Current great comic strips

[Lynn Bodoni]

OK, this is obviously a spinoff from another thread...

I think that there are some really great current comic strips. I particularly like Get Fuzzy and Sherman's Lagoon. Get Fuzzy is about a Siamese cat and his hapless human and canine companion. Sherman's Lagoon is about a rather dim Great White shark and his neighborhood. Both are really, really different. I also like Boondocks.

I think that these comics are breaking new ground, and that they are the new classics.

[Koffing]

My favorite comic strips are on the web. I've found them consistently funnier than anything that's in the papers nowadays. A sampling of what I read:
[list]
Sluggy Freelance (http://www.sluggy.com)
Goats (http://www.goats.com)
Sinfest (http://sinfest.net)
User Friendly (http://www.userfriendly.org/static)
It's Walky (http://www.itswalky.com)
Bruno the Bandit (http://www.brunothebandit.com)
Avalon High (http://www.avalonhigh.com)
The Parking Lot Is Full (http://www.plif.com)
You Damn Kid (http://www.youdamnkid.com)
Rudy Park (http://www.rudypark.com)

The best descriptions of each are on their respective home pages just a click away. There are a lot of hidden gems like these out there on the web.

[Clark K]

Sorry, Lynn, but I don't think much of Sherman's Lagoon or Get Fuzzy. Both strike me as a little obvious. Boondocks does have its moments, though.

I would put Doonesbury and Foxtrot in my "old reliables" category. Among newer strips, I like Zits, Rhymes with Orange and Mutts. Zits (about a teen-ager and his parents) is basic gag-writing with some real observations of human nature to add depth. Rhymes is more Gen X angst mixed with wry humor, mostly from a woman's perspective. And Mutts (about a cat and dog that pal around) has a sort of Zen-like simplicity that reminds me of Peanuts.

Speaking of which, it's nice to see the old Peanuts strips, from a period when Schultz was doing some of his best work.

[Show_Biz]

I like Zippy the Pinhead, among the current batch.

[ThisYearsGirl]

I like Rhymes with Orange, by Hillary Price (the youngest peson to have ever had a nationally syndicated comic strip) and the Big Picture. I love Frank and Ernest, too. I think it's the most consistently clever comic in the paper.

[samclem]

I only consistently read:

1. Dilbert
2. Doonsbury
3. Hagar
4. For Better or Worse
5. B.C.

I most lament the loss of "The Far Side"

But, alas, you can see that my favs/classics are tied to my age. And the fact that our local rag only carries a limitied number of comics.

[SkeptiJess]

Zits (about a teen-ager and his parents) is basic gag-writing with some real observations of human nature to add depth.

I disagree that Zits is a "basic gag" strip. It has a surrealistic touch that, IMHO, gives it a real Calvin and Hobbes-esque quality. It's one of my current favorites. I also love Mutts.

[Soupy]

Crabby Road hits 50% success rate with me, more than most new-to-me ones.

[Max Torque]

Gotta disagree about Frank and Ernest and Mutts. Neither strip has ever evoked the slightest snicker from me. Since people have mentioned Mutts before, I gotta ask: why? What's to like?

My current faves are Red Meat (http://www.redmeat.com) and Kevin and Kell (http://www.kevinandkell.com) (now going to 7 days a week, woohoo!). I also have a strange attraction to The Norm (http://www.thenorm.com).

[Kilgore Trout]

I most lament the loss of "The Far Side"

aye. i really can't think of a current cartoon that compares to the far side.

i hope they freeze gary larson's brain when he dies, and put it in a space capsule. that is a man that i would be proud to have represent our species.

[Biotop]

Though it is a weekly, "This Modern World" by Tom Tomorrow is currently the best comic going. My other favorite is Lynda Barry's "Ernie Pook's Comeek".

[Danielinthewolvesden]

I like Shermans lagoon, Piranha Club, Foxtrot & dilbert. I hate Boondocks, tho, that strip is just mean, not funny. I also hate the fact that the write said that everyone that does not like his strip is either stupid or a racist.

I used to like Overboard, but it is a rehash & often very mean.

