2017 Newspaper Comics: Debuts, Departures, and the Dearly Departed

[D.D.Degg]

DEBUTS
The following comics began appearing in U.S. newspapers in 2017

THE INTROVERT CLUB
by Noah Van Sciver
January 26, 2017 -
alternative weekly
Columbus Alive (Gatehouse Media)

BREAKING CAT NEWS
by Georgia Dunn
March 27, 2017 -
Andrews McMeel Syndication
[first appeared as a webcomic March 12, 2014]

APOCA CLIPS
by Mike Grimm
April 6, 2017 -
alternative weekly
Coachella Valley (Calif.) Independent

SUTTON IMPACT
by Ward Sutton
April 10, 2017 -
fortnightly
The Boston Globe
[Sutton Impact had previously appeared 1995 - 2007,
(1995 - ???? as Schlock 'n' Roll)]

TICK AND FLEA
by Tyler Voltz and Nikki Skaggs
July 10, 2017 -
weekly
Norwalk (Ohio) Reflector

UNBOUND
by Douglas Laubacher
July 22, 2017 -
weekly comic strip
Wooster (Ohio) Weekly News

Additions and Corrections
Welcomed and Encouraged

[D.D.Degg]

DEPARTURES
These titles ceased making new comics for U.S. newspapers in 2017

SKETCH IN THE CITY
by Ken Epstein
?December 8, 2016? - January 19, 2017
alternative weekly
Columbus Alive

MAKING IT
by Keith Robinson
June(?), 1985 - January 19, 2017
weekly
Hermosa Beach (Calif) Easy Reader/UPS/self-syndicated
[During 2016 some weeks were reruns and
some weeks were updated/amended reruns.
The last amended rerun ("newrun") was February 1, 2017.]

PENNY
by Karl Stevens
October 26, 2016 - March 8, 2017
alternative weekly (more or less)
Village Voice


CHUCKLE BROS.
by Brian & Ron Boychuck and Ronnie Martin
October 22, 2007 - July 1, 2017
Creators Syndicate
[first appeared December 2005 in Canada
as the book "On The Road - First Edition Collection.]
[first appeared in newspapers through
Canada's Torstar Syndicate November 6, 2006.]

TINA'S GROOVE
by Rina Piccolo
March 4, 2002 - July 2, 2017
King Features Syndicate

INDIVIDUAL ACADEMY
by Tyler Voltz
?September 29, 2014? - ?July 3, 2017?
weekly
Norwalk Reflector

HERB AND JAMAAL
by Stephen Bentley
August 7, 1989 - April 22, 2017(?*) daily; September 15, 2017(?*) Sunday
Tribune Media Service/ Creators Syndicate
[Herb and Jamaal reruns began in 2015.
In 2016 there were more reruns than new issues.
In 2017 the few new strips ran
daily: April 3 - 8 and April 17 - 22, 2017
Sundays: September 1 - 15, 2017]
*unknown if more new strips will appear.

NORMEL PERSON
by Lauren B. Weinstein
October 5, 2016 - September 20, 2017
alternative weekly
The Village Voice
[continues online]

LIFE WITH KURAMI (aka: KURAMI)
by Deon (Dee) Parson
April 6, 2015 - October 28, 2017
daily only
The (Elwood, Ind.) Herald Bulletin

[D.D.Degg]

THE DEARLY DEPARTED (part one)
These newspaper and magazine cartoonists passed away in 2017

GERALD (GERRY) GERSTEN
October 17, 1927 - January 12, 2017
illustrator, political caricaturist

RICHARD (DICK) GAUTIER
October 30, 1931 - January 13, 2017
actor, comedian, writer
cartoonist, caricaturist

JACK MENDELSOHN
November 8, 1926 - January 25, 2017
comic books, animation, live action tv
comic strip:
Jackys Diary

ERIC JOHN ELJ
May 21, 1966 - January 26, 2017
editorial cartoonist
("for a local Goose Creek, S.C. paper many years ago")

VECIHI SEZEN
March 16, 1921 - January 7, 2017
Army linguistics, magazine illustrator
comic strip:
????? (unknown Monterey Herald comic strip artist ca. ?)

