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Agree with their choices or not, I thought the editors did a good job of preparing comics-lovers for this blow. The Life, etc. section began running "teaser" drawings of the new characters more than a week before the Nov. 27 debut. Three days before, there were short profiles of the creators of the new strips, and on the day of the change, N&O editorial cartoonist Dwane Powell drew farewell cartoons for each of the departing comics.

Throughout, Ogburn invited readers to submit their comments (you can still do it, to comics@newsobserver.com). And, he says, he's open to changing his mind if enough readers continue to feel aggrieved. He also promises (threatens?) to review strips more regularly in the future, changing out one or two each year.

Some of us at the paper are bemused by the reader passion over comics, when there are so many more weighty issues in the paper. After all, The New York Times doesn't even have comics. The N&O's comics take up two full pages, without ads -- a significant expense in a time of cost pressures. Why even have comics?

Because they're fun. They give readers a break from the heavy stuff. They're entertainment, which is part of the newspaper mix that helps draw and keep readers for real news. Kathy Abrahams, the aforementioned "Cathy" lover, says she goes through all the serious, often grim, news before treating herself to the comics at the end, "so I can have a little chuckle to go out and face the day."

That's the idea, says Ogburn: "If you look at the paper as a meal, the front page is your entree and vegetables, and when you get to the end, there's the dessert. That's the comics."

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