By: Dave Astor Some newspapers test new comics by running them for a week or so. Then there's The Seattle Times. It has an unusual guest-slot area on the top of its second daily comics page, where it tries out new material for a month to a year while soliciting reader feedback via e-mail.
"Any comic can be good for a week or two," said Director of Content Development Cynthia Nash, noting that the guest slots enable the Times and its readers to see how a feature performs for an extended period of time. Also, some comics grow on people. And, under a guest-slot concept, readers aren't surprised if a comic is dropped ? thus reducing the chance of angry letters.
Roughly 50% of the test comics stay in the Times. Among them: "Pickles" by Brian Crane of the Washington Post Writers Group (WPWG), and "Zack Hill" by John Deering and John Newcombe of Creators Syndicate.
The stay-or-go decision is based on the reader e-mails, comics polls, and how the paper itself views a feature. Guest comics as of last month: "Candorville" by Darrin Bell of WPWG and "CEO Dad" by Tom Stern and Phyllis Bruskin of Creators. Karisue Wyson, sales manager/North America for WPWG, calls the guest-slot idea "a very smart way of getting good feedback. Readers really get to know a strip more than if it just ran for a week."
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