DANIEL FRANKLIN (DAN) SPIEGLE, JR
December 12, 1920 - January 28, 2017
comic book artist
comic strips:
Hopalong Cassidy
Star Trek
Terry and the Pirates

HOWARD WILSON SHOEMAKER, JR. (SHOE)
December 15, 1931 - January 28, 2917
freelance artist, greeting cards, commercial illustrator
magazine cartoonist (Playboy, The Realist, EVO, L.A. Free Press)

GEOFFREY DEAN (GEOF) BROOKS
January 31, 1965 - February 7, 2017
editorial cartoonist (The Rhino Times, The Free Bee)
comic strip:
Tradin' Paint

HERBERT (HERB) GALEWITZ
July 9, 1928 - February 10, 2017
literary agent
comic strip historian

JAMES STEVENSON
July 11, 1929 - February 17, 2017
reporter, writer, children's book author, illustrator
magazine cartoonist (New Yorker)
illustrated essay:
Lost and Found New York (N. Y. Times)
comic strip:
Capital Games

JAY PATRICK LYNCH
January 7, 1945 - March 5, 2017
comic and comix creator (Bazooka Joe, Topps, Playboy, MAD, undergrounds)
comic strip:
Phoebe and the Pigeon People

MURRAY HONE BALL
January 26, 1939 - March 12, 2017
comic strips:
Footrot Flats
Stanley

ANN MCCARTHY WEISMAN
January 9, 1939 - March 15, 2017
illustrator, magazine cartoonist (New Yorker)

MERVYN WILTON (SKIP) WILLIAMSON
August 19, 1944 - March 16, 2017
comics and comix creator (Playboy, undergrounds)
comic strip:
Halsted Street

GARY LEE CANGEMI
April 29, 1954 - March 18, 2017
comic strips:
Umbert the Unborn
The New Breed (contributor)

JAMES ROBERT (BOB) YOUNG
March 16, 1921 - March 21, 2017
[son of Lyman Young, nephew of Chic Young, cousin of Jeanne and Dean Young]
comic strip:
Tim Tyler's Luck

RICHARD MICHAEL BENBROOK
January 25, 1948 - March 24, 2017
artist, writer
Petaluma (Calif.) Argus Courier political cartoonist

JOHN DENMORE (JACK) ZIEGLER, JR.
July 13, 1942 - March 29, 2017
magazine cartoonist
(New Yorker, SatEvePost, NatLamp, Saturday Review, Writer's Digest)

DANIEL J. CAPOZZI
January 21, 1931 - April 7, 2017
advertising (Young and Rubican)
North County (N.Y.) News editorial cartoonist

CAROLYN KELLY
1945 - April 9, 2017
[daughter of Walt Kelly, sister of Peter Kelly]
artist, book designer
comic strip:
Walt Kelly's Pogo

JOHN E. DRUMMOND
June 12, 1926 - April 11, 2017
artist, animatorion, teacher
magazine cartoonist (McCalls. Good HOusekeeping, American Legion,
Boy's Life, TV Guide, Parade, Christian Science Monitor, New Yorker)

DONALD ROBERT (DON) KRACKE
July 9, 1931 - April 15, 2017
artist, author, advertising, inventor
comic strip:
Yankee Doodles

WILLIAM (BILL) SHAFFER (ne: WILLIAM SZEWCZYK)
?????? - April 19, 2017
L. A. Times artist
freelance cartoonist (Playboy)

ALEX NOEL WATSON
December 2, 1929 - May ??, 2017
British cartoonist
New Yorker cartoonist 1970-97

RAY THOMAS MIMS
March 13. 1938 - May 10, 2017
magazine cartoonist (Saturday Evening Post, Barron's, Mature Living)

JAMES E. (JIM) PEARSON
December 12, 1939 - May 19, 2017
art teacher
editorial cartoonist (Woodstock (Ill.) Independent)

RICHARD F. BUCKLER
February 6, 1949 - May 19, 2017
comic book artist/writer
comic strips:
The Phantom
Secret Agent Corrigan
Flash Gordon
The Incredible Hulk

LAWRENCE DEAN (LARRY) WRIGHT
February 2, 1940 - May 21, 2017
editorial cartoonist (Detroit Free Press, Detroit News)
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists president
comic strips:
Uncle Milton
Needlescope
Wright Angles
Kit 'n' Carlyle
Carlyle's Christmas

[D.D.Degg]

THE DEARLY DEPARTED (part two)

These newspaper and magazine cartoonists passed away in 2017

JANE WINIFRED HAFLING (nee: SPRAGUE)
March 26, 1923 - June 1, 2017
printer/publisher
original cartoon books
comic:
The Review of the Week

