# Famous comic strips (singles, not properties) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [November 2, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223 "2022-11-02T13:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/41 "2022-11-03T02:43:44Z")
[![](https://geekwisdom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/happiness-is-a-warm-puppy.jpg) ](https://geekwisdom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/happiness-is-a-warm-puppy.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/42 "2022-11-03T03:15:51Z")
Wow! Coincidentally, I updated that Wiki page just a couple days ago with this new section. > In its 6 August 2015 issue, The New Yorker published a cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez that called back to the 87-year-old cartoon. A young girl and her mother are in a therapist’s office, with the caption, “You said, and I quote, ‘I say it’s spinach and I say the hell with it.’ Why don’t we start there?” I can’t embed the image here, but you can see it [here](https://www.allposters.com/-sp/You-said-and-I-quote-I-say-it-s-spinach-and-I-say-the-hell-with-it-Cartoon-Posters_i13720363_.htm). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/43 "2022-11-03T03:46:49Z")
I wouldn’t call it famous, but this 1937 Paul Crum cartoon from Punch provided the name of a [Doctor And The Medics album](https://www.amazon.com/I-Keep-Thinking-Its-Tuesday/dp/B0001PNH36) and was the inspiration for the name of [Mike Nesmith’s autobiography](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-nesmith/infinite-tuesday/) . [![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DYBXZVuY9-o/WQv7IcS7L0I/AAAAAAAADA4/58Ob9KqmjP4aoGD3Q4FCWdH2I8iUbBFugCLcB/s1600/Crum-1937_zpspfmysyjh.jpg) ](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DYBXZVuY9-o/WQv7IcS7L0I/AAAAAAAADA4/58Ob9KqmjP4aoGD3Q4FCWdH2I8iUbBFugCLcB/s1600/Crum-1937_zpspfmysyjh.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/44 "2022-11-03T04:57:05Z")
I remember reading that when it released. I certainly didn’t think it fit in with the rest of the comic but I did feel the author took more than his fair share of heat for it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/45 "2022-11-03T05:56:17Z")
“[On Fire](https://gunshowcomic.com/648),” from KC Green’s _Gunshow_, features an orange dog with a hat sitting at a dinner table and drinking coffee. One to watch that might not quite be there yet: I’ve seen [this one](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/aaaah) from Zach Weinersmith’s _Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal_ a few times semi-recently on Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/46 "2022-11-03T13:17:23Z")
“The Curate’s Egg” (actual title: "True Humility’) is often referred to, especially in the UK. It is brought up in reviews of works that have both good and bad parts. [![](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f8f80fb00605736ad802b6861f60140e-lq) ](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f8f80fb00605736ad802b6861f60140e-lq) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/47 "2022-11-03T13:56:49Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > What about “Loss”? > > I Ii > || |\_ Yes, this one. > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Another good one is the [Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Arcade#%22Greater_Internet_Fuckwad_Theory%22) That and dickwolves. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/48 "2022-11-03T13:57:37Z")
Not a single strip because it’s the recurrence that makes it work, but Lucy, Charlie Brown and the football get referenced a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/49 "2022-11-03T14:46:05Z")
_Fearless Fosdick_ was _Li’l Abner_’s comic-within-a-comic by Al Capp. It’s a Dick Tracy parody that’s not so relevant today, but it did have enough of a cultural impact to get its own TV show and influence the creation of _MAD_ magazine. While there’s no single strip that became iconic, the name “Fearless Fosdick” was recognizable as an over-the-top alpha male who blew everything to smithereens, regardless of the consequences. > **[Fearless Fosdick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Fosdick)** > > Fearless Fosdick is a long-running parody of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy. It appeared intermittently as a strip-within-a-strip, in Al Capp's satirical hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner (1934–1977). > Fearless Fosdick made his debut in an August 1942 Li'l Abner Sunday sequence, as the unflappable comic book idol of Abner (and of every other "100% red-blooded American boy!") and an object of undying hero worship. Hayseed Abner mindlessly aped his role model—even going so far as submitting to marriage... ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/50 "2022-11-03T14:58:01Z")