[SterlingNorth]

For alternative paper strips, I like Tom the Dancing Bug and This Modern World. Non Sequitur has its moments (though I miss the odyssey of "Homer the Reluctant Soul." Wiley (http://www.wileytoons.com) was going to "web" it but last I heard he couldn't get enough subscriptions to justify doing it.)

I think Boondocks (http://www.boondocks.net) and Zits are pretty good strips. On their best days they have a C&H quality to it.

And Mutts is just cute. When The Boondocks has gotten under my skin, I could always read Mutts and soothe myself down.

[Homer]

Zippy is hilarious sometimes, but usually rates an "Okaaaay....." There's this one strip... I can't remember what it's called, it's a bout a raccoon and a turtle living in the suburbs. It's quite sublime at times... there's this strip, again, I don't know the name, it's a married couple with a daughter named Hillary... Baby Blues is funny sometimes, too.

--Tim

[SPOOFE]

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could EVER take the place of Calvin & Hobbes. Or The Far Side, for that matter. And Peanuts, of course, is untouchable.

But there's always a place in my heart for Non Sequitor. It uses the blatantly obvious in an inobvious manner... and the artwork is pretty good, too.

Citizen Dog is genius in its utter simplicity.

Foxtrot is very consistent in the surreal manner in which everything is portrayed.

I also enjoy Mallard Fillmore and For Better or For Worse.

Aw, heck, I enjoy most comic strips.

[Danielinthewolvesden]

How can you guys like "boondocks"? Yestre, when all the strips were doing their homage to "sparky" and Peanuts ( which I thought was a very nice gesture), he had a strip which implied 2 of Shultzes characters were lesbians. It is just plain mean. And his statement that if you don't like his strip, you're either a racist or stupid, is unbelievable.

Mallard is beneath contempt, even worse than Doonesbury, which has had funny moments, when he is not taking himself too seriously.

[SterlingNorth]

Danielinthewolvesden wants to know:
How can you guys like "boondocks"? Yestre, when all the strips were doing their homage to "sparky" and Peanuts ( which I thought was a very nice gesture), he had a strip which implied 2 of [Schulzes] characters were lesbians. It is just plain mean.

The Pepermint Patty/Marci (http://members.aol.com/TheGriffon/MISCE.html#MPEAN) relationship is a common joke. Have you heard Chris Rock's latest routine on HBO? A lot of people think that and he was riffing on that, not Charles. Anyway some people will pay tribute to you in a somber way, some in a glorifying way and some will give you a roast (think Friars Club). Aaron gave a roast. (I won't question whether you consider calling someone a lesbian is an insult; I'll grant you the "Not that there's anything wrong with it" save :) )

Anyway, I'm hoping you're not taking the strip at face value. Huey's viewpoint is not the author's.

And his statement that if you don't like his strip, you're either a racist or stupid, is unbelievable.
I never heard of him making that statement. Cite, please.

Mallard is beneath contempt, even worse than Doonesbury, which has had funny moments, when he is not taking himself too seriously.
I agree with 'ya there. I know there has to be someone with a conservative viewpoint who can be funny and draw. There has to be. Come on make a strip. Put Mallard out of its misery

[SterlingNorth]

Homer There's this one strip... I can't remember what it's called, it's a bout a raccoon and a turtle living in the suburbs. It's quite sublime at times... there's this strip, again, I don't know the name, it's a married couple with a daughter named Hillary...

I think you're talking about Over the Hedge and Sally Forth respectively.

I also like Piranha's Club BTW.

[cmkeller]

Let's see, some of my favorites (in no particular order) are:

Robotman
Foxtrot
Piranha Club
Over the Hedge
Doonesbury
Dilbert
For Better or For Worse
Baby Blues
Jump Start

I am boggled that Mutts actually got two mentions in this thread as a favorite. Half the time I can't imagine that anyone other than the author laughed at the day's strip. Of the other half, half of that are the serious preachy ones, like the "shelter stories," and the other half are okay, but annoying due to that stupid cat's shpeech (sic) impediment. I recommend putting Mutts to sleep.

