As many of you noticed, the infamous comic “Doonesbury” by Garry Trudeau has gone AWOL.

After receiving a couple of calls from ranting, irate readers who have accused us of catering to the fierce right wing (which of course begs the question if we run “Doonesbury,” are we catering to the radical left wing?) I thought I better enlighten readers on the decision.

Here’s the bad news: There’s no conspiracy. Neither the right nor the left have influenced us in any way. Mr. Trudeau is taking an extended vacation ” 6-8 weeks ” so we decided to run a replacement comic strip during his hiatus.

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We realize some people love reruns, but we’ve decided to run a different comic strip instead of the “Doonesbury Flashbacks.”

Our plan is twofold ” one to make sure that right and left both hate us, and secondly to start a small revamping of our comics. We thought we’d put out “The Duplex” in the “Doonesbury” space for now, and then possibly move it into another slot later.

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When Mr. Trudeau returns with new editions, we’ll bring him back in. Unless of course there really is a conspiracy, then you’ll just have to wait a couple of months to find out.

We’re looking at launching two to four new comics in the near future. Of course that means we’ll be dropping a few cartoons and replacing them with new ones. And we know this will anger some readers, but we’ve decided to switch it up a little.

Here’s some bad news for people who love “Peanuts.” These classic long-running reruns still have a passionate readership; however, we feel it’s time to start a fresh new comic strip in its place. This is one of the most beloved, classic comic strips of all time, but we feel like the time has arrived to allow readers the chance to find a new favorite comic strip.

Sometimes it’s just time to do something new.

For those who want to give us some feedback on what you’d like to see us keep and any suggestions on new/different cartoons you’ve seen, shoot me an e-mail at news@postindependent.com or call 384-9110.

” Dale Shrull