Donna Lewis’ Reply All launched yesterday. It is running in the Washington Post replacing Watch Your Head. She was also invited to do a live chat with the Washington Post. Transcript is found here.

The New York Daily News dropped 1/3 of their comics (about 12 comics) in a reduction of their comic page. According to Comics Reporter the dropped comics include: Close to Home, Curtis, Dustin, F Minus, Marmaduke, Over the Hedge, Real Life Adventures, Rose is Rose, Sherman’s Lagoon, The Flying McCoys, and The Lockhorns.

I echo what Tom wrote on his blog, “Losing placement at a big circulation paper like the Daily News is a blow to any strip, and losing a page’s worth is a blow to any readership.”

The other changes all have one thing in common – papers are dropping Peanuts. The Cumberland Times-News (MD) cited that since United Media was no longer distributing it, it was a natural time to consider replacing it. Not sure of the other motives, but the timing may suggest a similar line of thinking.

The Laurel Leader-Call (MS) has dropped Peanuts (daily) and added Zits. They’ve also started to run a local feature entitled Nelson that replaces Cow and Boy.

As mentioned The Cumberland Times-News dropped the classic strip in favor of Big Nate.

The other paper dropping Peanuts is The Victoria Times Colonist (Canada). They picked up the Sunday and daily Tundra.

Like the Cumberland Times-News, The Ada Evening News (OK) has picked up Big Nate to replace Peanuts.

I’ve reported that Universal Uclick launched a sales campaign last week for Peanuts.

One last report that I just found. Paul Trap’s Thatababy has been picked up by The Gloucester Times (MA). It’s his hometown paper.

Donna is a D.C. attorney by profession. Her first foray into cartooning was a web comic she created entitled “Crazed Angels.”

Lewis comes from “an annoyingly funny family” that provides material faster than she can “translate it into a written product.” Now, she says, “The years of listening to their absurd notions about the world are finally providing value to my life.” Lewis assures us that no family members were harmed in the creation of this strip,and some names were left unchanged in order to incriminate those deserving of such.

Samples have not yet been posted the Post Writers Group site, but you can see her work online.

AG: You entered “Thatababy” into the Amazon contest. Had the strip existed in some form before the contest?

PT: THATABABY had been percolating in the margins of my notebooks for several years before I finally dedicated a weekend to building a submission package for the syndicates. When the contest was announced I plucked a few strips from my packet, added some new Sunday samples, and entered.

AG: For those who don’t know about your strip, give us the cliff’s note version of what its about.

PT: THATABABY celebrates those glorious early years of life where everything is new, you’re in command and the rules don’t apply. It’s a parenting strip through the eyes of the baby.

AG: Where did the genesis of Thatababy come from?

PT: The foundation is largely autobiographical (draw what you know?). Our son was much too busy to sleep for his first two years – through the sleep deprivation I viewed him as a tiny anarchist upsetting the natural order of things. Looking back I can see he had it right.

AG: During the Amazon contest, what kind of feedback did you receive from editors and judges?

John Glynn from Universal Uclick contacted me during the stretch run and said he would like to talk when the dust settled. I didn’t receive comments from the judges until long after the contest ended.

PT: At what point did Universal Uclick approach you with a development contract for Thatababy?

Shortly after the conclusion of the contest.

AG: How has your strip changed from the contest to what newspapers will see on October 4?

PT: I was encouraged to add more Mom to the strip – I agree.

AG: What has been the most challenging part of the development contract?

PT: I thought I was off track with the strip during development – one sketch was returned to me labeled “disturbing” and another thought too dark. I later met the Chariman of Universal Uclick who said that was his favorite strip, so I felt equal parts vindication and confusion. THATABABY will be filled with some treacle, some poop jokes and I hope I can sneak a few things through unexpected for a baby strip.

AG: At what point were you offered a full syndication contract with a launch date?

PT: I believe we began discussing a launch in June.

AG: Most seasoned cartoonists will tell you to work as head as much as you can before you launch creating a deadline buffer. How many weeks ahead are your working from your deadline?