[Lord Derfel]

Robotman and Dilbert are my two favourites, but Dilbert has started to go downhill. Occasionally Overboard is funny, but lately it's been the same gags over and over again. I also like Foxtrot and For Better or For Worse

No one has mentioned Rex Morgan, MD! ;)

[Geenius]

Favorite Daily Strip: Gotta be Robotman, especially the strips about Fleshy the hairless cat. Runner-ups: Zits is superb, the best new strip to come along in a long time. I really enjoyed Citizen Dog when I had access to it -- not groundbreaking, but reliably funny. And Foxtrot is a consistent winner. I enjoy Boondocks sometimes, but I wouldn't put it at either the top or the bottom of my list.

Favorite Weekly Strip (print): Ernie Pook, all the way.

Favorite Weekly Strip (Web): Story Minute (http://www.salon.com/archives/2000/comics_lay.html). Runner-up: Slow Wave (http://www.nondairy.com/slow/wave.cgi).

Favorite Sporadic Strip (Web): Pokey the Penguin (http://www.frontside.com/pokey).

[Jonathan Chance]

Some of this is gonna be a little home town-esque but bear with me.

The best new strip I've seen in years is a local one here in DC called "Liberty Meadows". It's about the adventures at a wildlife sanctuary in Greenbelt, MD, just outside of DC. Frank Cho, who does the strip is a DC boy AND a fanboy. I can identify with him. Occasionally he departs from the normal 'gag of the day' thing to do extended stories about alternate universes and evil twins etc. When one of the characters died their last words were, "I would have liked to have seen Montana." Either you get the ref or not. But it's all like that.

Mutts I have always thought well of. I admit it sells the animal rescue theme heavily but who ever said an artist couldn't sell his interests? I rescue Greyhounds (along with my wife) and I identify with the characters in Mutts strongly.

Boondocks I like (as well as Zits) but can easily them getting tired in the mode of Cathy and Momma and such in that the characters become so defined that they never grow or change.

I also like For Better or For Worse because of the actual lives the characters seem to be living. Approaching life with a quiet humor isn't the worst approach for maintaining your sanity.

[Garfield226]

OK. . .Sherman's Lagoon, Zits, and Garfield (obviously). But how about Rose is Rose??? I LOVE it.

[Arnold Winkelried]

My favorite strips to read:
Zits - the one that makes me laugh the most often, and the author knows how to draw.
Zits online (http://www.kingfeatures.com/comics/zits/index.htm)

Mutts - I can see why people wouldn't like it, it's "cutesy" and the gags aren't spectacular, but I love Patrick McDonnell's drawings. I think he's one of the best artists in the comics carried by the Los Angeles Times. You can see samples here:
Mutts online (http://www.kingfeatures.com/comics/mutts/index.htm)

For Better or For Worse - As stated above, the characters have full, interesting and real lives, and sometimes it's funny. Plus it's one of the rare comic strips set in Canada (though most of the time canada-specific issues aren't raised.)
For Better or For Worse online (http://www.fbofw.com/)

Some that have potential:

Boondocks - Funny, but too many pop culture references for my taste. The author's grudge against George Lucas has run its course.

Over the Hedge - same as Boondocks, too many pop culture references. Can't the animals do anything except eat twinkies and watch TV?

Rose is Rose - as in Mutts, I like the drawings, but the comic strip is much too sentimental for my taste.

[Ukulele Ike]

ROSE IS ROSE has, unless I'm mistaken, exactly three jokes. 1) The Guardian Angel gets big. 2) Rose and her husband dwindle down to child size. 3) The garlic breath comes out like little skulls.

FOUR jokes...Rose turns into a biker chick every time she listens to rock music or puts cayenne in the chili or snorts heroin.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE would be enjoyable if the family's lives were less tedious. Are Mike and Elizabeth BOTH virgins, at the (approximate) ages of 18 and 22? Can Dad lose his dental practice and degenerate into a spiral of alcoholism? Isn't it time to execute another dog? Why do they keep a rabbit as a pet? Is this not illegal in Canada?

I love the concept behind THE BOONDOCKS, but the cartoonist doesn't always follow through with the goods...the George Lucas stuff does stick out like a sore thumb from the rest of the story lines. The strips which focus on the cool (though child-abusive) grandfather and half-white, half-black Jazzmine are the best ones, I think, although Jazzmine's Buppie father can be funny ("Yeah, I played a little basketball at Harvard...").

