It will be some time before material in the "The Lockhorns" - and four other strips that Hoest drew - is [John Reiner]'s own. Hoest left up to two years' material in various stages of completion in his files, Reiner said.

"It's not me taking over and doing my own work," Reiner said. "[Bill Hoest] has left an enormous amount of material. So we're going through that, and continuing." Reiner was referring to his boss, Bunny Hoest, a former high school English teacher who eventually took on a full-time job managing - and now owning - William Hoest Enterprises. King Features owns the copyrights to "The Lockhorns," as well as Hoest's "Agatha Crumm" and "What A Guy!" He also drew "Bumper Snickers" for the Enquirer and "Laugh Parade" for Parade magazine.

Newsday Photo by K. Wiles Stabile-John Weiner works on `The Lockhorns' in Bill Hoest's Eaton's Neck studio. Illustration by King Features Syndicate-The Lockhorns cartoon