Ask The Post

Deb Heard, assistant managing editor for Style, was online Monday, March 19, at 1 p.m. ET to field your questions and comments about changes to the comics pages in the newspaper.

Note to Post readers on pending changes in the comics lineup

The transcript follows.

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Deb Heard: Hello everyone. Thanks for joining me. I won't waste time with a preamble. I'll just say that the process of changing the comics pages have reinforced for me that comics readers are a passionate bunch. I like that!

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Washington, D.C.: I noticed that you have replaced the crossword with something called "Crossynergy." It appears to be a syndicated puzzle. Does this mean that The Post has dropped its crossword staff? Please tell me this isn't so. The clues are incredibly dry and boring -- nothing Washington-related at all.

Deb Heard: The Crossynergy puzzle isn't new; we just put the name in the label. It runs 6 days a week on the first comics page. We decided to label the puzzles because on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we run an additional crossword puzzle (by Tribune) on the second comics page. Both crosswords used to be simply labeled "crossword" and that caused lots of confusion.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you, thank you, thank you for getting rid of several idiotic comics! (How about another new guideline: If the original artist is dead, dump it.) My actual question: How do you decide which strips to get rid of and which to add?

Deb Heard: I consider reader reaction that comes in via calls, e-mails and letters to the editor. I also regularly consult with colleagues who are passionate comics readers. Plus, I've been a big comics fan for years and have my own thoughts -- as a reader and an editor -- about which ones are strong, weak or problematic. And, of course, I have bosses who read the comics and offer their thoughts about what's good or bad. I also keep in touch with features editors across the country about which strips are popular and which aren't.

As for adding new strips, I get lots of pitches from comic syndicate reps who want us to buy and publish their new features. I evaluate those and submit many of the samples to a comics committee made of a variety of employees and their family members -- young and old -- to get detailed assessments. With that information, I take recommendations to my bosses.

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Severna Park, Md.: More of a statement than a question -- I guess I am disappointed that yet another long-time serial/soap opera comic like "Mary Worth" gets dropped, yet you keep strips like "Baldo," "Zippy" and "Out of the Gene Pool" around. I am glad that "Judge Parker" can remain in The Post -- at least I will still have that long time comic to follow.

Deb Heard: Thanks for this. Putting together comics pages that serve our broad readership base is tricky. The ones some readers hate, others love. That's the case with "Zippy" etc. We try to provide something that appeals to everyone, knowing of course that we can't possibly make everyone happy all of the time.

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Washington, D.C.: Because of the format change in The Post's comic section, you have squeezed the panels in "Zippy the Pinhead" from the top to the bottom so that the figures are distorted all out of proportion. Bill Griffith is an artist whose work should be respected -- pictorially, the strip is a gem. Can you adjust the proportions of the panels and correct this problem?

Deb Heard: I'll take another look at that. The drawings are so quirky that I didn't notice a difference when I saw the redesigned prototypes.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi! I first want to compliment The Post for continuing to run more comic strips than any other paper in the country, and for taking risks to update the pages. The new pages look really good. Thank you so much for dropping "Broom Hilda." Can "Zippy" and "Beetle Bailey" go next? I must admit, though, that the addition of "Brewster Rockit!" is mysterious to me. The strip is hardly ever funny. Why this one instead of the strips given trial runs when "Boondocks" left?

Deb Heard: Do give "Brewster Rockit!" a chance. When I first started asking around to determine which great strips were not in The Post, "Brewster" was often at the top of the list. As for "Beetle Bailey," a lot of readers -- especially those that have followed it for years -- like it.

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Washington, D.C.: I can't say I support the retirement of "Mary Worth" from The Washington Post, especially after an excellent recent plotline, which involved Mary and her friends being indirectly responsible for the death of an alcoholic Captain-Kangaroo-look-alike who was stalking Ms. Worth. But good riddance to "Cathy" and the god-awful "Broom Hilda". Save "Mary Worth"!

Deb Heard: Thanks.

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Thank you!:"Cathy" has been boring for years; "Broom Hilda" too. I never could read "Mary Worth." And "Agnes" is awesome. I hope you don't take too much heat. Also -- think about bringing "Jump Start" to the comics pages? And I wouldn't cry any tears over losing "Prickly City" either. (I mean, nothing wrong with having a conservative strip, but it would be nice if it were actually funny.)

Deb Heard: Thanks for this. I'm not familiar with "Jump Start" but I'll take a look. What do others think about "Prickly Cit"y?

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Washington, D.C.: Was this a decision based on money? I mean, how much does it cost to carry a comic like "Mary Worth" or "Broom Hilda," which have been in paper for as long as I can remember? Do they cost more than these new ones?

Deb Heard: Money wasn't a factor at all. We kept the decision-making process separate from the budget considerations -- a different editor negotiated the contracts and I don't even know what the costs were. I will say though that the long-time strips that are still popular tend to cost more than new, relatively unknown ones.