If we're counting weekly comics from the alt-papers, I must again cite DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR as THE best continuity/humor strip of the past 20 years.

[Fanny May]

I'm actually fond of any older character, (except Mary Worth, of course). The wife in Pickles, the hag in Hagar, and even sour Crabby Road. Oh I wish Granny from Li'l Abner were back, someone with age and influence both.

Comics don't have enough older folks, I guess because starting cartoonists are all young when the cast gets fixed. (Why is that? Grandma Moses started late)

And oldsters like comics. We didn't have electricity, much less TV on the farms (remember farms? once 80% of Americans lived in farming towns.), so we grew up with them. And older people buy more newspapers per person, I'm sure. I get two, lots of kids just watch TV for news. Somebody is not on the ball here.

[capybara]

My mostest favoritist right now is the K Chronicles (found on Salon on line, among others: http://www.salon.com/comics/index.html). Needless to say the demise of Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes makes me sad. Foxtrot is consistently funny in a Calvin-lite sort of way, and For Better or Worse hasn't taken up the cloying and simplistic moralising of a lot of family-sit-com strips (I suppose it's a LESS moralising one. . .)
Has anyone ever seen Gahan Wilson's drawings? Sort of like the Far Side but far, far sicker and more clever (although die-hard Far Side fans often can't imagine such a thing).

[Danielinthewolvesden]

Sterling: "Boondocks" got a lot of flack from the readers of the San Jose Mercury News, when it 1st came out there. mail was & is running 10-1 against. The writer responded by saying something like "a lot of people are not intelligent to understand my deep sarcasm, and some don't like it because they don't like to see a black oriented comic strip". You can get & search the SJMN online if you want to find it. The "peppermint" thing would have been OK while Sparky was alive, but to do it as a "tribute" is simply sick. The main protagonists are all mean, and it is one of the few strips I would have to call blatantly racist. he had his characters say it's alright to deface things & steal-IF you are black. I suppose that was sarcasm.

[Wendell Wagner]

I wish so much that I liked _Liberty Meadows_. It's set somewhere within walking distance of my apartment (since they frequently mention both Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and Goddard Space Flight Center). Occasionally some of the stuff about Frank's mooning over Brandy is mildly funny, the way that Charlie Brown's agony about the little red-haired girl was thirty-five years ago. The stuff about the animals though is an absolute insult to the name of humor. Why am I supposed to laugh at animals who act like drunken frat boys? It's as unfunny as _Cathy_ is most days.

_The Boondocks_ is satirizing the attitudes of the two kids. The writer (Aaron McGruder) doesn't agree with them. But that's not what bothers me about the series. Within the first few weeks of the series, McGruder had already used up all the good jokes and is now just recycling them. Also, McGruder doesn't know diddly-squat about living in the ghetto. He spent his entire childhood in Columbia, Maryland. That may be why the two kids are so one-dimensional.

[Eposia]

I'll have to vote with Koffing on at least one of the online comic strips...my family has all been fans of User Friendly pretty much since it began. http://www.userfriendly.org

[samclem]

..then Baby Blues is actually quite good. I had forgotten to mention this strip in my post. The scenes in the strip are almost too real for words. If you have no kids(yet), buy yourself a book as you raise your brood. Scary.

Wendell since they frequently mention both Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

I worked at the Meat Lab for USDA/Beltsville, 1960's. Should I read the strip???

[soulsling]

Clark, i'm with you on Mutts. but i have to agree with Lynn on Shermans Lagoon. I find the zen of Mutts to be... well.... quite zen, and Shermans Lagoon is just a nice "normal" type of feel. Shoe seems to have the tao thing going for it. so my envelope contains the entries...
Mutts
Shermans Lagoon
Shoe

too bad we can never have Bloom County again though. I feel a part of my life is lost since the demise of the strip.

[Rilchiam]

The best new strip I've seen in years is a local one here in DC called "Liberty Meadows". It's about the adventures at a wildlife sanctuary in Greenbelt, MD, just outside of DC. Frank Cho, who does the strip is a DC boy AND a fanboy. I can identify with him. Occasionally he departs from the normal 'gag of the day' thing to do extended stories about alternate universes and evil twins etc. When one of the characters died their last words were, "I would have liked to have seen Montana." Either you get the ref or not. But it's all like that.

