Well, they've already pretty much migrated to the web, where they're free from the constraints of print media (ie, being limited to 1-4 panels, that have to be drawn in such a way that they can be shrunk considerably, for instance - and in fact, they shrunk a lot during their history, with the advent of Peanuts heralding a simpler comics style fit for being presented smaller in increasingly crammed features pages, which themselves shrank from three to one to half a page, in some papers.) But they'll probably still stay distinguishable from "online comic book" format by being just for short jokes, or short-form serialization with punchlines/cliffhangers, like when a strip would tell a story for a week or two (see: Bloom County: Night of the Mary Kay Commandoes for a classic comic strip story).

Dilbert will just have to adapt to that, and Adams and his agents are going to have to realize that the features syndicates will die with printed newspapers.

The good part is, perhaps there'll be some quality labours of love pop up once again (Krazy Kat, Peanuts itself) and bury the factory strips (like Hi and Lois and Beetle Bailey.)

Well, they've already pretty much migrated to the web, where they're free from the constraints of print media (ie, being limited to 1-4 panels, that have to be drawn in such a way that they can be shrunk considerably, for instance - and in fact, they shrunk a lot during their history, with the advent of Peanuts heralding a simpler comics style fit for being presented smaller in increasingly crammed features pages, which themselves shrank from three to one to half a page, in some papers.) But they'll probably still stay distinguishable from "online comic book" format by being just for short jokes, or short-form serialization with punchlines/cliffhangers, like when a strip would tell a story for a week or two (see: Bloom County: Night of the Mary Kay Commandoes for a classic comic strip story).

Dilbert will just have to adapt to that, and Adams and his agents are going to have to realize that the features syndicates will die with printed newspapers.

The good part is, perhaps there'll be some quality labours of love pop up once again (Krazy Kat) and bury the factory strips (like Hi and Lois and Beetle Bailey.)