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Alexandria, Va.: Thanks for running a number of good strips, especially "Pearls Before Swine" and "Get Fuzzy." Any chance of "Luann" coming to The Post?

Deb Heard: Not anytime soon. It's impossible to add new strips unless we drop some current ones. What would you recommend dropping in favor of "Luann"?

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Washington, D.C.: What has happened to the "The Boondocks" -- is he still actively generating comics and are you carrying him on your site? Is there room for other black comics, and how does one get to be printed in The Post? Does one have to be syndicated first?

Deb Heard: Aaron McGruder decided to stop creating "Boondocks" -- he's moved on to television projects. The comics syndicate is offering repeats but, as much as I loved the strip, I thought it would be better to give other strips a chance because our space is limited.

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Washington, D.C.: I am really sad about "Mary Worth" -- I won't mourn the other strips you dumped but it seems like there are so few "soap" strips left. "Apartment 3-G" getting the ax was a bitter pill to swallow long ago. I'm not sure I can survive losing Mary. Did other readers really hate her that much ?

Deb Heard: There aren't many soap-opera strips available -- I looked. And yes, lots of people hate "Mary Worth," just as lots love her.

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Silver Spring, Md.: "Prickly City", like Rush Limbaugh, is embarrassingly absurd in its points. It ridicules, rather than debates.

Deb Heard: In response to my question...

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Edgewater, Md.: Keep "Prickly City," but for goodness sakes make "Blondie" the next strip to go. On its best days it's repetitive and lame. And I'm waiting to cringe again when the artist includes pitches for his chain of sandwich shops in the text balloons.

Deb Heard: And this ...

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Can "Prickly City"!: Ooh! I hate "Prickly City." Just not funny.

Deb Heard: And this ... any huge fans of this one?

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Washington, D.C.: The Editorial page no longer runs Herblock cartoons. Your own Style section has let Art Buchwald rest in peace. Please do the same with "Peanuts." While the fan base may be strong, rabid and arthritic, they can go buy the anthology.

Deb Heard: True. It's unlikely that we'll drop "Peanuts" anytime soon; it's still very popular and it always has been with us because The Post was one of the papers that debuted the strip. It's worth noting, I think, that this strip is the great Schulz original, rather than a lesser successor's version.

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Alexandria, Va.: Thank you! "Cathy" hasn't been funny since 1933.

Deb Heard: One reader's reaction...

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Rockville, Md.: Thank you, thank you, thank you for getting rid of "Mary Worth," "Cathy," and "Broom Hilda"! The next time you cut a strip, would you please consider "Peanuts"? I know everyone likes the strip, but these are reruns. It's time to let Schulz rest in peace and allow some new comic to take its place.

Deb Heard: Sharing...

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Vienna, Va.: Why won't The Washington Post consider returning "Dilbert" and "Doonesbury" to the comic pages? You now have the right-wing "Prickly City" in the comics, so why is "Doonesbury" still banned? The explanation about "Dilbert" being moved was that it "fit" better with the business section. Why not scatter some of the other comics to sections that would "fit" better? Why not just scatter all the comics?

Deb Heard: I'm not in favor of scattering the comics throughout the paper. For one thing, that would make it hard for readers to find their favorites. (Years back, the comics package used to float from section to section, which really was irritating to readers.) "Doonesbury" fans have been trained to find it on Page 3, so any decision to move it wouldn't be an easy one. Plus it would mean we'd run one fewer strip in our entire package, because the space on the comics pages wouldn't increase. Same goes for moving "Dilbert" from Business.

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Alexandria, Va.: Thank you for providing a breath of fresh air! "Mary Worth," "Cathy," and "Broom Hilda" have been around forever, and I have disliked them for just as long. I usually skip over a huge portion of the comics because the strips just aren't funny or interesting. Cycling in new stuff in the past gave me "Pickles" and "Sherman's Lagoon" to add to my list of daily reads. If you only would replace "Dennis the Menace" and "Zippy" too...

Deb Heard: I'm hoping you like the additions. Producing pages with funny, smart, interesting voices was my goal and will continue to be. The trick is finding the right mix for all kinds of readers. As for "Dennis" and "Zippy," there's an audience for those too.

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Alexandria, Va.: I've never been tremendously impressed with "Prickly City," but as a conservative I'm reluctant to say so, because I'm pretty sure people who dislike PC do so out of political fervor whether they admit it or not. I'm not a fan of PC, "Doonesbury" or any of the explicitly political cartoons. Very tiresome.

Deb Heard: Thanks for this perspective.

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Washington, D.C.: In my opinion this is my keep/dump list:

Keepers: "Mark Trail," "Beetle Bailey," "Judge Parker," "Blondie," "Zits," "Mutts," "Pickles," "Baby Blues" and "Classic Peanuts."

Dump: "Frank & Ernest," "Big Nate," "On The Fastrack," "Baldo," "Piranha Club," "Watch Your Head" and "Pooch Cafe."

Deb Heard: Sharing...