Just FTR, I didn't change my sig because of Liberty Meadows; I changed it because Mr. Rilch and I watched Hunt for Red October over the weekend. Odd coincidence.

[Eo Echo]

I've long been an old fashiond kinda guy about comic strips, which is to say I get mine from black and white-ink-on-your-fingers newspapers. I grew up with Peanuts (my alltime fave) and Beetle Bailey (always good but beginning to repeat gags). Nowadays, I think Boondocks is great, and the Peppermint Patty/Marcie reference made me laugh out loud.

[Cynical1]

Alas,
I was reared on Bloom County, Far Side, and Calvin and Hobbes. Nothing today can hold a candle to the "Big Three".
For runner's up:
Sherman's Lagoon - I see so much of myself in Sherman
Baby Blues - 7 different strips on the fridge at once. Still the record at our house
Zits - The recent strip where he outgrew the shoes while trying them on reminded me of that time in the shoe store...

Losers:
Boondocks - When did such hate become OK in the "Educational" section
Cathy - When is enough of the same joke going to be enough?
Six Chix - A Washington Post newcomer. They took Kudzu off for this? The comics should be funny.
All "Soap strips" - The comics should be funny.

[Avumede]

I read comics every once in a while - there is only one that makes me laugh out loud. True, I don't laugh at every strip, but when I do laugh at if, I laugh so hard I almost cry...

ANyway the strip is "Tom the Dancing Bug". I guess it's not really a strip - it's a fairly large rectangle-sized comic. Specifically, his "Super-Fun-Pak Comix" are incredible. The funniest thing I've ever seen there has got to be his "Dogma Comics" one. That kept me really amused for weeks. Read on http://www.salon.com

Red Meat is also good - and Life in Hell is occasionally great.

[Ukulele Ike]

I'm checking LIBERTY MEADOWS this week to see if Brandy appears in a bathing suit.

[Wendell Wagner]

samclem writes:

> I worked at the Meat Lab for USDA/Beltsville, 1960's.
> Should I read the strip???

It never actually says anything about Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. It's just an occasional appearance on a sweatshirt.

[D Marie]

I really like Lynda Barry and Ernie Pook's Comeek, even though our local weekly no longer carries it. I wrote Lynda a note a couple of years ago, and she wrote back and sent me some personalized book plates and an inscribed drawing. She rocks.

I also like The K Chronicles.

I agree with whomever said that Zits is like Calvin and Hobbes, which I loved. In fact, a lot of things about Zits remind me of Calvin, including the drawing style and the way things in the main character's imagination appear to be real.

No, I don't spend all my time reading the comics. Just time when I'm in class ;)

[PunditLisa]

"Baby Blues" and "Zits."

IIRC, both are authored by the same guy, but they use a different illustrator.

"Zits'" illustrator, Jim Borgman, is a Pulitzer prize cartoonist who resides here in good ole Cincinnati, Ohio. He still does political cartoons in the Cincinnati Enquirer several times a week.

I agree, though, that Calvin & Hobbes, the Far Side, and Bloom County were all great.

[PTVroman]

Comic strips. One of my secret pleasures.

Most of my favorites have been mentioned.... Liberty Meadows, Non-Sequitor (damn, I miss Homer), For better Or For Worse, Rose is Rose, Over the Hedge, Rhymes with Orange, Pirahna Club, Red Meat, Tom the Dancing Bug.

A couple that haven't...
Calahan - a panel drawn by a quadrapalegic. Used to appear in National Lampoon, along with Sam Gross and Gahan Wilson. Truely warped.

Committed - a panel with characters that resemble Bloom County's. Great views on parenting.

[Spoke]

The Norm Has some Calvin and Hobbes moments.
Mutts. I like the retro artwork. Sort of a cross between early Katzenjammer Kids and Krazy Kat. This is a strip which shows some appreciation for comic strip history. (And yeas, it does have a Zen quality.)
Dilbert. Fading somewhat, but still good.
Robotman. For a nice daily dose of the surreal.
Foxtrot. Beginning to repeat itself, but it still has its moments.


