Heart of the City by Steenz for April 28, 2020

This new design is really hard to read and hard to distinguish.

Whatever happened to the old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

Really cheap contract illustrator?

I’m trying to give it a chance, but the previous artwork was the soul of the strip….

Tatulli has passed the torch and is no longer making the strip. Steenz is the new author/artist.

https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2020/04/20/tatulli-passes-heart-of-the-city-to-steenz/

This is a pretty cute way to introduce the relaunched characters. I’m liking it so far.

I’m sorry but I’m out…

This is not Heart. I’ll give it a while but I have my doubts. Maybe you should have created your own strip with it’s own cast. Sorry.

Looks like I’m leaving Heart of the City. Bye.

I am going with the archives .

If this is “The new look” I’ll stop reading your strip

This isn’t Heart anymore

The few things that the internet has done.

Taken away patience and risen selfishness, arrogance and rudeness to a new level.

None of you would would have the courage to say any of this to the person’s face.

If it doesn’t appeal to you, so be it, but act like an adult about it, not a whiney, spoiled child.

Well it was a good run. I’m out.

Well, lost Nancy a couple years ago, and now Heart… the innocence of the characters is gone. Time to drop another comic. They just can’t let id die a natural death. Good bye, Heart…

They mark their tables ahead of time? Is this a thing?

I really liked the old Heart. This one is just not for me. Yes, I would say this to the new illustrators face. Tatulli it would have been better to just bow out. Steenz I wish you would have just created your own strip. Sorry but I am out.

I am very sad to say goodbye.

I am not a fan of the new illustrators vision of Heart, so instead of complaining about it, I will simply unfollow it and see you lovely commenters on my other comments.

It is a sad sad day, as I have read Heart from the beginning.

Best of luck to the new artist, I just don’t feel it has the “Heart” that Tatulli brought to it.

Farewell my friends.

Had Steenz started her own new project with new characters, new stories… that would be GREAT. But this sudden cartoonist swap looks somewhat cheaty to me.

I don’t like this new Heart, Whoever this Steenz is has ruined it. I’m dropping Heart from my list; I hate it and I ant the old Heart back.

I think I’ll just leave the artwork alone and concentrate on the stories told. Those are the interesting parts, anyhow.

Those that can, create. Those that can’t, whine and b!tch about those that can.

This is not “Heart of the City”, not even a close knockoff.

Well this didn’t take long for people to be negative, but Steenz I wish you well as you take over a strip from the creator who has a strong following with Heart. He picked you knowing you would do it your way. Why? Because while I miss Charles Shultz’s comic strip I know nobody could emulate the touch and feel he had for his comic.

So as Anton Ego from Ratatouille would say and I mean this with all sincerity “SURPRISE ME” as you give this strip your touch and soul.

I said I’d give it try, and I will, but so far this hasn’t made a very good first impression.

I liked the stories, but the new art is putting me off. A few more of these panels and I’ll be dropping it. =(

Third Panel, the Missing Bert from the Muppets, was found masquerading as a student at a local middle school, wearing a cheap wig. Bert who was also wearing a dress declared, “This is who I am, I won’t hide anymore!”

Ernie said he was shocked at the relevation, and had no comment.

Well, I wish Tatulli had made an announcement IN the strip instead of surprising us all, as many other cartoonists in his situation have. But I wish Steenz best of luck with this, and I will stick around for a while to see if I like the new strip.

Heart has gained weight.

And the story stopped – WTH? Ok, change the artwork, but let’s keep going w the Lamarr family still in the house.

I am enjoying the new look and look forward to a new world.

What happened ? Don’t like the new Heart!!!!!

le sigh. I’ll give it a run, see if it grows on me, but I really liked Tatulli’s drawing style…

https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2020/04/20/tatulli-passes-heart-of-the-city-to-steenz/

Not liking the new art, and that is 70% of why I choose a comic. Bye-bye Heart.

I rely on a few things to be constant in this Covid world. I’ll give this a couple of weeks to improve otherwise I’m out

No offense to this artist but this just doesn’t work. I left this strip a while back when it got too much like “Lio”. Thought I’d check it out when I heard it was being done by someone new. But it’s not working for me. Bye Heart! Loved you as a little kid with big dreams. Wish you’d stayed that way. That was an awesome strip and honestly I felt it didn’t need to change. The whole Middle school arc just was a step in the wrong direction.

This is like a totally new strip. Not appealing at all.

Nope, not keeping this one on my page. Like the other one, this not so much, Actually much less than than that, actually hate it. Miss the cute little girl and the others. Sad to loose.

Amazing how change averse people can be. Give Steenz a chance before making up your mind. It’s not going to be the same old same, but keep an open mind and you might wind up liking it.

This is sad …. I loved Heart and her gang. I do not like this interpretation.

Not cute any more !

This is just plain awful. You can’t tell who is who… the faces are almost identical. Done with this strip.

It’s hard to look at this art – needs more contrast. And a better writer. Still not liking this change AT ALL.

