Aack! Which Strip will Editors Select to Replace ?Cathy??

Cathy Guisewite has decided to retire her much-adored comic strip Cathy, which has been adorning women’s refrigerator doors and cubicle walls since its debut in 1976.
 
Now, editors at nearly 1,400 newspapers face a dilemma: Which new strip should they select to replace one of the most influential female characters ever to grace their comics pages?
 
Undoubtedly, with cost-cutting efforts continuing at many newspapers across the country, some editors might choose not to replace the strip at all. Others, as Alan Gardner at The Daily Cartoonist speculates, will use this departure to run a near endless stream of comic trials, which they can usually run for free until they find a permanent replacement.
 
Regardless, having hundreds of newspapers looking for a new comic is welcome news for less-recognized cartoonists that might not have gotten an opportunity otherwise. They’re the ones most affected by shrinking comics pages and an editorial strategy to stick with older, recognizable strips rather than giving new voices a shot.

Here are four female-centered comic strips that editors might want to consider in their quest to find a suitable replacement for Cathy.

Tina’s Groove
 
“My first reaction when I heard that Cathy was ending was, yikes — that’s going to open up a lot of spots on the page!” admits Rina Piccolo, creator of the restaurant-themed comic strip Tina’s Groove.
 
The strip, syndicated by King Features since 2002, chronicles the personal and workplace adventures of a single, smart, attractive waitress named Tina who works at Pepper’s Restaurant. Shrewdly self-aware, Tina refutes clichéd notions of single women as neurotics obsessed with career or marriage.
 
But Piccolo doesn’t think that picking a comic strip from a woman’s perspective should be the single goal of editors.
 
“According to what readers tell me, Tina’s Groove is a consistently enjoyable read. I’ve been told that the art is fun to look at, and that the gags are upbeat and often say something about life,” Piccolo says.  ”If a newspaper editor needs anything more than that in a daily comic strip, then I really don’t know what more I can say.”
 
Between Friends

When Cathy launched, Between Friends creator Sandra Bell-Lundy was just graduating from high school. But the success of a female cartoonist and a comic strip focused on the issues of women really struck a chord with the direction-seeking cartoonist.

“Before Cathy Guisewite, and later Lynn Johnston, appeared on the comics pages, I don’t think it even occurred to me that the cartoons I was creating for laughs for my friends could potentially become a career,” Bell-Lundy says.
 
Between Friends, launched by Bell-Lundy and King Features in 1994, celebrates the essence and angst of three contemporary women friends in their 40s. Their deliberations about office politics, body image and snickering about their ex-husbands’ girlfriends resonate with readers, and the positive response is a validation for Bell-Lundy.  “It tells me there’s need for a woman’s voice in the comics,” she says.

Stone Soup

“I was a harried working mom struggling to support two young daughters when I first began drawing cartoons based on my experiences,” recalls Stone Soup creator Jan Eliot. “I created the characters from my own extended, blended family and friends, and I think that’s why Stone Soup rings so true for readers.”
 
Syndicated by United Press Syndicate since 1995, Stone Soup focuses on an extended family living in two households of barely controlled chaos. Women may be the central characters of the strip, but its kindness toward men and wide-array of children characters, varying from a new baby all the way to a misunderstood high-schooler, creates a big tent for comics readers of all ages.
 
“The multi-generational aspect is appealing,” Eliot says. “I get a lot of joy out of writing the strip, the characters are very real to me and life continues to give me great stories to work from.”
 
The Pajama Diaries
 
Created by Terri Libenson and syndicated by King Features, The Pajama Diaries is formatted like a diary from the point-of-view of Jill Kaplan, a wife, mom and freelance graphic designer. The comic is a personal account of a woman trying to juggle her work, family and sex life — or lack thereof — without going bonkers.
 
Libenson is a fan of the innovation and humor Cathy brought to comics pages throughout the years, but she isn’t bashful about the need for new female cartoonists to inject some life and diversity into newspapers nationwide.
 
“Cathy had an incredibly long run, which meant it probably surpassed its most relevant era,” Libenson says. “Also — and I don’t mean to be dismissive of other cartoonists when I say this — there needs to be more female voices represented on the funny pages.”