Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Paper Trends by Jeffrey Lindenblatt: The 300 for 1996 -- Rookies of 1995
As with last year’s rookies we will be having a few strips that debut in the first week of 1996 because of the end of Calvin and Hobbies back on the last day of 1995.
Our top rookie this year is Over The Hedge by Michael Fry and Thomas Lewis, which debuted in 16 papers. Coming in second place with 11 papers is Us & Them by Wiley Miller and Susan Dewar. This was a strip that these two cartoonists did on alternating days. One day you would get the male perspective on a subject done by Miller and the next day you’d get the woman’s perspective by Dewar. Miller would leave the strip two years later to spend more time on his more successful strip Non Sequitur which was getting a boost this year by being offered as a panel as well as a strip.
Coming in third is Rhymes with Orange by Hilary B. Price with 10 papers. Price was touted as the youngest cartoonist to ever get a national syndicated comic strip, but at age 25 she did not actually deserve that title – Ernie Bushmiller, for instance, was only 21 when he took over Fritzi Ritz. Aaron ("Adventures of Aaron") Warner was also syndicated starting in 1995 and was the same age as Price.
Other rookies that started with good numbers are Crabby Road with 9 papers and Stone Soup with 8. Also, we have a rarity – two new adventure strips began, both coming in with respectable numbers: Terry and the Pirates with 6 and Ghost Story Club 5. Both of these strips would fail to hold client interest, though and have short lifves. Here is the complete list.
Over The Hedge – 16
Us & Them – 11
Rhymes With Orange – 10
Crabby Road – 9 – Debuted in the first week of 1995, now an official Rookie.
Stone Soup – 8
Against The Grain – 7 – Debut in the first week of 1996
Ralph – 7 - Debuted in the first week of 1995, now an official Rookie.
Terry and the Pirates – 6
Citizen Dog – 5
Ghost Story Club – 5
I Need Help – 3 - Debut in the First week of 1996.
Culture Shock – 2
Reality Check – 2
At The Zu, Bent Halos, The Best Years (local feature), Don’t You Just, The Good Life, Ick, Penmen, Rural Rootz (local feature), Twins – 1
Labels: Paper Trends
"Bent Halos" was Mark Tatulli's strip, I believe, before "Heart of the City" and "Lio"