In addition to the art style being jarring and confusing, I had been impressed that Heart of the City was one of the syndicated comics dealing with the pandemic and how it affects the characters. The new version by Steenz and the horrible illustrator has lost everything that made Heart special. I’ll remove it from my favorites and then just check back in 6 months and see if it got better.

This is gonna take gettin’ used to. Is it me, or do they all look alike?

Really dislike this.

Yes, this change is permanent. The charm is gone, and so am I. Farewell Heart.

I’m going to stick around for a while, see how the story arcs are, and see if the artwork improves any. Hopefully Steenz can restyle her art so it looks less, how shall I say, blah.

I loved Tatulli’s Heart, but if I understand correctly, he picked Steenz. I’m sticking with it, knowing that it’s going a whole new way. I prefer this over the strip rebooting and going back to the beginning.

I cannot not tell Heart from Dean. Dean looks like a girl.

Simply put, this stinks.

Really can’t wait for all the haters to leave, lol. Love the new art.

GoComics REALLY needs to start publishing this comic in color to really give it a chance to survive this transition. The two shades aren’t cutting it…

Just put my finger on what the new art reminds me of: Steven Universe, which is one of the prettiest cartoons I’ve ever seen. I’m excited to see what the artist does with colors.

adios

im not going anywhere. This change is different but i want to see where this goes. Life is an adventure, sometimes the curve balls can be something awesome

Looks a lot like Stephen Universe… Sorry, but I’m out…

we all have different tastes. unfortunately i’m done reading this comic. fi just don’t like the looks of it; even if i hadn’t read this comic before it wouldn’t be one i would chose to read. it’s just like when a character on a series is replaced by someone else because they left or unfortuantely died. the replacement just doesn’t do it for you. so long Heart.. i enjoyed your stories. maybe i will go back and read them.

I agree with many of your comments. I’ll give it a week or so but I don’t think I’ll keep following this.The art is cute but it’s not “Heart”. I can’t tell who’s who. Dean’s hair makes him look like a girl. Writer needs to develop their own strip. Kinda like if “Prince Valliant” was drawn by Crumb. It’s not gonna work. It’s Tatulli’s choice to do with the strip as he will but it would have been better for me if he had just retired or chosen an artist to copy his style as has happened with “Prince Valliant”, “Dick Tracy” “Blondie” “Alley Oop”and other past icons.I really don’t like to see sour comments like “Art is awful.” and the like. It’s not awful or bad. It just doesn’t suit this case. Criticism can be expressed without being insulting or hateful.Mark, you might want to at least consider rethinking your choice. perhaps even returning.

I understand Mr Tatulli’s need to leave. I have read the articles about that. I have read Steenz’s other work and I like it. She has worked on this and honed her style for the last 4 – 6 months. She essentially had to pass an audition/interview process, it’s not like she just picked up a pencil yesterday and drew Heart for the first time. I did not stop watching Bewitched when I was a little kid just because they got a new Dick to play Darrin. Those leaving because they cannot handle change are going to have problems when they get out into the real world.

Sorry but, with a lot of writer/artists retiring from their strips they are finding new people to do them. Dick Tracy, Alley Oop, Nancy, Blondie, etc.. I feel the ones that succeed in the continued success of the strips are the ones that try to follow the traditions and styles of the original while tweaking the strip slowly to their taste. Dick Tracy is the best example of success with Alley Oop stumbling along with occasional good days. Heart of the City style and story appears to have been totally discarded by the new artist. I will give her a few weeks to see if I can grow to like it. Hopefully she will eventually change the name of the strip, as this is not Heart of the City.

As I remember Adam @Home was once created by Brain Basset and now it currently created by Rob Harrel and The Buckets were created by Scott Stantis and now it’s created by Greg Cravens. I could get use to seeing this.

Compared to my school, 4 top rounds are inefficient wastes of space. My cramped cafeteria was a sea of long tables packed together in close rows.

Please, return to the Heart we know and love. This doesn’t make it.

Yup. Can’t. It’s just awful to look at. Sorry Heart. I can’t even read the text past the bad artwork. I had planned on trying for a week. Just hit unfollow.

I’m still crying. Oh Mark, how I will miss your sweet family with movie nights, dance classes, Mrs Angelini’s wonderful stories, Dean’s quirkiness, and so much more. Thanks for many good years. I will read one strip a day from the compilation you did in 2000. That will help ease the loss. At least we still have Lio! Be safe at this crazy time and all good wishes to you and yours.

Personally loving the new take on Heart! Keep it coming…

That was sudden no hey this is my new artist.. no goodbye?

I think matching who is who will take some time.

Is this for real ? ! This sucks. Awful drawing, can’t recognize the characters. I think I’m done with this one.

Anyone remember when Luann updated. That went pretty well.

Only the name remains, it is a new comic with an old name. I’m out.

How about this weather? It’s hot and then cold…and…just trying to change the subject…not succeeding…

Don’t like this at all. May have to stop reading this strip.