Another classic xkcd: [![](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cells_2x.png) ](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cells_2x.png) And this: [![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ISf9UtYcMg/TwhNs07drHI/AAAAAAAACEI/VOzBjAJbyK4/s1600/Addams+sad+movie.jpg) ](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ISf9UtYcMg/TwhNs07drHI/AAAAAAAACEI/VOzBjAJbyK4/s1600/Addams+sad+movie.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/51 "2022-11-04T02:54:54Z")
Some historical ones have to be contenders: About the Versailles treaty: [![](https://ashweetha.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/capture.jpg) ](https://ashweetha.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/capture.jpg) The iron curtain: [![](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g02000/3g02000/3g02095_150px.jpg) ](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g02000/3g02000/3g02095_150px.jpg) Napoleonic wars: [![](https://the-comics-journal.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/N-1A.jpg) ](https://the-comics-journal.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/N-1A.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/52 "2022-11-04T11:38:21Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > What about “Loss”? > > I Ii > || |\_ I’m missing something here. What does this mean? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/53 "2022-11-04T11:39:25Z")
Thank you—I too am stumped. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/54 "2022-11-04T11:45:11Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I’m missing something here. What does this mean? [Loss Meme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_(comic)) I nominate: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5-lDJWCUAAwfya.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5-lDJWCUAAwfya.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/55 "2022-11-04T11:57:14Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Some historical ones have to be contenders: Another famous historical one: Dropping the Pilot: > **[Dropping the Pilot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropping_the_Pilot)** > > Dropping the Pilot is a political cartoon by Sir John Tenniel, first published in the British magazine Punch on 29 March 1890. It depicts Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as a maritime pilot who is stepping off a ship, perhaps a reference to Plato's ship of state, idly and unconcernedly watched by a young Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Bismarck had resigned as Chancellor at Wilhelm's demand just ten days earlier on 19 March because of political differences. > After the cartoon's publication, Tenniel re... ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/56 "2022-11-04T14:22:26Z")
How about Thomas Nast? Santa Claus [![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_3mqUUDvqw/TvH4fxsYsgI/AAAAAAAAAw0/sIC0JzVz-0c/s1600/merry+old+santa+claus+by+thomas+nast.jpg) ](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_3mqUUDvqw/TvH4fxsYsgI/AAAAAAAAAw0/sIC0JzVz-0c/s1600/merry+old+santa+claus+by+thomas+nast.jpg) Republican Elephant [![](https://www.nrm.org/wp2016/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Thomas-Nast-Harpers-Elephant-lg.jpg) ](https://www.nrm.org/wp2016/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Thomas-Nast-Harpers-Elephant-lg.jpg) Democrat Donkey [![](https://i1.wp.com/www.dailycartoonist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot_2020-01-15-demdonk1856-webp-JPEG-Image-635-%C3%97-1024-pixels-Scaled-76.png) ](https://i1.wp.com/www.dailycartoonist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot_2020-01-15-demdonk1856-webp-JPEG-Image-635-%C3%97-1024-pixels-Scaled-76.png) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/57 "2022-11-04T14:52:21Z")
Oh and the cartoon that gave us the word Gerrymandering: [![](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-ET2014-00754&max=1000) ](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-ET2014-00754&max=1000) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/58 "2022-11-04T15:17:59Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Oh and the cartoon that gave us the word Gerrymandering: How many people have just added “iniquitous” to their vocabulary? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/59 "2022-11-04T15:25:49Z")
Bull Moose Party [![](https://elections.harpweek.com/1912/cartoons/0720120007d5w.jpg) ](https://elections.harpweek.com/1912/cartoons/0720120007d5w.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223/60 "2022-11-04T17:09:39Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I’m missing something here. What does this mean? Years back, goofy video game comic _Ctrl-Alt-Del_ tried to do a serious comic about having a miscarriage. It was not well received, and has since become a synonym for light entertainment trying to address a serious topic and failing badly. [Wikipedia has a more detailed summary.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_(comic)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-comic-strips-singles-not-properties/974223.md?page=4)