I am also a big fan of the strips that appear in alternative weeklies. Tom the Dancing Bug is the best of that bunch, as mentioned by a couple of other folks.

[sliv]

What, no one's mentioned "Bizzaro" yet? It, along with "Doonesbury", "Foxtrot", and "Dilbert" is one of the few daily comics I consider consistently funny enough to try to read every day.

[Jenbo]

My current faves include Robotman, Fox Trot, Rhymes with Orange, and Zits. Rose is Rose and dilbert are usually good...but I really miss the far side and C&H...

ps I do read the rest of the paper...sometimes

[DKW]

Rose is Rose is one of the "old school" comics, meaning that you're going to see a bunch of jokes used a lot. (It was none other than Charles Schultz himself who defined his job as having to do the same thing over and over and over without repeating himself.) It actually is a lot like Peanuts in that it's not always funny or the best thing out there, but it's dependable and it can brighten up your day, if only for a few minutes. The sentimentality doesn't bother me at all; I'm kinda relieved that someone hasn't totally given in to cynicism (cf. Get Fuzzy).

IMNSHO, This Modern World should be required reading for anyone who seriously wants to be truly informed on political issues. Week after week I'm amazed, if not outright flabbergasted, at the kind of perspectives Dan Perkins provides which no one else I've seen or heard does. (Check out his strips on the deaths of Mother Theresa and John F. Kennedy Jr. or any of his Bill Clinton pieces.) His intelligence and level of insight are all but unheard of these days and incredibly refreshing.

The Boondocks is simply a great strip. Aaron McGruder, much like Alison Bechdel, does a fine job of illustrating a segment of society and mindsets that mainstream America knows next to nothing about. I think much of the criticism stems from a basic misunderstanding, that he's expressing his actual viewpoints through the characters, or that his portrayals are "typical" of what people of that age, race, or whatever believe. I think the truth is much simpler: he's filled the strip with dynamic, highly unusual characters and allowed them to interact. There is a fair amount of editorializing, but it never gets too preachy, and much of it is right on target (why can't we learn about something other than George Washington Carver or the Underground Railroad during Black History Month?). If you've complained about how Cathy gets embroiled in incredibly petty issues, there's no way you can't love this.

Sherman's Lagoon reminds me a lot Garfield in the old days; a quirky cast and plenty of visual humor. What makes this work, I think, is the writing. Somehow I find it a helluva lot funnier than a lot of other strips that use the same basic format (including Garfield at present).

I didn't quite get Liberty Meadows at first (see, Dean is literally a pig, not a guy who looks like a pig), but Frank Cho is a wonderful writer...you can see the attention that goes into every panel...as well as one of the best comic artists around. His work is so professional, in fact, that the compilations are sold as comic books...right beside the mainstream and "alternate" graphic novels. One of the things I like the most about LM (much like The Boondocks...and Dykes To Watch Out For, for that matter) is that it's not afraid to push the envelope and dip into "politically incorrect" humor. Great stuff.

And of course, Dykes To Watch Out For. Saw the compilations at Borders a few years back and was instantly hooked. There's nothing I can say that countless lesbians already have. If you, like me, are not a lesbian, nearly everything here is going to be an eye-opener.

As for some not-so-great ones: The problem with Mallard Fillmore is that it doesn't try hard enough. Jokes about how Al Gore thinks he's invented anything or Bill Clinton's womanizing get really, really old really, really fast. Some hard-line conservatives might like it, but after experiencing This Modern World, there's no way in hell I could follow something this banal. Cathy has some great jokes, but, as has been mentioned often, gets bogged down in the same tired, unfunny jokes ad nauseum. If she did nothing other than act her normal age (51?), the strip would get back on track. I don't really understand the appeal of Get Fuzzy; it strikes me as a repackaging of Garfield with few laughs. Zits, well, I think it's good but not great. Maybe because I never identified with high schoolers even when I was one. One man's meat, as they say...

