Visit the friends of 'Candorville'

Welcome to "Candorville" - a place where society, politics, the media and just about everything else comes under comic scrutiny.

"Candorville" by Darrin Bell is our latest guest comic. It begins a four-week stint at the top of our first comics page today.

The strip concerns a diverse group of friends -- Lemont Brown, an aspiring writer now toiling in a fast-food restaurant; Susan Garcia, a young woman working in the corporate world; and Clyde (aka "C-dog"), a streetwise guy who often makes some bad decisions.

By now, you likely know how our guest comic program works. Give "Candorville" a try, then surf to forums.triangle.com and find the forum called "Comics in The N&O." You'll be able to read hundreds of comments from other comics fans about "Candorville" and other strips. (You don't have to register to read comments. But to post, you will need to register -- a free, painless thing.)

You also may e-mail us directly at comics@newsobserver.com or send us a letter to Comics, The News & Observer Features Department, 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, NC 27601.

Why have we done a guest comic program since January? It gives us an opportunity to try out new or different strips and see how readers respond. Then, when we have a comics opening, as we did following the end of "Kudzu," we have a better idea of what would be good to add. ("Red & Rover," a previous guest comic, got the "Kudzu" spot.)

Two other guest comics -- "Pickles" and "Lio" -- also have joined our pages.

Coming up, you'll get another chance to vote on some of our previous guest comics -- "Mother Goose & Grimm," "F Minus," "Sherman's Lagoon" and recent guest "Agnes."

As always, thanks for reading and caring about the comics.