Thursday, June 04, 2020
Jeffrey Lindenblatt's Paper Trends: The Three Hundred for 1981 - Total Results
Between 1980 and 1981 we lost information on 3 papers – Courier (Waterloo, IA) (but it will return for the 1982 listing), Del Rio News Herald (TX) (same deal), and Irving Daily News (TX). One paper went out of business: Ottawa Journal (Canada) and the Yazoo Herald (Yazoo City, MS) switched to weekly frequency and thus no longer qualifies for inclusion. However, the Globe-Gazette (Mason City, IA) returned so our total is now 285 papers for this year’s survey.
The Top 30 did not change that much with only one strip, Garfield, moving into the Top 30. We all know it will not leave the upper levels for the rest of this survey. Peanuts was still gaining papers, being the first strip to pass the magic number of 200. Hagar and Doonesbury were still gaining papers. Family Circus moved ahead of Dennis the Menace to be the top panel strip.
As always, you can get the long version of the results, with all the specific papers that carried each strip, by sending an email to Allan Holtz, strippersguide@gmail.com.
The Top 30 did not change that much with only one strip, Garfield, moving into the Top 30. We all know it will not leave the upper levels for the rest of this survey. Peanuts was still gaining papers, being the first strip to pass the magic number of 200. Hagar and Doonesbury were still gaining papers. Family Circus moved ahead of Dennis the Menace to be the top panel strip.
As always, you can get the long version of the results, with all the specific papers that carried each strip, by sending an email to Allan Holtz, strippersguide@gmail.com.
| Title | Place | Movement | +/- | Total Papers |
| Peanuts | 1 | Same | +4 | 201 |
| Blondie | 2 | Same | +1 | 191 |
| Beetle Bailey | 3 | Same | -1 | 174 |
| Doonesbury | 4 | Same | +7 | 119 |
| Hagar the Horrible | 5 | Same | +13 | 112 |
| Wizard of Id | 6 | Same | +3 | 99 |
| Andy Capp | 7 | Same | +2 | 97 |
| B.C. | 8 | Same | +3 | 94 |
| Frank and Ernest | 9 | Same | -1 | 88 |
| Family Circus | 10 | Up 1 | +4 | 85 |
| Born Loser | 11 | Same | 0 | 81 |
| Hi and Lois | 12 | Up 2 | +4 | 80 |
| Dennis the Menace | 13 | Down 3 | -3 | 79 |
| Mary Worth | 14 | Down 1 | -2 | 78 |
| Barney Google and Snuffy Smith | 15 | Same | -4 | 70 |
| Shoe | 16 | Up 1 | +9 | 68 |
| Nancy | 17 | Down 1 | -3 | 59 |
| Rex Morgan | 18 | Same | -1 | 57 |
| Amazing Spider-Man | 19 | Same | +1 | 56 |
| Marmaduke | 20 | Up 6 | +5 | 53 |
| Eek and Meek | 21 | Plus 8 | +2 | 49 |
| Garfield | 21 | Entering | +28 | 49 |
| Alley Oop | 23 | Down 3 | -4 | 47 |
| Archie | 23 | Down 2 | -3 | 47 |
| Dick Tracy | 23 | Down 2 | -3 | 47 |
| Steve Canyon | 23 | Up 3 | -1 | 47 |
| Winthrop | 23 | Up 2 | -2 | 47 |
| Berry’s World | 28 | Down 2 | -2 | 46 |
| Bugs Bunny | 28 | Down 7 | -4 | 46 |
| Priscilla’s Pop | 30 | Same | 0 | 45 |
| Total Papers | Features |
| 44 | Tank McNamara (+5) |
| 43 | For Better or For Worse (+5), Funky Winkerbean (0), Gasoline Alley (+1) |
| 42 | Judge Parker (+4) |
| 40 | Heathcliff (2), Herman (3), Tiger (-3), Tumbleweeds (+4) |
