Comics

As of this week, our comic lineup has changed. Zippy, Apartment 3G, Rex Morgan, M.D. and The Phantom will no longer appear in The Sun. This decision was based on a survey in which more than 1,000 readers told us their preferences. You'll still find 24 comics exclusively in The Sun. This change was made to conserve space and consolidate our comics on one page. If you would like to comment on this change, please e-mail customersatisfaction@baltsun .com and put "Comics changes" in the subject field, or you can speak to us directly at 888-539-1280.

Beginning today, "Boondocks" joins The Sun's comics lineup, appearing both in the daily pages and Sunday's color comics package. The new strip about an African-American family that moves to the suburbs is young, fresh and edgy. Its hip-hop characters and rapid-fire banter are the creation of Columbia resident Aaron McGruder. To make room for it, The Sun has eliminated "Andy Capp," whose original creator died last year.Pub Date: 04/19/99

Next Sunday, Opus, the first regular comic strip from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berke Breathed in eight years, begins appearing each Sunday in The Sun's comics pages. Breathed was the creator of the much-loved Bloom County in the 1980s, and followed that strip with Outland, which was published until 1995. Opus features the penguin hero of the same name from both of those strips, now living with his mother back in Antarctica, trying to adjust to life as a penguin. We hope you enjoy this new addition to our comics lineup.

Today's Doonesbury comic strip contains an image that might strike some readers as inappropriate, given recent events in Iraq. The strip, which was drawn in April, contains one frame with a character's head on a platter. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau said the beheading of an American citizen, Nicholas Berg, in Iraq earlier this month now has made his previously drawn image "clearly inappropriate." The Sun, like most newspapers, prints its Sunday comics weeks in advance of their distribution.

More inside Ann Landers: For a daunting reality game show, try teaching. [Page 8d] Index Comics 6d..................Crossword 7d Movies 4d...................Television 5d Horoscope 8d...............Jumble 6d

Today is the first day without the twisted humor and the alien beings that once defined "The Far Side." Cartoonist Gary Larson announced in October that he was discontinuing the comic he had drawn for more than 15 years.Now the day is here -- and the quirky cartoon isn't.In its place -- but not replacing it -- will be two comics that some readers may already be familiar with.Bil Keane's "The Family Circus" depicts the humor and chaos of a houseful of youngsters. It has been a staple of The Evening Sun and now will appear in the morning Sun as well.

It's no red herring. Or pickled, for that matter. Opus the cartoon penguin, chronicler of all that is true and right and aerodynamically incorrect, is returning from a self-imposed exile. Opus, the first regular comic strip from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berke Breathed in eight years, begins its Sundays-only run in The Sun Nov. 23. Breathed broke into newspapers with Bloom County in 1980, and won the Pulitzer for that pioneering strip in 1987. Bloom County was succeeded by Outland, which featured many of the same characters and was published until 1995.

Comments on the changes to the Today section? We've set up a telephone line for readers. The number is 410-783-2537. When you call, specify which topic you are commenting on and leave your remarks. Or, to send an e-mail instead, write to sun.features@balt sun.com and put "Features changes" in the subject field or go online to baltimore sun.com/comics.

To our readers: The Sun is planning to revamp its daily and Sunday comics pages in the new year, and we want your advice on what to do. Below is a list of 12 current Sun comics. Tell us by mail, e-mail or online which six you would eliminate. (Or write in one other current comic that you would eliminate instead.) We need your vote by Nov. 18. A bonus: Everyone who votes (and gives us a phone number or e-mail address) will be eligible to win The Complete Far Side 1980-1994, a new collection of all of Gary Larson's classic cartoons.