[Legomancer]

The only ones I read regularly are This Modern World, Tom the Dancing Bug, Pathetic Geek Stories, and Pokey the Penguin. The daily stuff I just can't keep up with, but if I could I'd probably follow Foxtrot.

I am so glad no one mentioned Red Meat. At the forum from which I am now a refugee that is seen as the pinnacle of comic strip hilarity, and anyone who opines otherwise clearly doesn't like it because they are stupid or are offended by it. Sadly, I'm not offended by it, I just don't go for comics that seek to shock and yet use the same two shock endings over and over again. I don't find it shocking or funny.

[Daowajan]

I've pretty much given up on everything in the newspaper. The Boondocks makes me laugh occasionally. And sometimes Zits isn't a hugely embarrassing hole in the newspaper, but most of the time it makes me think that the cartoonist just went to a bus stop around 3 in the afternoon, made some sketches of some teenagers and based a comic off that.

And to the people who are calling Boondocks racist and hateful, it's been said a few times already but most of you aren't getting it. The Boondocks is supposed to be a joke. I don't particularly care if you think it's funny or not. The kids are caricatures and their views are not supposed to be taken seriously. McGruder even makes fun of them about half the time. I don't have time to dig it up now, but there's a Boondocks strip of Huey packing his backpack with a bunch of "How to tell if Your School is Brainwashing you with Eurocentrism" guides, leaving his World HIstory textbook on the kitchen table, and then saying "Nah, I couldn't have forgotten anything important (THIS IS THE JOKE.)" The entire archive is full of moments like that.

Enough of that for now. I recently bought a book collection of Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist and am wearing it out. I love it. Although it appears to generate the same kind of controversy The Boondocks does. See the above paragraph.

[Purd Werfect]

In the daily paper I like Rhymes With Orange, Foxtrot, Sherman's Lagoon, and Dilbert. The weekly strips I like are Life In Hell and This Modern World.


I've no idea why you're a refugee from the other forum Legomancer, but I always enjoyed your posts there, and it's nice to see you on this forum.

[capacitor]

My favorite strips are:

The Boondocks: "I get tired from whipping slaves all day. Where is my lemonade?"--Huey as the real Rhett Butler

Rose is Rose: The best series about Walter-Mitty like existence since Calvin and Hobbes. The best part is that, unlike the others, all of the main characters indulge in fantasy.

Foxtrot--You really hate pop-ups? So does the writer (http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/viewft.cfm?uc_full_date=20010731&uc_comic=ft&uc_daction=X)

Mutts--yeah, I mentioned it too. So what are you going to do about it? May everyday be a Monday to you.

[jayjay]

Time to pimp my favorite obsession:

Boy Meets Boy (http://boymeetsboy.keenspace.com)

A gay couple, a punker, a skater, and the daughter of Satan...what more can you possibly ask for?

Not to mention that the online community that's sprung up around this comic is beyond shibby...

jayjay (unofficial BmB pimp-o-matic)

[pesch]

[homer voice]
mmmmm . . . comics
[/homer voice]

Liberty Meadows Frank Cho draws the best-looking women in comics, hands down. They even have personalities. Some of the jokes are pretty funny, too.

For Better or For Worse is still a pretty good comic, and it's one of the few in which the characters age and go through some changes. I do regret that she doesn't push the envelope a little more closer to real life. Why shouldn't Michael get blitzed, or even blow a deadline for a writing project? Or Elizabeth shack up with her boyfriend? As it stands now, they're all so perfect that the strip's getting bland.

I vote for Zits and Fox Trot as well. They both read like they were drawn in this year, unlike some of the older warhorses.

Mallard Fillmore has always failed to realize that stereotypical political humor is not funny. It's not funny or original to show Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton in a car drinking and looking for broads. It's not funny to always attack liberals and anyone who doesn't share your blinkered viewpoints. Trudeau may or may not be a liberal, but "Doonesbury" goes after whoever is in office, and in an original way. That's funny.

This Modern World is fantastic and deserves to be in the newspaper. I'll also back Boondocks, if only to fulfill Matt Howarth's1 dictum to "support something you don't understand." At least the strip is interesting enough to raise a fuss over, and in this media-saturated climate, that's not a bad thing.

