Gazette comics survey reveals variety of interests

NOTE: Tables showing the survey data are at the end of this blog post.

A couple of people have asked me what happened to a comics survey The Gazette did this year. This was a survey in which we invited people to rate comics they love and comics they would not miss.

We have results but the responses were so much of a mixed bag that they would not lead us to change what we offer on our daily and Sunday comics page. Two main reasons lead us to this conclusion:

1)      Some comics wildly popular in one age group are equally unpopular in other age groups. The best examples are “Pearls Before Swine”, “Get Fuzzy” and “Blondie”.

Fifty-seven percent of people under the age of 35 say they love “Pearls Before Swine”, as do 48 percent of those ages 35 to 54. Forty-three percent of people under the age of 35 love “Get Fuzzy”; 36 percent of those ages 35 to 45 love it.

Those over 55? Only 23 percent love “Pearls Before Swine” and the rate for “Get Fuzzy” is a miserable 13 percent. In fact, these two comics would be the first people who are 55 or older could live without by margins of three of every four people for “Get Fuzzy” and three of every five for “Pearls Before Swine”.

Thirty-seven percent of people under the age of 35 who responded to the survey and 31 percent of those ages 35 to 45 said they love “Blondie” and percentages close to that in both age groups likewise said they can live without the comic. But 70 percent of the people age 55 or older who responded love “Blondie”. Only 13 percent said they could live without it.

Great disparity, indeed, which is connected to the second reason these data would not lead us to change comics:

2)    Three of every four people responding to the survey were age 55 or older. While true that a majority of our Gazette newspapers readers are age 55 or older – the proportion is three of every five readers – our survey did not give us a representative sample of our potential audience base.

If you recall, this was a voluntary survey. A total of 1,202 people responded when it was taken in April and May. Only 68 respondents were under the age of 35. Another 231 were ages 35 to 54, with the remaining 903 were age 55 or older.

You're just using numbers to skewer what you want to say, the skeptical among you will say.

But the fact is, people from different age groups like different comics. We want to provide something for people of several ages, from our loyal, longtime readers who like the familiarity of  “Blondie”, “Beetle Bailey” or “Dennis the Menace” to the next generation of readers who like the edgy “Pearls Before Swine”, “Bizarro” or “Get Fuzzy”.

If the survey showed us anything, it was that we have a mix that can appeal to more than just one age group.

You likely are interested in the results of some hot-button comics, so here they are:

• Strong support across age groups: “Pickles”, “Zits” and “Baby Blues”.
• Love “Doonesbury”: under 35 – 27 percent, ages 35-54 – 36 percent, ages 55 and older – 28 percent. Can live without it: under 35 – 57 percent, ages 35-54 – 54 percent, ages 55 and older – 60 percent.
• Love “Mallard”: under 35 – 25 percent, ages 35 to 54 – 27 percent, ages 55 and older – 37 percent. Can live without it: under 35 – 65 percent, ages 35 to 45 – 60 percent, age 55 and older – 51 percent.
• Love “Dustin”, which was introduced in January and which ignited protest from fans of Retail, which it replaced: under 35 – 16 percent, ages 35 to 54 – 20 percent, age 55 or older – 22 percent. Can live without it: under 35 – 75 percent, ages 35 to 54 – 64 percent, age 55 and older – 55 percent.

The survey was taken at a time of backlash over the disappearance of “Retail”, to make room for “Dustin”. We want to introduce new comics from time to time. Syndications make pitches throughout the year to publications like The Gazette, trying to convince us to pick up a new comic. Some are glad to suggest that dumping an older comic would make room for the new one.

I'd be interested in knowing whether “Dustin” has grown on readers . I know the comic hasn't been everyone's cup of tea but would like to see the response now that it has settled into the daily routine.

I also thank those of you who responded. We need to keep checking.

