# Doonesbury is SO FUNNY!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 3, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386 "2003-09-03T19:57:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/61 "2003-09-05T21:30:41Z")
But who could forget that classic Mary Worth strip where she advises a friend to commit suicide? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/62 "2003-09-05T21:35:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avumede \* > \*\*But who could forget that classic Mary Worth strip where she advises a friend to commit suicide? \*\* I was trying to … ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/63 "2003-09-05T21:53:26Z")
I don’t know how widely syndicated it is, but doesn’t everyone love how original “Zits” is? Parents and teenagers don’t understand each other! Teenagers are awkward! They eat a lot! They behave differently! Har har. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/64 "2003-09-05T22:16:55Z")
Now I feel stupid. I have no clue how to solve the safe. I’m hoping there’s a shovel in there, because I’m missing that too. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/65 "2003-09-05T22:18:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*I don’t know how widely syndicated it is, but doesn’t everyone love how original “Zits” is? Parents and teenagers don’t understand each other! Teenagers are awkward! They eat a lot! They behave differently! Har har. \*\* Spoken like someone who has no teenagers in the house, methinks. It’s much more true to life than the others. ---
**Author:** ![Greyson3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/258eb7/32.png) [@Greyson3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greyson3)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/66 "2003-09-05T23:01:30Z")
all you need to know about online comics: [achewood](http://www.achewood.com) [jerkcity](http://www.jerkcity.com) [leisure town](http://www.leisuretown.com) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/67 "2003-09-06T00:16:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LilyoftheValley \* > \*\*Now I feel stupid. > > I have no clue how to solve the safe. I’m hoping there’s a shovel in there, because I’m missing that too. \*\* Click the tombstone in the window to get the combination. I forget where the shovel is, but it’s not in the safe ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/68 "2003-09-06T00:26:49Z")
_Family Circus_ is good, if only for providing us with the DFC. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/69 "2003-09-06T01:30:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Greyson3 \* > \*\*all you need to know about online comics: > > [achewood](http://www.achewood.com) > > [jerkcity](http://www.jerkcity.com) > > [leisure town](http://www.leisuretown.com) \*\* I know it isn’t funny if it has to be explained, but…somebody please tell me why any of these three are anything close to amusing, Maybe that’s the point. Incidently, if you have raised teenagers, if you were a teenager a loooong time ago, _Zits_ is very funny–maybe not in the _Calvin and Hobbes_ class, but funny. When you grow up, **Dignan** you will understand. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/70 "2003-09-06T02:30:30Z")
Actually, there was a great thread on bad comics a while back, but it may have been lost. (It’s the one in which I proposed _Mr. Grundy_, a comic designed to be the worst strip possible, even in theory.) My wife and I recently played “bad comics roulette” on the uComics website. We would take turns clicking on links for comics we’d never heard of, trying to see who would get the worst. I must admit, while _Family Circus_ et al. are bad, some of the new crop really, really reek. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/71 "2003-09-06T02:39:14Z")
You know what we need? A program like “deconstructor” that will translate any text into Krazy Kat-speak. ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/72 "2003-09-06T12:14:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*Bastard. I played the entire game. 😃 > > Funny they should include Lyman (and I, for one, remember him - Odie’s original owner and Jon’s roommate, and they never explained where he went) and not Odie. > > Now, does anyone remember Nermal, the world’s cutest kitten? Or the vet that Jon wanted to date? Or the cranky old man next door? 🙂 > > Esprix \*\* Yes, I do… ---
**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:** [September 6, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/73 "2003-09-06T14:40:16Z")
Geting back to _Doonesbury_… Someone wrote a pretty good essay about _Peanuts_ when Schulz died, making the point that the strip started its decline in the late '60s when Snoopy became the focus of attention, instead of the kids. By the early to mid '70s, entire Sunday strips would be made up of Snoopy dancing. By the late '70s, we were treated to endless crap about Snoopy dressed up as a lawyer, as “Joe Cool,” etc., and Snoopy’s horrible relatives. I think of Zonker as _Doonesbury_’s Snoopy. He’s NEVER been funny, ever since he was the stoned guy on the Walden football team. The stuff about Zonker snorkeling in Walden Puddle, Zonker’s tanning regimen, Zonker becoming an English lord, Zonker as babysitter/slacker, have been some of the lowest points in the strip’s history. Well, there WAS that one funny Sunday strip where he made spring come early…“Later. I don’t want to wear out the batteries.” ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/74 "2003-09-06T18:31:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LilyoftheValley \* > \*\*Oh, on a non-hijack topic…Garfield has not been funny since I was in second grade. I will write a week of Garfield right now: > > 1. Spider comes to chat, cat kills spider with rolled up newspaper. > 2. Mouse walks by with party gear, cat doesn’t kill mouse. > 3. Cat steps on scale and is insulted for being fat. > 4. Jon is a dork and can’t get a date, even though he calls every woman in the phone book. > 5. Odie is stupid, and falls off the edge of a table. > > See, I can be a cartoonist too! \*\* DARN YOU! You just ruined a whole week of Garfield for me! Next time use a spoiler box! Jeez! ---
**Author:** ![Ironikinit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ironikinit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ironikinit)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/75 "2003-09-06T19:03:34Z")
I wasn’t impressed with Jerk City or Achewood, but I like Liesure Town a lot. I showed it to one online friend who reported back that he’d had a dream he was a sociopathic bendy figure. I like Red Meat. [www.redmeat.com](http://www.redmeat.com) Not that I think Red Meat or Liesure Town would do very well on the funnies page. Eh, Doonesbury. Probably the most interesting thing about that strip is when some papers moved it to the editorial page. I’ve seen funnier political comics. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/76 "2003-09-07T18:26:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Spoken like someone who has no teenagers in the house, methinks. It’s much more true to life than the others. \*\* Nah, spoken as someone not too far removed from his teenage years and sick of the ridiculous cliches constantly used only to have my mom laugh at them because she thought they were true. It premiered when I was in high school and I have always detested the stupid POS. ---
**Author:** ![Hauky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@Hauky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hauky)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/77 "2003-09-07T18:32:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*Nah, spoken as someone not too far removed from his teenage years and sick of the ridiculous cliches constantly used only to have my mom laugh at them because she thought they were true. It premiered when I was in high school and I have always detested the stupid POS. \*\* Speaking as someone who’s in his final teenage year, it’s pretty good. Yeah, there are some stupid cliches and teenager stereotypes, but there’s also a lot of true stuff. I always thought I was the only kid who jumped down half-flights of stairs until they did a strip about it. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/78 "2003-09-07T18:32:39Z")
So, like I said… spoken as someone with no teenagers in the house. Also, cliches’ are always true. Perhaps you meant misconceptions? In either event, perhaps what happens in that strip doesn’t happen to you personally. That doesn’t mean it’s not truthful. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/79 "2003-09-07T18:39:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*So, like I said… spoken as someone with no teenagers in the house. > Also, cliches’ are always true. Perhaps you meant misconceptions? > In either event, perhaps what happens in that strip doesn’t happen to you personally. That doesn’t mean it’s not truthful. \*\* But, **Dan** , honey, you _know_ people between the ages of 13 & 20 know _everything_. All those strips can’t possibly be realistic! I mean, what do _we_ know?? We’re just their parents. It’s not like we’ve ever been through it. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386/80 "2003-09-07T18:52:08Z")
All I know - no, really, this is all - is that Jeremy is my brother and me before him. I took the stairs several steps at a time when going downstairs. And he’s been known to play GameBoy in the back of the van for hours while we passed Neat Things. Oblivious Boy, we called him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doonesbury-is-so-funny/199386.md?page=5)