ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995            TAG: 9512190032
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE 

THE NEW YEAR WILL START WITH SOME LAUGHS

We could hardly believe it, but our reader poll to select a new comic strip for the newspaper ended in a tie between ``Overboard'' and ``Mutts.''

So, guess what? We're going to add both!

They'll start Jan. 1 and will run both daily and Sundays.

Cartoonist Bill Watterson has decided to close the book on "Calvin and Hobbes" as of the end of this year, so we had to come up with a replacement. Last Sunday, we put that responsibility in your hands by asking you to choose your favorite among five potential replacements.

About 4,000 of you voted, and the result was a dead heat between the zany pirate crew of ``Overboard'' and the bemused back-yard menagerie of ``Mutts.''

That left us with two strips for one space. Fortunately, we had also asked you to vote for your favorites among our other comics. The results of that poll provided the answer to our dilemma. Pretty darned few of you liked the panel called ``Wit of the World.'' In fact, it finished last in the balloting and received only a handful of votes as the ``best'' comic.

So, we've decided to replace that strip at the same time ``Calvin and Hobbes'' disappears, giving you two new comics to start the new year.

``Overboard,'' drawn by Chip Dunham, has been in syndication since 1990. His boatload of less-than-vicious pirates bumble their way through a life of pillage and plunder.

Patrick McDonnell's ``Mutts'' follows the exploits of Earl the dog, his next-door friend Mooch the cat, and Earl's lovable owner, Ozzie.

By the way, we'll be reporting further on the overall comics poll as soon as the results are fully tabulated and analyzed.

And thanks for voting.

LENGTH: Short :   40 lines
ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC:  Overboard, Mutts. color.