Return of the Living Comic Strip

KeystoneX · Post by **KeystoneX** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:32 pm

A startling development in my local newspaper...

The Patriot-News (of Harrisburg, PA) has recently started re-running "Calvin and Hobbes." Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me a little dose of Calvin each day as much as the next 'toonist,...

But it seems as if the print industry has now thrown up it's hands and said, "Well, that's it. We've reached the peak, and it's all down hill from here. Hope you enjoy the Peanuts re-runs too, and we'll see you at the bottom of the mountain."

I'm surprised, too, that Bill Watterson would have given the green light on this. It doesn't seem like his style.

The worst part of all this is that the paper had a teaser on the top of the front page, trumpeting the return of Calvin and Hobbes. I was about to kick myself for somehow missing what should have been the biggest development in the comics industry in years, only to find a colorized version of the first C&H strip.

I'm going to go read some good webcomics now, and wonder why the world is the way it is.

Col · Post by **Col** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:04 pm

Yeah, I'd be mighty pissed as a newspaper comic artist to see a spot that could have my comic being taken up by ANOTHER re-run strip. Hey, I like Calvin and Hobbes, but seriously, go buy the books if you want to read it. Give the newbies a chance. You never know, there might actually be another breakout cartoon like C&H, hard as that is to believe.

Post by **Mercury Hat** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:27 pm

I could have sworn I read somewhere they were going to start re-running old strips as a promotional bit for the new C&H complete collection that's coming out.

Meh.

Warren · Post by **Warren** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:59 am

Let's get Harrisburg!

*climbs in car and looks for route 220*

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 3:52 am

Um...okay. There's more newspapers, surely.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:07 am

Mercury Hat wrote:I could have sworn I read somewhere they were going to start re-running old strips as a promotional bit for the new C&H complete collection that's coming out.

Meh.

I read that too.

Blackaby · Post by **Blackaby** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:11 am

Y'know, I don't know why more comics in HERE aren't published in newspapers OUT THERE. They seem pretty good, and I hate the comics in newspapers.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:34 am

In our local papers (Down Here) I always flick to the funnies every time I get a paper. I still enjoy Garfield, Snake and even Fred Basset at times. They're a newspaper...they're read by a wide range of people. The comics inside them need to be appreciated by a wider range of people. A lot of webcomics I can't get into because they're too enclosed in their own little niches. Sure, there may be a large number of internet users interested in the same webcomic. Doesn't mean it'll be popular in a newspaper though. It's a different demographic.

IVstudios · Post by **IVstudios** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:41 am

I think what they ought to start doing is just having two comic sections. Ones for new comics, and one for "Classics." But then again, if I ran a newspaper I'd be nothing but comics.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:54 am

Dutch is right. Do you think Penny Arcade would fare well in a newspaper? It's good at what it's subject matter is, but most people wouldn't get into it. It was designed to be a niche comic and that's what it is. Another factor is that newspaper comics have to be appropriate for all ages, and lots of webcomics aren't.

Anyway, I like Calvin & Hobbes, but they neeed to run some new stuff in the papers.

LibertyCabbage · Post by **LibertyCabbage** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:58 am

All we have to do is burn down every tree in the world and newspapers will be unable to operate. The masses will have no choice but to turn to the internet for their comicking needs. It will be glorious.

LibertyCabbage · Post by **LibertyCabbage** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:01 am

I think Penny Arcade would be successful because even if most people wouldn't get the jokes it'd be funny when they do as opposed to most syndicated strips which are never funny. Although PA would never be in papers anyway because all the comics there are rated G for GAY.

KeystoneX · Post by **KeystoneX** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:26 am

Warren wrote:Let's get Harrisburg!

*climbs in car and looks for route 220*

We can stage at my apartment, and launch the attack of the Patriot-News from here.. They'll never see it coming... A full on assault by webcomic artists. We'll give them a new front page, that's for sure.

Speaking of webcomics and the print world, I remember hearing that KeenSpace was printing a single page insert for newspapers. Anyone know how that's working out?

Spriteville, USA · Post by **Spriteville, USA** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:27 am

I can't wait to see Calvin and Hobbes pulled out of newspapers forever so we can have quility replacements like Brubaker's put in.

Sad truth is, it's more than likely that it would happen, might not be his comic. Very likely wouldn't be, but it could very well be similar. The problem is that the demographic of newspapers is dying. Litterally and socially. They target older people, all us young folk can get almost all the news we want online. Hell most small town newspapers should be hardcore investing in online counterparts because most of us aren't going to bother with a physical newspaper every week when we could hop online a few seconds a day and scan to see if anything is worthwhile. If newspapers want to stay in print, they need to change their demographic from the Golden Oldies, to some of us for a change.

Col · Post by **Col** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:43 am

I'll be very interested to see how things are once we're all in our 40s and 50s.

My newspaper actually does have a section for "new" comics, and a section for classic comics, which is a bit smaller. Still not much to sneeze at in terms of quality in comics, but appreciated that they put the effort forward.

MixedMyth · Post by **MixedMyth** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:56 am

Eeegh. Yeah. Though I'd rather have Calvin and Hobbes (which I adore) than, say, Peanuts.

KathleenJ · Post by **KathleenJ** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:22 am

My paper has necromanced Calvin too.

I have mixed feelings about this. It's one of the finest newspaper strips ever made, and it tends to outshine almost everything else on the page. But the precedent of infinitely rerunning classics rather than taking a gamble on new material is just depressing. That depressing territory also includes "classics" which are technically still being produced, but the original artist died long ago, and took any relevance the comic had with them.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:08 pm

Newspapers won't die. Yes, you can probably find the same news online, but the sensation of holding a newspaper will not disappear. They're cheap, easy to transport, and can be read anywhere. I prefer the paper than online anyway because I find that online news gives you a little bit of information and you've got to go digging for the rest of the article. In the paper, the whole article is there on the page for you.

KeystoneX · Post by **KeystoneX** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:53 pm

Col wrote: My newspaper actually does have a section for "new" comics, and a section for classic comics, which is a bit smaller. Still not much to sneeze at in terms of quality in comics, but appreciated that they put the effort forward.

out of curiosity, which newspaper is this? I'd like to get a subscription!

Vorticus · Post by **Vorticus** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:54 pm

old media tends to not die, people said newspapers would die when radio came out, then that newspaper and radio would die when tv came out, and so forth. All these media still exist, though not with the audience they used to have.