Here are data from the surveys:

Comic Strip Ranking by Age

Respondents that Love It

Under 35

 

35-54

 

 

55+

 

Baby Blues

78%

 

Zits

82%

 

Pickles

87%

Zits

77%

 

Baby Blues

79%

 

Pluggers

72%

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

69%

 

Pickles

79%

 

Zits

71%

Pickles

69%

 

Dilbert

65%

 

Blondie

70%

Pearls Before Swine

57%

 

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

62%

 

Baby Blues

69%

Close to Home

52%

 

Close to Home

53%

 

Family Circus

68%

Garfield

52%

 

Pluggers

51%

 

Dennis the Menace

66%

Bizarro

50%

 

Non Sequitur

50%

 

Beetle Bailey

63%

Dilbert

49%

 

Bizarro

48%

 

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

62%

Frazz

43%

 

Pearls Before Swine

48%

 

Hagar the Horrible

56%

Get Fuzzy

43%

 

Frazz

44%

 

Garfield

55%

Pluggers

43%

 

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

42%

 

Wizard of Id

51%

Cul De Sac

38%

 

Mutts

42%

 

Close to Home

43%

Family Circus

38%

 

Garfield

40%

 

Dilbert

38%

Blondie

37%

 

Wizard of Id

40%

 

Mallard Fillmore

37%

Non Sequitur

35%

 

Family Circus

38%

 

Mutts

36%

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

32%

 

Dennis the Menace

37%

 

Non Sequitur

35%

Wizard of Id

32%

 

Doonesbury

36%

 

Frazz

34%

Beetle Bailey

29%

 

Get Fuzzy

36%

 

Bizarro

33%

Dennis the Menace

29%

 

Hagar the Horrible

36%

 

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

32%

Doonesbury

27%

 

Beetle Bailey

34%

 

Doonesbury

28%

Hagar the Horrible

27%

 

Cul De Sac

33%

 

Pearls Before Swine

23%

Mallard Fillmore

25%

 

Blondie

31%

 

Working It Out (Daily Only)

23%

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

22%

 

Mallard Fillmore

27%

 

Dustin

22%

Mutts

21%

 

Working It Out (Daily Only)

23%

 

Cul De Sac

21%

Working It Out (Daily Only)

21%

 

Dustin

20%

 

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

19%

Dustin

16%

 

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

20%

 

Get Fuzzy

13%

Comic Strip Ranking by Age

What comic do you Don't Read/Can Live Without

Under 35 

 

35-54

 

55+

Dustin

75%

 

Dustin

64%

 

Get Fuzzy

76%

Working It Out (Daily Only)

68%

 

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

61%

 

Pearls Before Swine

65%

Mallard Fillmore

65%

 

Mallard Fillmore

60%

 

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

65%

Sherman's Lagoon (Sunday Only)

65%

 

Cul De Sac

56%

 

Cul De Sac

64%

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

57%

 

Working It Out (Daily Only)

55%

 

Doonesbury

60%

Doonesbury

57%

 

Doonesbury

54%

 

Dustin

55%

Dennis the Menace

53%

 

Get Fuzzy

53%

 

Working It Out (Daily Only)

54%

Non Sequitur

51%

 

Family Circus

46%

 

Frazz

51%

Family Circus

50%

 

Beetle Bailey

45%

 

Mallard Fillmore

51%

Frazz

50%

 

Dennis the Menace

44%

 

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

49%

Hagar the Horrible

50%

 

Frazz

43%

 

Dilbert

48%

Cul De Sac

47%

 

Mutts

42%

 

Bizarro

48%

Get Fuzzy

47%

 

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

41%

 

Non Sequitur

48%

Wizard of Id

47%

 

Pearls Before Swine

40%

 

Mutts

48%

Mutts

44%

 

Hagar the Horrible

39%

 

Close to Home

34%

Beetle Bailey

44%

 

Wizard of Id

38%

 

Wizard of Id

31%

Blondie

40%

 

Blondie

35%

 

Garfield

27%

Pluggers

40%

 

Garfield

33%

 

Hagar the Horrible

25%

Dilbert

38%

 

Non Sequitur

32%

 

The Lockhorns (Sunday Only)

23%

Close to Home

34%

 

Bizarro

31%

 

Baby Blues

20%

Pearls Before Swine

32%

 

Pluggers

29%

 

Zits

20%

Bizarro

28%

 

Close to Home

26%

 

Beetle Bailey

19%

Garfield

26%

 

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

22%

 

Dennis the Menace

19%

Foxtrot  (Sunday Only)

18%

 

Dilbert

22%

 

Family Circus

18%

Pickles

16%

 

Baby Blues

12%

 

Pluggers

16%

Zits

13%

 

Pickles

12%

 

Blondie

13%

Baby Blues

10%

 

Zits

10%

 

Pickles

9% 

Sample size: N = 1,202

Source:  2010 Online and In-Paper Comics Survey, Gazette Communications

(c) SourceMedia Group, 2010