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Soap-opera strips: I had a soft spot for "Mary Worth," because (like almost all the other soap-opera strips) she's caught in such a cultural time warp that she's sort of charming. Sort of. But "Mark Trail" is not just stuck in the 1948, he's permanently welded there. When is he going to get the boot?

Deb Heard: "Mark Trail" has a very passionate fan base -- at least it did in the early '90s, when a decision to drop it was met with such outrage that we brought it back. So I kept that in mind when I started my assessment. Is that still true? Are the "Mark Trail" fans out there?

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Another strip to go?: Didn't the creator of "Frank and Ernest," um, die a few months ago? I heard he had quite a few strips already done, but they presumably will finish at some point. Then what?

washingtonpost.com: Bob Thaves; Created 'Frank & Ernest' Comic Strip (Post, Aug. 12, 2006)

Deb Heard: Yes, he did. The story's attached. His son had been working with him for a number of years and is continuing the strip.

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Laurel, Md.: Why "Agnes"? I understand losing "Cathy" and "Broom Hilda" (their time has passed), but "Agnes" is worse than "One Big Happy." It's about the worst cartoon I ever read. I read every strip every day except for "Mary Worth." "Agnes" I had to stop reading after a while because it was so awful. What was the thinking behind the choice of "Agnes"?

Deb Heard: We ran Agnes for about six weeks when "Boondocks" was first on sabbatical. It got lots of positive reaction from readers who called our hotline or sent us e-mails -- that's why I added it. Plus, I liked it too.

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St Louis, Mo.: I subscribed to The Post for 16 years and just moved to St. Louis. I think the problem with "Cathy" is that the dialogue was soooo looong it was really got hard to read. A good comic strip is more gag oriented. Thank you for keeping "Gasoline Alley" on the Web site along with all the other comics offered. The Post Web site allows me to read a number of comics that are not carried by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

washingtonpost.com: Comics Section on washingtonpost.com

Deb Heard: The Post Web site will continue to run the comics that are not in the print version, as well as lots of others that we don't have newsprint space for. We want our readers to go both places. We do realize, however, that some long-time comics readers don't go online yet. I'm hoping t those readers still will be drawn to lots of other old favorites in the paper and will give the new strips a chance.

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Washington, D.C.: I agree on dropping "Peanuts." Your statement on "Boondocks" proves the point: "The comics syndicate is offering repeats but, as much as I loved the strip, I thought it would be better to give other strips a chance since our space is limited." In its place, I second the recommendation of "Jump Start." You should really check it out.

Deb Heard: I will. Thanks.

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Alexandria, Va.: Another suggestion for the chopping block: "The Wizard of Id." It's lost its humor and all too often crosses the line into deliberate offensiveness.

Deb Heard: Do alert us if you see a strip that you believe is offensive -- we have a comics coordinator who reads every one before it's published and alerts me and other senior editors to problems. We do pull strips that we consider tasteless and/or offensive. Of course, what's tasteless to some is funny to others. So, let us know when you think we've crossed the line.

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Another good one...: is "Frazz". A fun look at a school through the life of a hip young janitor. I'd love for my kids to go to school there. Just a thought for the next time you're looking for fresh new comics.

Deb Heard: I love "Frazz" and we do run it. Top of Page 2.

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Rockville, Md.: Why resize the Sudoku grid? I think it was perfect the way it was. I have seen the large grid like the new one in other papers and it is a turnoff. Thank you!

Deb Heard: Some people wanted more space to write (or rewrite).

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Comics Poll?: Does The Post conduct formal comics polls of its readers? If so, when is the next one?

Deb Heard: There're strong differences about how useful reader surveys are, because they're self-selecting and there have been accusations that some comic syndicates stuff the ballot box. We've conducted them occasionally and may do so again. Plus, we sometimes ask readers who respond to our formal reader surveys what they think of the comics. I incorporated some of that information in deciding what to drop and add this time around.

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A shout-out for "Zits": Bless you for running "Zits", the only thing that keeps me, the mother of two teens, sane some days.

Deb Heard: Thanks.

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Alexandria, Va.:"Mark Trail," and to a greater extent "Mary Worth," are in that special class known as "so bad it's good." I mean that as a compliment of sorts -- watching the new "Mary Worth" storyline unfold is just a delight in its own sick way.

Deb Heard: That's funny...

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Washington, D.C.: Why can't there be two crossword puzzles everyday instead of just Tuesday-Friday?

Deb Heard: Limited space. The Chess, Poker and Quote Acrostic readers would object.

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St John's, Newfoundland, Canada: People, people! Listen to yourselves! At least you have comics! No local paper here carries any, and the Globe and Mail has a paltry less-than-one-half page (seven max?) with some real dogs (but at least it carries "Pooch Cafe"). So enjoy the treasure you have in The Post's funnies. Your place in the world is unique. Signed a former long-term Post subscriber.

Deb Heard: I'm out of time. Thanks for your interest; I'll take all reaction under consideration.

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