Comic Strips are formatted different ways for different size requirements. The “drop panel” is a panel or tier of the strip that can be omitted because of size restrictions without affecting the gag or storyline.
For example, Here’s the Sunday strip for January 5, 2014 with the drop panel…
Then without…
For those who enjoy those DVD and Blu Ray extras – here’s the drop panels for January through March of 2014.













Unabashed plug time!
If Sally Forth isn’t in your local paper you can check it out online at…
A yearlong subscription to all of King Features’ comics (new and vintage) plus two years worth of archives for every single strip is a pittance at $19.99 a year. Unsure? Try a 7 day trial subscription for free.