Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Jeffrey Lindenblatt's Paper Trends: The Three Hundred for 1980 -- The Rookies
The year 1979 will go down in history as the last year of the adventure strip. In that year five adventure strips made their debut, which is the last time that many would begin. Of the five strips, three were science fiction, one western and one an adventure strip revival following the adventures of an orphan girl. There was also the very successful debut of a comedy soap opera strip in the tradition of Gasoline Alley.
The most popular of these new features was a science fiction strip based on what was the biggest money-making movie of all time. Star Wars debuted with 50 papers. The strip that debuted in second place would become one of the most successful comic strips, Lynn Johnston’s For Better or Worse, which debuted in 38 papers. Coming in third is a tie between two strips, John Darling and the western Latigo, which both premiered in 22 papers.
Here is the rookie strip breakdown:
Other notable new strips were No Comment with 7 and Dupont Circle with 6. Strips that had 5 or less were Albert Herbert Hawkins, Shambles, Copps and Robberts, Sergeant Renfrew (a Canadian strip), Zeus, Howie and Murphy’s Law.
Also very interesting is the debut of a panel feature that would become one of the most successful of the 1980’s and 1990’s, yet it did not even have one paper in our survey! That was Gary Larson’s Far Side.
We have been ranking rookie strips starting with the year 1977. So, how are these new strips doing compared to all the strips in syndication? Let’s take a look:
Now let’s do a decade round-up. Here are the top 10 strips that debuted in the 1970’s:
The most popular of these new features was a science fiction strip based on what was the biggest money-making movie of all time. Star Wars debuted with 50 papers. The strip that debuted in second place would become one of the most successful comic strips, Lynn Johnston’s For Better or Worse, which debuted in 38 papers. Coming in third is a tie between two strips, John Darling and the western Latigo, which both premiered in 22 papers.
Here is the rookie strip breakdown:
| Title | # of Papers | Syndicate | Overall Rank |
| Star Wars | 50 | Los Angeles Times | 23 |
| For Better or Worse | 38 | Universal | 35 |
| John Darling | 22 | Field | 58 |
| Latigo | 22 | Field | 58 |
| Buck Rogers | 13 | New York Times | 78 |
| Levy’s Law | 13 | NEA | 78 |
| Star Trek | 12 | Los Angeles Times | 82 |
| Annie | 11 | Tribune | 84 |
| Drabble | 8 | United | 104 |
| Prime Time | 8 | Tribune | 104 |
Other notable new strips were No Comment with 7 and Dupont Circle with 6. Strips that had 5 or less were Albert Herbert Hawkins, Shambles, Copps and Robberts, Sergeant Renfrew (a Canadian strip), Zeus, Howie and Murphy’s Law.
Also very interesting is the debut of a panel feature that would become one of the most successful of the 1980’s and 1990’s, yet it did not even have one paper in our survey! That was Gary Larson’s Far Side.
We have been ranking rookie strips starting with the year 1977. So, how are these new strips doing compared to all the strips in syndication? Let’s take a look:
| Title | # of Papers | Syndicate | Overall Rank |
| Shoe (1977) | 59 | Tribune | 17 |
| Amazing Spiderman (1977) | 55 | Register and Tribune | 21 |
| Star Wars | 50 | Los Angeles Times | 23 |
| For Better or For Worse | 38 | Universal | 35 |
| Winnie the Pooh (1978) | 31 | King | 44 |
| World’s Greatest Superheroes (1978) | 23 | Tribune | 57 |
| John Darling | 22 | Field | 58 |
| Latigo | 22 | Field | 58 |
| Garfield (1978) | 21 | United | 63 |
| Zoonies (1977) | 16 | NEA | 70 |
Now let’s do a decade round-up. Here are the top 10 strips that debuted in the 1970’s:
| Title | # of Papers | Syndicate | Overall Rank |
| Doonesbury | 112 | Universal | 4 |
| Hagar the Horrible | 99 | King | 5 |
| Frank and Ernest | 89 | NEA | 9 |
| Shoe | 59 | Tribune | 17 |
| Amazing Spider-Man | 55 | Register and Tribune | 21 |
| Star Wars | 50 | Los Angeles Times | 23 |
| Funky Winkerbean | 43 | Field | 31 |
| Tank McNamera | 39 | Universal | 34 |
| For Better or For Worse | 38 | Universal | 35 |
| Heathcliff | 38 | McNaught | 35 |
Labels: Paper Trends
