hi and Lois”.
Comics we will bid farewell to, at least for the time being, are Agnes, Bizarro, Dustin, Get Fuzzy, Hi and Lois, The Lockhorns, Speed Bump and Wallace the Brave. Marvin, a Sunday-only strip, will also be going away.
McDonough County Voice; Jacksonville Florida Times-Union; Louisville Courier Journal
[On weekdays] we’re dropping Agnes, Big Nate, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Judge Parker, Marvin, Moderately Confused, One Big Happy, Overboard, Sally Forth, Sherman’s Lagoon, Six Chix and The Middletons.
On Sundays, we are dropping: Agnes, Caption it, Doonesbury, Flo & Friends, FoxTrot, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Judge Parker, Marvin, One Big Happy, Prince Valiant, Red Rover, Sally Forth, Sherman’s Lagoon, Shrimp & Grits, The Middletons and The Phantom.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story about the comic changes with the Gannett 34 is behind a paywall, but I bet Peanuts finally returns to Milwaukee after a 24 year absence.
Update: Accortding to the Milwaukee J-S newspaper:
Here are the 10 comics that will be added as part of the refresh: Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Hagar the Horrible, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Peanuts, For Better or For Worse, Marmaduke, Non Sequitor and Crabgrass.
Those comics will also run on Sundays (along with Foxtrot, which is only offered on Sundays).
So this means Blondie and Peanuts will return to the Milwaukee newspaper after a long absence!
We are supposed to get excited about a 93-year old zombie and a 24-year old re-run? Even if Charles Schulz was a local hero, he doesn’t need that sort of patriotic tombstone. He made sure that the syndicate would not continue Peanuts using zombie artists, and I would like to think that his preference would have been to give that slot to new talent. It’s not like his descendents need (or have in any way earned) the additional income.
Too bad the Schulz estate has no plans to reboot the Peanuts comic strip for newspapers and gocomics.com.
Who is the 93 year old zombie in comic strips anyway? Blondie and Dagwood?
Tragic to see the newer, truly refreshing strips (eg. Phoebe and her Unicorn, Wallace the Brave) being replaced by tired old re-runs. Is it a case of readers getting the comics that they want, or editors no longer listening (or being able to take action)?
A matter of catering to their existing, fading audience rather than trying to attract a new, younger group.
Gannett has made it perfectly clear that they do not care at all about what readers think, and they have offered vertually no bargaining room for local editors to make their own decisions. A microscopic number of papers have gone “maverick” to take an additional comic or two, but those comics are not allowed to appear in Gannett’s “unified” comic section. Readers are being fed a predigested pap of ancient zombies and re-runs, because Gannett knows that nobody subscribes to the newspapers for the comics any more. It would have been easier (and more honest) just to remove ALL the comics from ALL of those papers, and let readers who actually care about new material find it online.
I wish Gannett acquired the New York Daily News from Tribune Publishing so that the Gannett 34 can run in the paper for their own content in the NYC area, but Gasoline Alley would have to be removed or move to another place in the paper.
I wish the Gannett papers actually used all 34 comics in some way, not just a select few (most are unfortunately ignoring groups 5 & 6). It also would’ve been nice if it was a little more even with the groupings (alternating between King Features and McNeel; each with 3 groupings). This way each paper wouldn’t have a mostly cheap lineup and strips like Snuffy Smith, Rhymes With Orange, Bizarro, and Candorville could’ve been included.
I’ll likely cancel my subscription to the Louisville Courier Journal now that the Sunday edition will not include Doonesbury!
The Sunday edition is the only printed edition I receive. Now and then I read the daily paper online for the editorials and Joe Gerth’s column. My Dad used to read the comics to us when we were young. My 3 brothers delivered the paper, morning and evening, and paid their Catholic high school tuition with their earnings. I’m 74 and there is less and less news in the paper.
Who made the pathetic decision to cut Doonesbury? Gannet cares not about the readers. We don’t want to be fed drivel!
Does anybody know how many newspapers the daily Mark Trail appears in?
The notoriously unreliable “about” page claims 175 newspapers.
https://comicskingdom.com/mark-trail/about
MAYBE half that? A newspaper.com search brings up two newspapers:
The Allentown Morning Call and The Jackson Clarion Ledger.
The Washington Post still carries Mark Trail. So does the Arlington, Illinois Daily Herald.