| 39 | Short Ribs (+1) |
| 35 | Buz Sawyer (-2) |
| 31 | Captain Easy (-3), Our Boarding House (+1) |
| 29 | Cathy (+4), Star Wars (-21) |
| 28 | Apartment 3-G (-1), They’ll Do It Every Time (+1) |
| 27 | Redeye (-1) |
| 26 | Goosemyer (R), Phantom (+1) |
| 25 | Small Society (-2) |
| 24 | Broom Hilda (0), Kit ‘N’ Carlyle (R), Mark Trail (-1) |
| 23 | Lockhorns (+2), Steve Roper and Mike Nomad (+1) |
| 22 | Crock (+1), Donald Duck (-2), Winnie the Pooh (-9) |
| 21 | Latigo (-1) |
| 20 | Grin and Bear It (0) |
| 18 | Dunagin’s People (-4), Heart of Juliet Jones (-4), Kerry Drake (-2) |
| 17 | John Darling (-5), Levy’s Law (+4), Momma (+1) |
| 16 | Fred Basset (+2), Hazel (-2) |
| 15 | Ryatts (-1) |
| 14 | Agatha Crumm (+3), Miss Peach (-1), Rip Kirby (0) |
| 13 | Mr. Tweedy (0), World’s Greatest Superheroes (-10) |
| 12 | Henry (-1) |
| 11 | Better Half (-5), Flintstones (0), Gil Thorp (0), Little Orphan Annie (0), Motley’s Crew (+1) |
| 10 | Brenda Starr (-1), Fletcher’s Landing (R), Graffiti (-10), Joe Palooka (0), Love Is (-5), Sam and Silo (-1) |
| 9 | Catfish (0), Dondi (-1), Ferd’Nand (0), Incredible Hulk (-2), Star Trek (-3), Winnie Winkle (-3) |
| 8 | Animal Crackers (0), Charmers (-1), Girls (-1) |
| 7 | Briny Deep (R), Drabble (-1), Gordo (0), Laff-A-Day (-2), Mutt and Jeff (-1), Pavlov (-1), Prime Time (-1), Quincy (-1), Ripley’s Believe It or Not (-1), There Oughta Be A Law (+2), Wee Pals (+1) |
| 6 | Barbara Cartland’s Romance (R), Bloom County (R), Conan the Barbarian (-3), Downstown (R), Flash Gordon (+1), Moon Mullins (-1), Nubbin (-3), Ponytail (-2), Trudy (0), Wright Angles (-1) |
| 5 | Belvedere (+1), Boner’s Ark (+2), Buck Rogers (-8), Charlie (R), Citizen Smith (+3), Doctor Smock (-1), Eb and Flo (0), Far Side (+5), Hocus-Focus (+2), Lolly (-1), No Comment (-2), Scoops (-6), Smith Family (0), Sporting Life (-2) |
| 4 | A Little Leary, Amy, Ben Wicks, Big George, Bringing Up Father, Graves Inc., Inside Woody Allen, Mickey Mouse, Play Better Golf with Jack Nicklaus, Punch, Rick O’Shay, Rivets, Trim’s Arena |
| 3 | Boomer, Brother Juniper, Carmichael, Copps and Robberts, Don Q, Flop Family, Guindon, Hang in There!, Health Capsules, Hello Carol, Johnny Wonder, Lookin' Fine, Mr. Abernathy, Simpkins, Splitsville, Toppix |
| 2 | According to Guinness, Dr. Kildare, Gumdrop, Howie, Hubert, It Happened in Canada, Laugh Time, Little Woman, Mandrake the Magician, Modesty Blaise, Outcasts, Popeye, Pot Shots, Side Glances, Smithereens, Strictly Business, This Funny World, Time Out, Travels with Farley, Wordplay |
| 1 | Antennas, As You Were, Bernie on the Beat, Brick Bradford, Castaways, Ching Chow, Country Parson, Father Dickens, Figments, Fuddy & Lardette, Good News Bad News, Koky, Luther, Major Mudge, Mark Trail’s Outdoor Tips, Murphy's Law, The Neighborhood, Norbert, Our Fascinating Earth, Pixies, Queenie, Quickies, Rafferty, Return With Us, Salt Chuck, Secret Agent Corrigan, Selling Short, Shambles, Sidelines, Stan Smith’s Tennis Class, Star Hawks, Today's World, Willies, Word-A-Day |
Labels: Paper Trends