VICTOR EARL (VIC) LOCKMAN
October 19, 1927 - June 1, 2017
comic book writer/artist
comic strip:
Freckles and His Friends


ALLAN HOMER (AL) PHILLIPS
June 15, 1933 - June 11, 2017
newspaper illustrator (Chicago Daily News. Chicago Sun-Times, Charlotte Observer)

NORMAN KEITH ROBINSON
September 9, 1955 - June 14, 2017
video and software progtammer/developer/promoter
comic strip:
Making It

BILL DANA (ne: WILLIAM SZATHMARY)
aka JOSE JIMENEZ
October 5, 1924 - June 15, 2017
comedian, writer
comic panel:
Ecolo/jest

ROBERT BARTOW (BOB) LUBBERS
January 22, 1922 - July 8, 2017
comic book artist 1940 - 1970
comic strips:
weekly panel (1938-40)
Tarzan
Long Sam
Secret Agent X-9
Rusty Riley
The Heart of Juliet Jones
Big Ben Bolt
Li'l Abner
The Saint
Robin Malone

SANDRA ZELL (nee EWING)
July 30, 1932 - July 11, 2017
co-founder: Cartoon Bank

MARTIN JAMES LANDAU
June 20, 1928 - July 15, 2017
actor
Daily News cartoonist
comic strip:
The Gumps

RICHARD EARL (DICK)LOCHER
June 4, 1929 - August 6, 2017
[father of artist/cartoonist John Locher]
Chicago Tribune editorial cartoonist (1983 Pulitzer Prize)
comic strips:
Buck Rogers
Dick Tracy
The Gravies
Clout St.

LEONARD NORMAN (LEN) WEIN
June 12, 1948 - September 10, 2017
comic book writer/editor/artist
comic strip:
The Amazing Spider-Man

THOMAS (TOM) BERGER
July 13, 1922 - September 25, 2017
graphic designer
National Register editorial cartoonist

ROBERT (BOB) PARATI
April 28, 1927 - September 25, 2017
advertising artist
comic strips (gag writer):
Gasoline Alley
Dennis the Menace

HUGH MARSTON HEFNER (HEF)
April 9, 1926 - September 27, 2017
cartoonist
publisher (Playboy)

JAMES W. (JIM) SHINN
January 8, 1932 - October 6, 2017
newspaper graphic artist/art director
comic panel:
Packy and His Pals

JULIAN CLARE MAY (aka JULIAN DIKTY)
July 10, 1931 - October 17, 2017
science fiction and non-fiction writer
comic strip:
Buck Rogers

(REV.) ROBERT EARL SHIRLEY
July 3, 1922 - October 20, 2017
Baptist pastor
comic (panel?):
Day by Day

ROBERT C. (BOB) BOWMAN
December 27, 1934 - December 8, 2017
caricaturist

WILLIAM (BILL) FARMER
July 26, 1937 - December 10, 2017
newspaper columnist/editor/writer/journalist
comic strip:
Rooftop O'Toole

MICHAEL TERRANCE DUGAN
March 21, 1954 - December 19, 2017
magazine cartoonist
Niagra Gazette editorial cartoonist


Corrections encouraged
Additions (sadly) accepted

[D.D.Degg]

Deviations
Some changes in comic strips during 2017

The syndicate Universal Uclick was renamed
Andrews McMeel Syndication January 2, 2017

SPECTICKLES
Bill Abbott began a Sunday panel on January 1, 2017.
[Creators began syndicating the daily panel October 3, 2016.]

IN THE BLEACHERS
The daily panel is signed "MOORE+Benz" instead of "MOORE".
The Sunday panel is signed "MOORE+Benz"
January 29, February 12, 19, and 25 in 2017.
Otherwise the Sunday panel drops the MOORE sig and is unsigned.
[? Benz = Ben Zaehringer ?]

