New comics coming to IndyStar as Gannett bolsters focus on local journalism

Comic strips are the first introduction to newspapers for many a young person, an entry point that has led to a lifelong relationship for current-day readers and journalists alike.

But even our most beloved institutions need a refresh now and then. That's why, based on reader feedback and surveys, you'll see a few changes to the Indianapolis Star's comics pages beginning Jan. 15.

The new lineup will have little effect on the overall number of comics available in our daily and Sunday pages. And many of your favorite characters aren't going anywhere. Snoopy and Garfield. Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible. And a number of others who have graced our pages for years.

The new lineup will also bring back some old favorites. Classic strips that will appear in our pages daily and Sunday include For Better or Worse and Born Loser.

Other comics joining them will provide an opportunity for more Central Indiana residents to see themselves reflected in more of our pages. Jump Start, which began in 1989, features a middle-class Black family, and the main character in Baldo is a teen in a Latino family.

The new lineup will create more consistency across Gannett's nationwide network of more than 200 newspapers, so Hoosiers on vacation and those who spend part of the year in warmer climates will likely be able to find their strips in a nearby newspaper.

Streamlining comics offerings across the network also will save money that will be reinvested in journalism in Indianapolis and elsewhere.

Here's the complete list of Sunday comics for the Star beginning mid-January: Blondie, Zits, Beetle Bailey, Family Circus, Hagar, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Peanuts, For Better or Worse, Baby Blues, Pickles, Foxtrot, Pearls Before Swine, Jump Start, Ziggy, Marmaduke, Non Sequitur, Crabgrass, Crankshaft, Luann, Baldo, Frank & Ernest and Born Loser.

Weekday papers will carry all of the above except Foxtrot, which only runs once a week, and also these strips: Close to Home, Argyle Sweater, Mother Goose, Rose is Rose, Wizard of Id, B.C., Hi & Lois, Mutts, Curtis, Shoe and Lockhorns.

Additional strips will be available to digital readers at IndyStar.com/comics.

We hope you will find a few new strips to like as well as plenty of old favorites.

Cindi Andrews is senior news director at IndyStar. She can be reached at cindi.andrews@indystar.com.