A wise old editor once told me that whatever you do in this job, do not change the comics page. Readers will be at the gate with pitchforks and torches. I didn’t listen…a few times in my career in fact.

Starting Tuesday, we will be launching a new comics and puzzles page after getting reader feedback and finding the need for more space in the daily paper for news.

The change means a slight reduction in the number of comics we run, but it also keeps the comics, puzzles and advice columns all in one place rather than spread out across the paper.

I blame it all on the “Dilbert” comic strip, when last spring the author’s work had been discontinued across the entire country by his syndication for comments he had made, not in the strip, but on one of his podcasts.

That threw the comics world into a tizzy, as papers scrambled to find a replacement. We received well over 70 letters to the editor with suggestions on what to keep, what to pull and what to add. We quickly added “Red Rover,” about a boy and his dog, because, well, who doesn’t like dogs — especially in Bend?

The Bulletin has been running 28 comic strips daily for several years, taking up about a page and a half. As of Tuesday, we have winnowed that down to 22. It makes for a better organized page, and allows us to package the crossword puzzles, bridge and advice columns all in one spot.

What is going away? The comics “Sally Forth,” “Mr. Boffo,” “Mary Worth,” “Non Sequitur,” “Wumo” and “Bizarro.” Those were the top suggestions by readers to remove.

We are keeping the New York Times crossword puzzle and Daily Bridge Club column and subbing the Los Angeles Time crossword for the Universal Syndicate crossword (comparable in difficulty to the LA Times).

Better organizing the pages frees up more space for sports coverage on a regular basis, as Dear Abby and the horoscopes used to take up quite a bit of space in that section.

We hope you enjoy the new look and find it useful.

As always, feel free to write us at gobrien@bendbulletin.com or stop by the office. But please, leave the pitchforks and torches at home.

Thanks for reading,

Gerry O’Brien, editor