We’ve made some changes to the ADN comics pages

Readers of the comics pages are going to notice some changes this week. A couple of these occurred at the first of the year, but we’ve added several features — and cut some — starting this week.

We think the changes make for a better overall experience.

We’ve been looking at making some updates for a while. I couldn’t tell you precisely when the ADN last made changes in the comics, but it was somewhere around a decade ago. In those years, some of the comics we featured stopped producing new material and began running repeat strips. All the while, new strips emerged. I regularly hear from readers with opinions about the comics and puzzles, both in print and online.

We surveyed readers in 2019 and heard from a lot of you about what you read, what you value, what you don’t. That helped us make some decisions. As with all content, we want to hold a mirror up to the real world, even in the comics. Our hope is that they be relevant and reflect life today while hopefully making you laugh and making you think. One of my goals when we began considering a refresh was more diversity in what we publish — authors, characters, topics.

We’ve added six new strips to the daily lineup:

“Between Friends” by Sandra Bell-Lundy. The strip focuses on three middle-aged professional women and their daily lives.

“Big Nate” by Lincoln Peirce. This one focuses on Nate Wright, described by his creator as 11 years old and the record holder for most detentions in his school’s history. He lives with his dad and older sister and enjoys pestering his family and teachers. The strip has been adapted into books and an animated TV series.

“Candorville” by Darrin Bell features a writer, an ad executive and an aspiring rapper, among others, and often features topical issues.

“Crabgrass” by Tauhid Bondia is set in the early ‘80s and features best friends during a time before cellphones and the internet. The themes resonate.

“Nancy” by Olivia Jaimes. This is a dramatically updated version of the strip that first appeared in the 1930s. While strongly rooted in the original Depression-era comic’s look and feel, it features more current details and themes. A few years ago, an article in Vox declared: “Nancy, a 1930s comic strip, was the funniest thing I read in 2018.” An article in Slate called it “an 80-year-old newspaper comic strip now in the mischievous hands of a web cartoonist” who writes under a pseudonym.

“Non Sequitur” by Wiley Miller looks at the absurdities of modern life.

We’ve cut “9 Chickweed Lane,” “Get Fuzzy,” “Mother Goose & Grimm,” “Pooch Cafe” and “Zack Hill.” We stopped running “Funky Winkerbean” at the end of 2022 when its creator, Tom Batiuk, decided to retire the strip.

We’re also refreshening where things are a bit on the comics and puzzle pages (pages 9 and 10 today). “Tundra,” by Wasilla’s Chad Carpenter, was the most popular strip when we surveyed readers, and it moves to the top of the first page. The strip started its life in the Anchorage Daily News in 1991 and is now featured in hundreds of newspapers.

If you read the comics, give the new strips a try and let me know what you think. Suggestion: Give them a little time. Aside from the print newspaper, subscribers can also find them in our e-edition and on our mobile app.

We’re working on a number of other enhancements. And of course we’re focused every day on producing news and information to help Alaskans understand what’s going on in their world, no matter what platform they use to get information. We’re always up for feedback and suggestions.

Thanks for reading and thanks for subscribing.

dhulen@adn.com