Funky Winkerbean concerns

Question: Speaking of the Sunday comics, why is it that we only get half of the panels for the Sunday Funky Winerbean strip? If it's a space issue, can't your reduce the size of this and others? We miss some of the story line with this editing tactic. -- Al Gilson, Spokane

Answer: Many strips are drawn in such a way that the opening panels can be dropped without significantly altering the storyline. Most papers take advantage of this in order to run as many comics as possible in the Sunday sections. Strips already have been reduced in size to the point where they are barely readable. I wouldn't want to shrink them any more. -- Steve Smith, editor