FUNKY WINKERBEAN
Funky Winkerbean got a new artist
Rick Burchett began signing the strip (Sunday and daily) May 28, 2017
Crankshaft artist had been the Funky artist,
and Ayers returned as signed artist Sunday October 8 to Sunday October 15, 2017

FUNKY WINKERBEAN
Funky Winkerbean had Sunday guest artists in 2017:
March 26 = Rick Burchett
July 16 = Russ Heath
July 30 = Chuck Ayers
August 28 = P. Craig Russell
September 3 = John Byrne/Joe Giella
November 5 = Tom Palmer

CRANKSHAFT
Crankshaft also got a new artist.
Original artist Chuck Ayers' last strip was Saturday April 1, 2017
Dan Davis took over as artist Sunday April 2, 2017

DICK TRACY
Dick Tracy ink artist Shelley Pegler became guest pencil artist
from April 7 - June 1, 2017 (dailies only?).
Another guest artist was Charles Ettinger who drew the strip
from Sunday November 19 to Sunday November 26, 2017.
Ettinger was also credited as guest inker for December 11, 2017
(do not know if for that day only or for the week).

SIX CHIX
Six Chix had a changing of the guard.
Tuesday Chick Margaret Shulock retired with the
March 21, 2017 daily strip (March 5, 2017 Sunday).
Graceful Martha Gradisher became Tuesday's Child with the
March 28, 2017 daily strip (April 16, 2017 Sunday).
and
Thursday's Child has far to go.
So Anne Gibbons up and went with the
August 10, 2017 daily strip (September 3, 2017 Sunday).
Mary Lawton became the new Thursday Chick with
the daily August 17 edition, Sundays with the October 15 page.

BLONDIE
David Reddick became the Blondie "assistant artist"
to primary artist John Marshall with the April 26, 2017.

DENNIS THE MENACE
After sharing the daily strip during 2016, Marcus Hamilton
again became the overwhelming daily artist in 2017.
Scott Ketcham only signed the daily twice and
Ron Ferdinand signed only 14 times.

THE PHANTOM
Terry Beatty, swamped as writer AND artist of the
daily AND Sunday Rex Morgan gave up The Sunday Phantom.
Beatty's last Sunday Phantom was May 7, 2012.
Jeff Weigel became The Phantom Sunday artist beginning May 14, 2017.

THE PHANTOM and JUDGE PARKER
During the course of 2017 Mike Manley announced that
Mimi Simon had become his art assistant.

RHYMES WITH ORANGE
Rina Piccolo was guest cartoonist from May 8 - May 14, 2017.
Later in the year Rina Piccolo became the daily signed
gag writer with the June 19, 2017.

FORT KNOX
As usual Norman Felchle was the Memorial Day
(May 28, 2017) guest artist.

PC AND PIXEL
another annual tradition continues as Bill Suddick
gave Tak Bui some time off by doing the PC and Pixel
Sunday strips of July 30, August 6, and August 27, 2017.
(Anyone know about August 13, 2017?)

WIZARD OF ID
Mason Mastroianni began signing the Wizard of Id strip in 2015.
This year the Sunday logo credits changed -
from "by parker and hart" until July 23, 2017
to "by Hart, Mastroianni and Parker" beginning July 30, 2017.
(For some reason the August 20th strip reverted to
"by parker and hart" for that one Sunday.)

MARY WORTH
The credits for Mary Worth had been signed "Moy Brigman Roy"
for Karen Moy, June Brigman, and Roy Richardson (June's husband).
The "Moy Brigman Roy" sig ended with
September 9, 2017 daily and October 1, 2017 (Sunday).
The current "Moy Brigman" signature started with
September 11, 2017 daily and October 8, 2017 Sunday.

THE DUPLEX
Apparently sometime in 2016(?) The Duplex by Glenn McCoy
became The Duplex by Glenn McCoy and Gary McCoy.
The daily strip is now signed "g. McCoy",
while the Sundays are signed "G & g McCoy".

HI AND LOIS
Longtime Hi and Lois art assistant/ghost Eric Reaves
began signing the strip (daily and Sunday) with the October 30, 2017 edition.
The last "BROWNE" signature was October 29, 2017 (a Sunday).

JUMBLE
The 2017 annual Jumble guest cartoonist week was by
Joe (Dick Tracy) Staton - November 13
Bill (Roswell) Morrison - November 14
Greg (The Buckets) Cravens - November 15
Jason (Ginger Meggs) Chatfield - November 16
Wayno (Waynovision) - November 17
Mason (B.C.) Mastroianni - November 18

NANCY
The sig for Nancy changes from
"Guy Gilchrist" to "A Guy Gilchrist Production"
on November 20, 2017 (daily) and December 24, 2017 (Sunday).
Mary Lawton became the Thursday chick with the
August 17, 2017 daily strip (October 15, 2017 Sunday).

Corrections and additions
welcomed and encouraged.

And thanks to the RACSters
for major assistance in
compiling the above lists.

