Because of the medium’s brevity, image-based storytelling, and its traditionally non-explicit content, the newspaper comic strip appeals greatly to children, but it is not, by any means, strictly children’s media.
Cleanliness
Because the Newspaper is the traditional home for them, comics are generally inherently clean, that is, not profane or explicit. This does not, however, mean that all comics are for kids, not even all comics published in newspapers are squeaky clean.
I remember reading Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County as a kid and quickly returning to Calvin and Hobbes. I just didn't get the humor - it was written for adults.
Bloom Country dealt with feelings I had never experienced, so I didn't get much out of it.
In addition, I felt a little wrong, though I didn't know why. The comic excelled in being suggestive without being provocative.
The newspapers could still publish this strip because as an eight year old, I wouldn't understand the joke, but it was still funny to those who did.
In May of 2015, Rina Piccolo, creator of lesser-known Tina's Groove, wrote an article [PG To The Power Of Ten: The Conundrum of Newspaper Comics In Today’s Mainstream Humor] about censorship in the world of newspaper comic strips after submitting this strip to be published and having it rejected.
Right or wrong, censorship like this keeps the newspaper's comics section child friendly. That cleanliness is another factor that makes comic strips appeal to children.
Side Note: I'll probably write a blog post about censorship of the comic strip in the future.
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