They flog dead horses, don't they?

So, after seven years of plying their trade with tireless optimism, The Pitchers are retiring from The Guardian. Today's strip, in the Film and Music section, is the final episode, newspaper budget cuts having taken their toll. Taking them elsewhere, doing a book … We're not sure what we'll do with them in the future. I wasn't prepared for how hard it is to kill off cartoon characters, but after living with them in my head for so long, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise. So I'm glad to say we decided not to drop a piano on them, or lose them in the Creative Vacuum – but to end just as things began: with a good (ie awful) idea for a movie. Thanks for sticking with them through thick and thin. We'll let you know when they finally hit Tinseltown heights. PW