The Philadelphia Inquirer has been running a comics competition for readers to choose a new strip to replace Bill Amend's "Fox Trot" which recently semi-retired to a sundays-only format. They've run two new comics per three two-week periods.
Here are the results of the preliminary rounds of competitive pairings...
Cow and Boy—568
Sherman's Lagoon—852
The Pajama Diaries—946
Mallard Fillmore—822
Zippy the Pinhead—806
Pickles—1837
Note that the strips as they appear online at their respective syndicate sites may, and probably do, run in different cycles than what appears in actual print without necessarily showing all available strips either, so I can't point folks to the same exact ones that appeared in the paper.
That being said, at this point I'd say that my personal overall choice would be "Sherman's Lagoon," a strip that I've seen (and generally liked) on those rare occasions when I happen to get hold of a paper other than The Inquirer. So I guess it had a leg up to start with, but I have to say that the competition has not exactly been fierce based on the material I've seen. After "Sherman's Lagoon" I'd probably go with "Pickles."
I agree with all the readers' selections thus far. (Not that I'm actually voting, mind you, since the per-strip phone numbers the paper provides for folks to do so are toll calls. Given that, frankly I just don't care enough to be bothered to call and am willing to live with the choice of those who do care enough to be bothered.)
Now the paper is running a competition between "Pajama Diaries" and "Sherman's Lagoon." The winner of this semi-final will move on to face "Pickles," the top vote-getter of the preliminaries, in the final round.
UPDATE 1:
Semifinal result is in...
Sherman's Lagoon—954
The Pajama Diaries—869
"Sherman's Lagoon" now squares off against "Pickles" in the finals. Surprisingly, without casting a vote the two comics I like best are the finalists. I'm still pulling for "Sherman's Lagoon" although I won't mind terribly if "Pickles" wins. Neither is what one would call cutting edge, but I don't look for that in the funnies—I simply look for humor, something to give me at least a little inner smile on most days.
UPDATE 2:
Apparently it was a decisive rout—You Picked 'Pickles'...
"Pickles'" lead over "Sherman's Lagoon" was so large, 3889 to 624, that we are declaring it the winner. It will join our permanent comics lineup on Monday, along with Mark Tatulli's "Lio."
As I said before if it were up to me I'd have chosen "Sherman," but the readers have spoken. "Pickles" is not a bad comic, I just like "Sherman" a little bit more. I can't understand how or why "Pickles" won by so much, but then I don't get American Idol's popularity (or that of its contestants) either.
I found it odd that all of a sudden The Inquirer was simply announcing the addition of "Lio" without having included it in the competition for readers to decide. However, the paper also carries an article today about The warped world of "Lio". Apparently the artist is based in Sewell, NJ, so I assume the local angle coupled with the fact that apparently it already has a good following in many other papers helped the editors make the decision unassisted. Mr. Tatulli also produces "Heart of the City" which I see only on sundays in The Inquirer. My impression of "Heart of the City" is that it's OK, but it doesn't strike me as special in any particular way. I've never heard of "Lio," but I hope I end up liking it at least as much as "Sherman's Lagoon."
Alright, I found the official gocomics daily "lio" page where you can also work your way backwards through some recent strips. There are other samples (with links to even more) here and here. Can't say I'm all that impressed yet, but maybe it will grow on me in time. It looks like it can be somewhat clever at times, but it doesn't wow me on first encounter. From what I've read here and there it's also apparently supposed to be "edgy" and to be honest I don't have a good track record with strips "buzzed" as such. Right now, I'd still rather have "Sherman," but I'll give "Lio" a chance (particularly since I have no choice in the matter).
One final thought... If it were up to me, I'd remove "Cathy" to make room for "Sherman."
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