1Matt Howarth is a Philadelphia-based cartoonist who self-publishes books, usually about the Post Brothers. Very edgy cartoonist in very bad, very funny taste.

B.C. on the other hand, is depressingly cranky, either about religion or politics (in the same vein as Mallard Fillmore). Joking about politics requires some admission that a lot of what goes on today is absurd and needs to be poked at with a sharp stick in that spirit. B.C. comes off as an old ill-informed crank who thinks he's discovered the One Truth.

Mary Worth and Rex Morgan I'm reading just because I can't believe they're so badly drawn. The Worth artist doesn't know how to draw women's hair, so they're all wearing page-boy cuts that mold to the skull. Morgan's artist has terrible problems with perspective.

Funky Winkerbean was recently reintroduced to our newspaper. I remember it from the '70s, so it's interesting to see it's still cooking. The recent thread with the French woman left me up in the air, however. The strip went through all this mystery about who he was going to date, then pulled out a character I had never seen before. (Obviously, since I haven't been reading it for years).

Jump Start is pretty good, too. I like the interracial by-play, and the kids are cute as well.

Dilbert is good at times. The best panel recently was the one that -- after a series of shit hits Dilbert, says to Ratbert: "Lately, the only thing keeping me from being a serial killer is my distaste for manual labor."


Comics Worth Killing
Real Life Adventures is a retread from older strips like "They'll Do It Every Time," only not as funny. Badly drawn: all the mouths look like small beaks.

Cathy Don't even read. Might as well recycle the strips.

Mark Trail Best argument for global warming and the destruction of the environment.

Steve Roper and Mike Nomad For currently being drawn with felt-tip on paper towels.

Fusco Brothers Rips off B.Kliban's art style, attempts to be hip and fails.

[screech-owl]

"Heart of the City" - reminds me of me when I was a kid - enthusiastic, artistic, interested in everything, and a little pain in the butt as well.
Except I didn't grow up in Philadelphia.

[saepiroth]

i am astonished- this thread is on it's second page, and but four of my favorites have been mentioned at all!

my favorites are in this order;

http://www.nuklearpower.com/comic/ .
read it. learn it. love it.


http://www.dragontails.com
baby dragons. good stories. daily. read the archives. if you aren't hooked by the end of the time travel saga (which was planed a year ahead; you could see the dragons in the background if you look at the comic dates they land in to regroup! w00t!) you will never like it.

http://www.exploitationnow.com .
it may be just a (supposedly) T&A cartoon, but there are some discussions on those messageboards that would seem highbrow HERE.

http://www.Poisonedminds.com .
i cant describe it; just read it.

http://www.theclassm.com .
a good college Furry comic.

http://www.pvponline.com .
It's PVP!

and finally the nononline comics;

the K chronicles.

Dykes to Watch out For.

Dilbert

Foxtrot.

[JonScribe]

I'll add my vote for Mutts, already mentioned above. It's artwork is way above par and pays tribute to some of the more classic strips from decades ago. And while it's apolitical, the humor is dry and enjoyable. (Jesus, sounds like I'm judging a white wine.)

[Max Torque]

Huh, two strips I like haven't been mentioned yet....

Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet (http://www.comicspage.com/helen/index.html) - a comic strip about a woman in the computer business who's pretty much perfect in every way. She's so cruel, I love her.

Chopping Block (http://www.choppingblock.org/) - it had to happen eventually, so here it is: a comic strip about a serial killer, complete with hockey mask. It's morbid, it's disgusting, it's hilarious. Thanks to andygirl for telling me about it.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Originally posted by pesch
[homer voice]
mmmmm . . . comics
[/homer voice]

Liberty Meadows Frank Cho draws the best-looking women in comics, hands down. They even have personalities. Some of the jokes are pretty funny, too.

Agreed. Wish I could draw like that.

For Better or For Worse is still a pretty good comic, and it's one of the few in which the characters age and go through some changes. I do regret that she doesn't push the envelope a little more closer to real life. Why shouldn't Michael get blitzed, or even blow a deadline for a writing project? Or Elizabeth shack up with her boyfriend? As it stands now, they're all so perfect that the strip's getting bland.

She did. And Michael's work is getting in the way of his marraige.