The comics war -- Day 2
The bean counters were unprepared for the amount of outrage they brought upon themselves by round-filing about 10 Daily News comic strips. A taste of the response:
What have you done with my beloved Mallard Fillmore? And Garfield, Beattle Bailey. And no Dick Tracy anymore. He's been around forever. What is Humble Stumble, Diesel Sweeties and a few others. Please bring them old magazine back._ Patti Page, Burbank ________________________________________________
The new layout and missing favorite comics (Beetle Bailey, Dinette Set and others) makes it looks like somebody had to justify their job by changing for the sake of change._ Ray Garcia, Canoga Park ________________________________________________
I've been a subscriber for almost 40 years and I am growing ever increasingly disappointed in your newspaper. One of my daily favorite things was reading the comic section and as of this morning ALL of my favorites are no longer there. What happened to the Dinette Set, Mallard, For Better or Worse, One Big Happy, and Funky Winkerbean to name a few????? Several of the new ones will never catch on with me!_ Anne Bruce, West Hills __________________________________________
This morning I looked for my favorite comic strip "Mallard Fillmore". Does its absence have anything to do with its policitcs?_ Bill Chapman
Beetle Bailey, Funky Winkerbean, Garfield, and Hagar the Horrible need to return. Diesel Sweeties is a horrible replacement and should be dropped. Zippy the Pinhead should be dropped too. It's never been funny and never will be. Please restore Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Hagar, and Funky Winkerbean. There's nowhere in the Los Angeles area where I can find it. Besides, do we really need to have comics that already appear in the Los Angeles Times such as: Marmaduke or Drabble?
When I saw the new comics section yesterday I thought there had been a mistake. Today I am outraged that long-time, much enjoyed comics have been replaced by silly, poorly drawn (and probably cheaper) attempts at humor. You do your readers a disservice. It is as though you are saying that we don't really read the paper, therefore we won't notice the change. How insulting -- and how embarrassing for you if it is true! Don't you think readers are invested in any of the stories? Do you know how many women relate to the cancer story line in Funky Winterbean? Do you think we don't care -- or don't your editors care about those of us whose lives have been touched by cancer and need to know what happens? Those characters are real to many of us.
You need to get out and talk to your readers and see what they would like to see in the Daily News -- and not just in the comics department. I would be more than happy to volunteer some time to attend such a discussion.
Please correct this mistake and return our missing friends.
Does the Daily News leadership understand that the comics section is a major draw for many of their readers? I guess not. This is the most horrendous, awful, unbelievable change I have ever seen a major newspaper make. If you are competing against the L.A. Times, you just lost. If you are competing against the internet, you just lost. If this is the direction the Daily News is taking, I don't want it anymore.
The comics have been FUBAR. I think it was a mistake to drop the following comics.
PUT THESE BACK IN
This Day in History (not exactly a "comic," but very informative.)
Willy 'N Ethel (Married couples can relate to this one.)
Mallard Fillmore (One of the best comics written. Conservative counterpoint to Doonesbury.)
Hagar the Horrible (Married couples can relate to this one.)
For Better or Worse (Everyman's family. I've been reading this for 20 years.)
Dinette Set (The characters are so stupid that they're funny.)
Funky Winkerbean (This has been a staple for almost 30 years dealing with life's cheers & tears.)
Judge Parker (An intelligently written, continuing soap opera.)
Flight Deck (Some of the funniest stuff ever.)
THESE ARE A WASTE OF SPACE
Sherman's Lagoon (Stupid)
Marmaduke (A one-joke comic)
Secret Asian Man (Looks like this is another one-joke comic.)
Girls and Sports (one big "Duh")
Humble Stumble (a bigger "Duh")
Diesel Sweeties (Primitive graphics. Lego characters)
Red & Rover (no comment)
I read the old "U" Section (and "LA Life" before that) first thing every day. You have now cut the comics by one page and dropped a great number of my favorites. Will Hagar ever take out the garbage? Will Willy ever get a job? Which candidate will Mallard endorse in 2008?
Now I'll never know -- my life is in shambles. I may have to **gasp** subscribe to the LA Times. Oh, my God, am I becoming a liberal conservative or a conservative liberal?
Seriously, I really do think that these changes are NOT for the better. I have found that everything in life is in the comics. I sincerely think that the strips that you dropped were a great asset to this section and I would hope that you would re-instate some or all of them.
Jim Powder
I can't believe you'd replace The Duck (Mallard) Funky and Dinette Set with such unfunny-poorly written junk--The Daily News is headed down the tubes and whoever is in charge needs to wake up....
To: All those irate over the changes
Don't hold your breath. Remember when the comics section used to be a pull-out?
When they changed the format they received a lot of flak — but they did nothing about it. And now with the (terrible) New Layout, they're getting hit again. But, like I said, don't hold your breath. I really feel their attitude is, "Tough!"
How will we ever know if Elizabeth and Anthony get married on For Better Or Worse, Do you even know how we feel about our comics? You have made a grave error and will lose readers. Who was responsible for the new format? I may have to subscribe to the Times, they carry my cartoons.
Bring back the Dinette Set and the BIRTHDAY HOROSCOPE.
You had no business making such bad choice changes without consulting with your paid subscribers!!