The funnies: serious business

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Comics aren’t only for kids, as editors here know. Adults are fans as well, and they are the ones who most often ask why a certain comic they love from their past or that they’ve seen in other newspapers isn’t among the 31 that are published daily in The Times -- most of them in Calendar but a few in other sections as well. (‘Dilbert’ also runs in Business, ‘In the Bleachers’ in Sports and ‘Love Is’ in the classifieds section. On Sunday, 25 are published.)

And readers often ask: Why can’t The Times publish a write-in questionnaire so readers can vote for their favorite strips?

Readers who wonder why they can’t “vote” on the pages should know that such tallies can be skewed. Having readers send in their answers to questionnaires printed on those pages can (and has at other papers) led to multiple voting by one person.

The Times has its own methods for judging the comics. Sherry Stern, deputy editor for Features, says that while years ago the paper’s editor simply picked what comics he liked, now Stern relies on the guidance of an informal group of newsroom staffers. They reflect different backgrounds and senses of humor, but all are faithful readers of the funnies.

Editors aim for a mix that will appeal to all kinds of readers, which means comics that are political, satirical, absurd, sophisticated, warm and traditional. Not every strip pleases everyone. Any switches are tough: As Stern puts it, ‘The goal is for readers to find a new comic an improvement over the comic it’s replacing. Because every comic has a loyal following, that’s not a simple decision.’