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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vote on ‘Off the Mark’; then check out ‘Dustin’

This week we begin testing another new strip on our comics pages.

“Dustin,” by Steve Kelley and Jeff Parker, revolves around an unemployed college graduate who moves back in with his family – lawyer father, radio talk-show host mother and overachieving teen sister – while deciding what he wants to do with his life.

Within a year after its launch in January 2010, “Dustin” was running in a record 300 newspapers, and it’s one of the National Cartoonist Society’s three nominees for 2011 Strip of the Year.

For now, it replaces “Pickles,” which had been running on a trial basis for the past three weeks in place of “Get Fuzzy.” We’ll test at least one more strip in that spot before making any final decisions.

Reader voting on “Dustin” will begin in two weeks, after you’ve had a chance to become familiar with it.

Meanwhile, this is the last week to cast your votes on “Off the Mark.” A new test comic will begin running in its place next Monday.

To vote, call (509) 459-3814 or email comics@spokesman.com and rate “Off the Mark” on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best. Don’t forget to tell us your age and gender.

And thanks for your help.

– Rick Bonino, features editor