Bill Amend is ceasing to do daily Fox Trot comic strips. In 2007 it will go to Sundays only. Tomorrow's will be the last daily strip. Crud.
I've always respected Amend. The strips have been consistently funny throughout its run (I know because I own all but the last couple of collections), the math in them is real, and the geek quotient is off the scale. I can't believe he's doing this so soon. According to the article below he started the strip in 1988. He couldn't hold out two more years and make it an even 20?
I blame Berke Breathed, another brilliant comic writer and creator of Bloom County. Unfortunately, Bill the cat and Opus became so popular (i.e. profitable) that he all but killed off most of the other great characters to concentrate on the most merchandisable pair. Outland was funny (mostly), but nothing close to Bloom County. Later, he brought back Opus in a Sundays only strip. I guess Amend saw that as a measure of success. Pity. I would rather he measured success by the amount of joy his strip brings to people. Personally, I would measure it in dollars, but that's just me.
Anyway, here's the official press release: http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/newsrelease/?view=468
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