Good luck, Steenz. You have an opportunity, but with the drastic change in tone, feel, and story, you are selling an all new strip that just has a familiar name. I’ll give it a little time to develop, but if I came across this strip randomly, I’d probably say it’s not for me.

To all you sayers of nay, I’d like to point out that getting a table for lunch does not, indeed, amount to waiting in line for Star Wars tickets. As Dean, both old and new, have so clearly pointed out.

The art may be different, and a bit crowded, but that’s our boy Dean there.

Maybe Steenz should work in a Dr. Who regeneration gimmick?

They all look the same. I really, really miss the cute messy hair. Now it’s all done in lazy, boring outline. So far, no enthusiastic storyline to say HEY, LOOK, THIS IS GOOD! I am out.

Dropping this comic.

If they didn’t want feedback, there wouldn’t be a comments section. I’m not liking anything about the new incarnation, but I’ll give it some time to see if it improves.

A sad end to a good strip that always played second fiddle to Lio.

Dislike.

not the same

I’m not sure about the artwork, but at least the wording is still good. I’ll give it a few more days…

I’m just trying to think of it as a new strip.

I know some of you are attached to the previous strip, but this is new, and different. And that’s a good thing. If you can’t give it a chance, it’s likely that you can’t give much of anything a chance. How can you provide a reasoned opinion of this new strip after TWO DAYS. What it sounds to me is like a lot of you are having knee jerk reactions to change. Stop being jerks and take a deep breath. Life is short.

You guys are harsh. I’m waiting until she gets rolling before making a judgment. Yes, it’s going to be different that Tatulli’s art, but that’s what happens.

This is horrible. I don’t mind change, but usually if you get a new illustrator/writer, they at least try to keep the artwork consistent with the previous artists work. There is no story here either. Goodbye Heart, too bad you died so young.

goodbye Heart. It was nice knowing you when you were here. Goodbye what ever you are taking her place. Im out of here.

I too am leaving. This is not Heart of the City. I’m sure there will be no Dean in Mandalorean helmets, no Spock, no Pride in their Italian heritage, etc. The new artist said she wants to increase diversity which is fine but she’s wrong about a ‘typical’ Philly neighborhood. It depends on where you live, and obviously Heart lives in South Philly, and Steenz is apparently unfamiliar with it. Sadly, I’m just not interested.

I too am leaving. This is not Heart of the City. I’m sure there will be no Dean in Mandalorean helmets, no Spock, no Pride in their Italian heritage, etc. The new artist said she wants to increase diversity which is fine but she’s wrong about a ‘typical’ Philly neighborhood. It depends on where you live, and obviously Heart lives in South Philly, and Steenz is apparently unfamiliar with it.

WAS one of my favorite strips. This looks like a waste of ink. I’ll give it a few days though.

In b/w I can’t tell who is who. And so I bid everyone adieu, adios, arrivederci, auf wiedersehen, au revoir, cheerio, good day, sayonara, so long, and farewell. Oh, and thanks for all the fish!

Just very disappointed in losing the characters (drawings) that made the comic for me.

I thought yesterday was a mistake or a guest artist. Today I discover this is it. I’m done here. One of my favorites down the crapper.

It’s like a bad reboot!!

Im thinking the hair styles need to be fixed. Especially Deans.

I thought yesterday might have been a joke. How sad that it is not. I will now unfollow.

Please keep in mind that Tatulli’s artwork for Heart (which I love) changed a fair amount over the years. (Take a look at “Heart of the City” for July 1, 1999; July 1, 2009; and July 1, 2019.) Yeah, this is a really different strip now, but I fully expect that in a year or two we will look back and observe (perhaps even admire) how Steenz’s artwork for Heart has changed. Richard Thompson’s “Cul de Sac” is brilliant, but the way he drew Alice and Petey improved noticeably over the first year—it became more confident, more settled in. And don’t get me started on how much the character designs for Peanuts changed over its first 20 years (compare Snoopy in 1958 with Snoopy in 1973!). Even Watterson’s Calvin changed a bit a year or two in (for example, details in the way Calvin’s hair was rendered). It is very common for it to take a couple of years for a strip to really get going. (The same was true of most of the Star Trek TV series, right?) I intend to hang with Steenz for at least a year and see how both the artwork and the characters develop.

The one thing I am hoping for is a distinctive Philly flavor—being tied to a specific locale OTHER than the obvious American “defaults” of NYC and LA really adds character to a strip.

So sad, this just isn’t Heart at all.

I’m out. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

You don’t have to like everything; that’s your prerogative. I’m not crazy about the new strip but I won’t diss it even if I leave. Good luck to Steenz. It’s all relative.

I’m really trying to like the new art, but the muppet noses are a bit distracting…

Why change it. WHY

wow gocomics deleted my comment. all i said was “sorry but eww”

In this reimage, Dean looks like a tranny. I’ll reread the classics, but not this nonsense.