By Sergei Furst

Response from Rubric readers after the strip's cancellation in The Times:

Rubric restored

From Timothy Hughes

So the priggish, nannyish views of one reader have led to Metro "bottling it". Why else would you drop the magnificent Rubric cartoon strip, as you did last week? Not only did I find myself spluttering with indignation at Graham Wistow's patronising waffle about the previous week's crack strip, but then Metro compounds my horror by giving in to such nonsense. Mr Wistow claims to have been a fan of Monty Python; I think not, otherwise he would have recognised that the Rubric strip is a natural descendant of their surreal and rude humour. Python lest we forget, provoked a clamour of po-faced outrage from those happier with the "zany antics" of Arthur Askey and the "sophisticated patter" of Bob Monkhouse.

His conclusion was sheer drama-queen primpery, portentously taking the moral high ground in wondering how someone who had lost a loved one to crack might feel about the cartoon. Would he ban cars, in deference to those who have lost someone in a car crash? Or maybe he would advocate the banning of alcohol advertising; after all alcohol is a much bigger killer than drugs.

Black magic

From Monica Guevara

I was very disappointed when I couldn't find Rubric's strip in your last issue. It is the first thing I look for in the Saturday Times. Sergei Furst's pieces are superb thanks to his skills as a draughtsman and his corrosive humour.

Rubric was omitted due to lack of space. He does, however, wish to thank all those who wrote in inquiring as to his whereabouts – Times Ed.