# Best/Worst comic strips. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2017, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273 "2017-05-10T12:07:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/21 "2017-05-10T18:30:48Z")
As for reruns, I’ve read enough of Peanuts to last me a lifetime. Also For Better or Worse and the daily Doonesbury. Enough, already. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/22 "2017-05-10T18:57:41Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > So when I see **The Fusco Brothers** , it reminds me of being on vacation in Maine. And gives me an inexplicable yearning for steamed clams. See your Physician, or Minister. I vote Pearls Before Swine for best, Mary Worth for the worth. Worst. Brewester Rockit is… My spleen! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/23 "2017-05-10T18:59:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Favorite currently running strip that nobody has mentioned yet: Get Fuzzy. Worst? Family Circus. To each their own, but to me Get Fuzzy is the worst for one simple reason - the font! It’s almost like Comic Sans. I’m getting too old to squint. And lots of times it’s just silly misunderstanding of English phrases. Two I like that haven’t been mentioned are The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee, and Heart of the City. The local Sunday paper has these at the bottom of page 7 (the last inside page), so I read page 8 first and save these two for the very last. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/24 "2017-05-10T19:23:35Z")
My new favorite is one called Bad Machinery (on [GoComics.com](http://GoComics.com)). It’s a British strip set in a middle school. Funny but very warm and human. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/25 "2017-05-10T20:04:44Z")
Celtic Knot: > [@](#): > > Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, about a family consisting of a teenage boy and his parents, who are often confounded by each other. Nitpick - the family also includes a seldom-seen older brother (away at college, I think?) - he’s not much of a factor in the strip, but it would be inaccurate to say the _family_ consists of only the teenager and his parents. I read a lot of comics, but I’d say the ones I like best at the moment are Monty, Frazz, and Pearls Before Swine. Worst? I nominate Mutts. I hate the cat’s stupid speech impediment. I hate the fact that the author thinks it’s entertaining to have a full week of strips of just the cat singing about its little pink sock, and I hate the sappy “shelter stories weeks” that are basically repetitive advertisements for adopting shelter animals as pets (to be fair, these might have changed; I don’t read it anymore since I don’t like it). Honorable mention for worst is Pibgorn, not because the content is bad, but because its author seems to take weeks-long vacations in the middle of storylines, and offers no word to the reading audience (at least not that I can see on [GoComics.com](http://GoComics.com) - maybe there’s a better venue for reading it) as to when the next installment can be expected. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/26 "2017-05-10T20:22:53Z")
Right now? Dick Tracy-Lots of crossovers(Annie, The Spirit, Terry and the Pirates and so many others), and interesting plotlines(current one taking place at a cosplay convention, with non-mocking mentions of furries). The Phantom-Nice continuity, very interesting villains, and a very real chance that in the near future one of his children is going to become the next Phantom, which would be the first passing of the torch since the strip began. Safe Havens-Watching those kids grow up in real time has been a blast. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/27 "2017-05-10T20:52:10Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Honorable mention for worst is Pibgorn, not because the content is bad, but because its author seems to take weeks-long vacations in the middle of storylines Heck, until just now I thought the strip ended years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/28 "2017-05-10T21:04:04Z")
The one that whose continued existence baffles me is _The Lockhorns_. Incredibly old fashioned stereotypes and the same few recycled bits. It was out-of-date even when it started in 1968. It makes _Garfield_ look like high art. (Even more baffling- according to Wikipedia it won two [awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lockhorns#Awards) back when.) ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/29 "2017-05-10T21:57:22Z")
Grand Avenue gradually became my most disliked. I haven’t checked on it lately; looks like someone else writes it now. It debuted around the time of Get Fuzzy and was receiving some similar hype beforehand for being relatively edgy. There’s a lot of going for sardonic wit and sarcasm (often out of the mouth of the lippy girl character who’s like 8 or 9) without any insightful intelligence on the part of the creator behind it beyond mining the obvious. Boring, depressing, and joyless. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/30 "2017-05-10T22:11:33Z")
If anyone reading this thread is unaware of the Comics Curmudgeon blog of Josh Fruhlinger (AKA “Josh Reads the Funnies So You Don’t Have To”), you owe it to yourselves to have a look. One of the brightest parts of my Internet day. Warning: I started reading this years ago by only checking out Josh’s daily commentary. But the commenters are so damn amusing I now regularly plow through the 150-200 posts whenever I can make the time. [https://joshreads.com/](https://joshreads.com/) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/31 "2017-05-10T23:59:24Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I stepped away from Get Fuzzy when it went on reruns, which seems to be a common thing these days. I stopped reading when I got a bit tired of the delivery of the jokes-the artist in question simply does not have a good sense of comic timing. A simple example-knowing when to leave a panel empty of any text (Bill Watterson did this very expertly). Conley simply cannot resist the temptation to fill every panel with text, often too much of it. The jokes need to _breathe_. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/32 "2017-05-11T00:18:45Z")
Pogo Dick Tracey ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/33 "2017-05-11T00:28:30Z")
Best ever: Far Side. I do like Brewster Rocket but no local papers carry it anymore. Worst: Mallard Fillmore (Do even conservatives think it’s funny?) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/34 "2017-05-11T00:34:50Z")
Best ever, by far: _Calvin & Hobbes_. Worst: going way back, I’d nominate _Henry_. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/35 "2017-05-11T00:38:53Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > \*\*…(you know who else could do this? Alison Bechdel, with her late, lamented **Dykes to Watch Out For**. Which doesn’t count because it didn’t run in the squares’ newspapers.) Amen. DTWOF was terrific, and very well drawn. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/36 "2017-05-11T01:19:06Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Amen. DTWOF was terrific… “There is _entirely_ too much relish at this picnic.” ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/37 "2017-05-11T01:35:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Favorite currently running strip that nobody has mentioned yet: Get Fuzzy. Worst? Family Circus. \*\*Get Fuzzy \*\*is only new on weekends. Since Oct. 2013 the daily strips have been reruns. I like it, but I can see why newspapers are dropping it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/38 "2017-05-11T01:56:00Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > \*\*Get Fuzzy \*\*is only new on weekends. Since Oct. 2013 the daily strips have been reruns. I never noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/39 "2017-05-11T01:59:36Z")
There’s a new one out - “Cat Breaking News”. Horrible. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273/40 "2017-05-11T02:00:20Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Worst: going way back, I’d nominate _Henry_. Oh, shame, you Treacherous Cretin! Shame! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-comic-strips/786273.md?page=3)