PT: Not nearly enough.

Alan: What was the inspiration for this strip?

Mick: While volunteering at the Orlando SPCA, there were 3 wings of the building labeled the A, B and C kennels. “C” was off and detached from the others. I jokingly thought this must be where they put the misfit and problem dogs. I found the idea funny and the name was catchy. As narcissistic as it sounds, the characters are based on my multiple personalities although it’s not accidental that they also resemble my brother and my closest friends as well.

Alan. You both are involved with producing B.C. and Wizard of Id, what are each of your roles doing this strip?

Mick: C-Kennel is written by myself and drawn by my brother, Mason. Mason gives it that professional look that I couldn’t quite achieve on my own. He’s always had the ability to draw exactly what I see in my head. I write for B.C. and I’m the head-writer for the Wizard of Id.

Mason: I am head-writer and cartoonist of B.C. and I help edit the Wizard of Id. Mick and I work so closely our personalities seep into everything we do together.

Alan. Will any other family members be contributing to C-Kennel?

Mick: Our Mom letters it. She fits our budget.

Alan. The feature has been in development for three years. How have you seen the feature evolve to where it is today?

Mick: By leaps and bounds. Mason and I toyed with many different design ideas. Pretty much every character has undergone major reconstructive surgery. As the characters personalities have grown, I believe both my writing and Mason’s drawings have greatly improved.

Mason: Mick and I grew up close and know each other very well. I feel an intimate relationship with these characters because I helped develop them. Mick gave birth to them but we brought them up together.

Alan. How does C-Kennel differ in writing and humor style than your other features?

Mick: Compared to writing B.C. and Wizard of Id, C-Kennel comes easier because they’re our own characters. I can be more current because it takes place in modern day. We don’t have to live up to the standards of a legacy strip so we can get away with fart jokes and cheap jabs at pop culture icons.

Mason: It’s younger, fresher and more forgiving. It doesn’t have the history, it’s all us. My main job is B.C. If drawing B.C.is dinner, then Dogs of C-Kennel is dessert.

At least two features are

Here are the features:

Dustin, Steve Kelley, Jeff Parker – King Features (January 4)
Diamond Lil, Brett Koth – Creators (March 1)
Barney & Clyde, Gene Weingarten, Dan Weingarten, David Clark – Washington Post Writers Group (June 7)
Oh, Brother!, Bob Weber Jr., Jay Stephens – King Features (June 28)
Freshly Squeezed, Ed Stein – United Media (September 20)
Thatababy Paul Trap – Universal Uclick (October 4)
Dogs of C-Kennel, Mick and Mason Mastroianni – Creators (October 4)

Any feature launched prior to October 4 is genuinely being launched without consideration of Cathy Guisewite’s retirement.
Universal Uclick tells me that because they syndicate Cathy, they had the insiders advantage to know when to launch a replacement.

Paul Trap is a freelance writer and illustrator. He serves as the editorial cartoonist for Baseball America magazine which appears both in print and web. He’s also a contributor to USA Today and McClatchy News Service, illustrating weekly features for kids and adults that appear in newspapers worldwide. Other freelance clients include Kellogg’s, 3M, AOL, National Geographic and Fidelity Investments.

Alan: When did you begin working on this strip?

Ed: I started working on it in earnest when the Rocky folded last year.

Alan: How much of this strip is new and how much is “Denver Square the sequel”?

Ed: In some ways it is a sequel to “Denver Square,” in that it features the same cast of characters in a similar setting (although I’ve restyled the characters, some pretty dramatically). Obviously, it won’t be about life in Denver, but is really about the family dynamic of three-generations living together under one roof–a family that might just be better off not being so close. It isn’t in any way political, although I expect to touch topical subjects such as the economy.

Alan: You had mentioned, when announcing the end of Denver Square, that the strip was starting to “feel like a grind instead of a pleasure to write and draw each day.” What’s it like now coming back to doing a daily strip?

