[2][3] The usual reason for continuing a strip with a new cartoonist is to keep the profitable business or franchise going, preserving a number of jobs and allowing future generations to enjoy the work in a new form.
[4] The practice of continuing a zombie comic strip is commonly criticized by cartoonists, particularly younger ones in the new generation, including Bill Watterson[5][6] and Stephan Pastis.
[9] After an incident in which United Feature Syndicate secretly retained the services of superhero comic artist Al Plastino to continue the comic strip Peanuts in case of an interruption,[10] the heirs of Charles Schulz, author and creator of Peanuts, requested that his strip not be continued by another cartoonist after his death.
[2] As another counterpoint, zombie strips can also provide proving grounds for unknown artists to prove their worth with an established brand; Jerry Scott began his national career writing and illustrating Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy, being given substantial artistic freedom in the process, before debuting his strips, Baby Blues and Zits.
Zombie strips include Adam@home, Andy Capp, Blondie, Dennis the Menace, B.C., The Wizard of Id, Frank and Ernest, Hi and Lois, Hägar the Horrible, Dick Tracy, Rex Morgan, M.D., Mary Worth, Prince Valiant, The Family Circus, The Born Loser, Shoe, Spy vs. Spy, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, and Ginger Meggs.
For example, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg largely stepped away from the show after 2004, but continued to serve as executive producer before returning to more active involvement in 2015 until his death three years later.