D.D.Degg

[Freezer]

If I don't reply to this "D.D.Degg" <ddde...@comcast.net> post,
the terroists win.

> BREAKING CAT NEWS
> by Georgia Dunn
> March 27, 2017 -
> Andrews McMeel Syndication
> [first appeared as a webcomic March 12, 2014]
>

I discovered this a few weeks before it moved to Gocomics. It's
swiftly become my favorite daily.

--
My name is Freezer and my anti-drug is porn.
http://mst3kfreezer.livejournal.com/
@allhailfreezer

[Brian Henke]

Anniversaries marked by comic strips in 2017:


80th: Prince Valiant, Phantom Sundays

65th: Judge Parker

45th: Funky Winkerbean

40th: Amazing Spider-Man, Shoe

30th: Crankshaft

25th: Bound and Gagged, Non Sequitur

Cincy...@yahoo.com

-----

Judge Parker, One Big Happy, comics you can read

- Name three things that used to be in Cincinnati you can now find in Atlanta

[D Heine]

Also in 2017 in and around the world of comics:

Get Fuzzy, stil on daily rerun mode had more rerun Sunday's than new strips in 2017 ( I hope Darby announces Get Fuzzy's end in 2018!)

Doonesbury entered 1989 and 1990 while still in daily rerun mode/first run Sunday mode.

Gasoline Alley reprinted daily arcs from 2013 and 2008 with a new copyright year of 2017. No plans for Jim to retire the strip yet?

Veteran cartoon voice actress June Foray, who did voices in the 1978 Filmation Fabulous Funnies cartoon series, died at the age of 99 weeks before what would have been her 100th. birthday.

AND RELATED TO COMIC BOOKS AND NOT A COMIC STRIP: Archie comics unexpectedly pulled the plug after 25 years on its Sonic the Hedgehog comic book after it dropped the contract from Sega, however, Sega just struck a new comic book deal for Sonic the Hedgehog comic books with a comic company called IDW starting April 2018 with a 4 week issue launch followed by a monthly basis effective May 2018. And with Ian Flynn doing the IDW Sonic book writing (Ian will also still write for Archie comics for the Riverdale and Cosmo titles), he and IDW and Sega hasn't decided if my all time favorite Sonic comic book character - Princess Sally Acorn (along with her Freedom Fighter partners) - will be part of IDW Sonic the Hedgehog after the comic relaunches April 2018! As IDW said in the October 2018 Sonic town hall panel at the 2018 New York Comic-Con: "Stay tuned." (IDW is aware of the fan base or something like that to get Sally Acorn and the Freedom Fighters to be part of IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book)

[D Heine]

ANOTHER THING I FORGOT: The Family Circus, which still does recycled art mostly from 1960's to 2000's Bil Keane strips, did a recycled 1975 or 1979 arc where the Family Circus family (Dad Keane, Thel with the hair tweaks, the melonhead kids) went to the zoo.

[Mike Rhode]

DD - it looks like we lost some text here as the last sentence seems to refer to Six Chix.

[Brian Henke]

The FC zoo arc was from 1979.

Cincy...@yahoo.com

------

[D.D.Degg]

Mike Rhode wrote:
> DD - it looks like we lost some text here
> as the last sentence seems to refer to Six Chix.
> >
> > NANCY
> > The sig for Nancy changes from
> > "Guy Gilchrist" to "A Guy Gilchrist Production"
> > on November 20, 2017 (daily) and December 24, 2017 (Sunday).
> > Mary Lawton became the Thursday chick with the
> > August 17, 2017 daily strip (October 15, 2017 Sunday).

Seems the last couple lines of the original version
of the Six Chix Deviations entry somehow (my incompetency)
got attached to the end of the Nancy Deviations entry.

Nothing was lost.
Ignore those last two lines as they do not apply to Nancy,
and that information was included in the Six Chix entry.

Thanks,
D.D.Degg

[D.D.Degg]

> DEPARTURES
> These titles ceased making new comics for U.S. newspapers in 2017

addition:

WAYNOVISION
by Wayno (Wayne Honath)
May 18, 2016 - December 27, 2017
weekly panel
Pittsburgh City Paper
[1st appeared on line at
GoComics on December 1, 2014]

[D Heine]

AND ANOTHER THING I FORGOT: In the Patreon supported My Cage strip, Norm and Bridget finally gave birth to a baby girl platypus named Sally.