'Spot the Frog' Comic Will End This Summer

By: E&P Staff Mark Heath is ending his "Spot the Frog" comic after four-plus years.

"I'll be bringing the strip to an end July 5 (dailies), June 29 (Sundays)," the United Media cartoonist wrote on his blog. "This will be six months shy of the five-year contract. The reason is the usual one: too few client papers...."

Heath's comic stars a lovable, optimistic amphibian.

The news about "Spot" was mentioned on Alan Gardner's Daily Cartoonist blog, which can be seen here.

And Comics Reporter blogger Tom Spurgeon reacted to the comic's coming demise: "I liked 'Spot,' which I thought was nice-looking and always pleasant."

But he added that "it's really tough out there for work to find traction unless it break out. I think that's where the declining number of newspaper spots and the increased churn in terms of dumping and trying strips is most greatly felt. Is there no such thing as a newspaper strip middle class anymore?"

Spurgeon's blog can be seen here.