Like Dustin to his couch and Beetle Bailey to his bed, The Funnies is back and settling in for a healthy dose of laughter.

After a six-month hiatus — living the life of Wanda MacPherson in Baby Blues — The Funnies is returning to you with some BIG news. We're talking Garfield-sized, here.

In an effort to pare down some of the comics we have in the paper and efficiently utilize our space, Between Friends and Mary Worth will no longer appear in our Classifieds section, beginning Feb. 7. (You will still be able to find these two strips at our Comics Kingdom website, via these respective links: Mary Worth, Between Friends.)

(Have an opinion on these two? Leave a comment!)

Now, I've always been clear how I feel about Mary Worth — to anyone who will listen and sometimes to those who won't. But I do like Between Friends and will be sad to see it go. However, in looking at the research generated from our last comics poll, these two were near the bottom of the list when it came to reader preferences.

Speaking of comics polls and giving readers what they want (which we are all about) ...

IT'S COMICS POLL TIME!

That's right, beginning Feb. 6, we're throwing open our mailbox and asking YOU, the diligent reader of The News-Gazette's comics, to tell us what you think about the strips we have — should they stay or should they go? By taking an online survey or sending in a ballot found in The News-Gazette, you will have the opportunity to tell us what you like and what you don't like, as well as give us suggestions on what you think should appear in our pages that isn't there already. Watch your paper or check back to The Funnies for more details.

If you'd like to do a little research on other strips, check out our Comics Kingdom, where you'll find a multitude of comics, puzzles and more.