Ed: I’m enjoying writing and drawing a strip again. The grind I felt probably had more to do with my sense that the Rocky was likely to close and that I needed to move on to something I could support my family with. So, naturally, I’m going back to work in the same whalebone corset industry that I just left. Nobody ever said cartoonists made smart career choices.

Alan: The premise is about a multigenerational family living together. What was the genesis for that scenario come from?

Ed: It just seemed like a natural way to bring the same character mix to life; the economy tanked and many, many families found themselves living in multi-generation homes–so I just started with that premise, and it came together.

Alan: Where are you getting the daily inspiration/material for Freshly Squeezed? Are you living in a multigenerational environment?

Ed: I’m actually at the opposite end. My kids are out of the house, and it’s just me and Lisa (and the dog and cat) now. Of course, given the state of the industry, we might end up having to move in with the kids.

Alan: How much of the humor is based on the living situation (much like “Dustin”) and how much of it will be topical family humor that just happens to include the grandparents living with the family?

Ed: In the beginning, it’s more about the living situation as I establish the characters and the setting, but you can only ride that one so far. Ultimately, the strip has to be driven by the relationship between the characters, not by externals. Otherwise it gets boring fast.

Alan: The newspaper market went into the tank the last couple of years as far as new comic strips launched, but it appears we’re seeing a resurgence in the number of new features (“Dustin”, “Barney and Clyde”, “Diamond Lil’”) launched. How do you view the market and what are your expectations as the launch date nears?

Ed: I think some really dreadful strips got launched in the last decade or so, as editors chased demographic niches. I’m seeing that trend starting to be reversed now with some strong new features. I’m hopeful, obviously, that editors and readers will like “Freshly Squeezed,” and terrified that the current newspaper economy won’t support it. I’m happy with what I’ve created; I think it’s a strong strip, but I honestly don’t know what to expect in this market. Note to editors: this strip will save your newspaper. Buy it.

One newspaper has announced they’re picking the strip up and have posted a Sunday strip preview. Head over to the Knoxville News Sentinel for a look.

From King’s announcement to their DailyInk subscribers:

“Oh, Brother!” perfectly captures the wide-eyed innocence and simple moments of childhood, from winter’s first snow day to summer’s first water balloon fight. Despite their obvious personality differences, Lily and Bud love each other deeply and have a strong sibling bond.

Reprinted with permission

As you can see above, the feature is sold as a panel, but the layout is that of a vertical multi-panel. Sundays (below) are laid horizontally like most other Sundays.

Reprinted with permission

The drawing style harkens back to a cartooning style of the ’60s and ’70s. It’s void of extraneous detail (sparse backgrounds, no wrinkles/folds in clothing) which adds to the simplistic writing of the comic. There are no belabored setups to get to the punchline. The Sunday posted above is one of the wordier Sundays. The character cast is narrowly focused on the siblings – no parents in the beginning months that I reviewed and friends appear to be one for each sibling.

Another mark of its simplicity is the feature tries to be timeless. There are no iPods, iPads, iMacs or any “iModern conveniences.” In a couple of dailies there is an ATM machine and an airport x-ray machine that were necessary to set a context, but overall modern references don’t exist. When Bud writes a thank you note to his grandma for a gift, he’s shown handwriting it, not sending an email.

I find it interesting that they use a vertical gag panel to do a multi-panel strip. Because of the simplicity of the line art they can pull it off. Sometimes the panel is split in half horizontally, sometimes vertically, sometimes horizontally with the top half is then split vertically. It’s an interesting arrangement, but it works well and it’s not difficult to follow the flow regardless of how they’re laid out.

One last observation. The feature reminds me a bit of a nostalgia comic like Red and Rover. It reminds you of a simpler time, simpler concerns and simpler themes. The strip will probably play well to older readers and those with pre-teen children. The strip, in its early form, is very, very safe. Teens through those without children are going to find it lacking any edge. Since the demographics of newspaper subscribers skew older, the feature should do well in print.