# Help me pick out comic strips to follow

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** comic-strips\
**Created:** [January 17, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737 "2021-01-17T16:16:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/1 "2021-01-17T16:16:35Z")

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I had great luck with my thread about hard SF recommendations, so I’m back for more recommendations. Full disclosure – I’m pretty busy today, so I may not be able to respond.

Every morning, I read the funnies. Are they in the newspaper? Of course not! They’re from this page:

[https://www.gocomics.com/comics/a-to-z](https://www.gocomics.com/comics/a-to-z)

I’m looking for suggestions about what to read. I’m looking for funny or weird, or funny and weird. Here’s what’s on my daily list:

Calvin & Hobbes, Cathy, Cheer Up Emo Kid, Close to Home, Dilbert Classics, Doonesbury, The Far Side, Foxtrot (new and classic), Frazz, Frank & Ernest, Herman, Lio, Non Sequitur, Peanuts, Peanuts Begins, and Perry Bible Fellowship.

Many (most?) of those are out of production – there must be new ones that are as good as C&H or as weird as Perry Bible Fellowship. Cheer Up Emo Kid is pretty good, and Lio is excellent, from the new ones. I don’t like Dinosaur Comics – I’ve really tried, and I just can’t get into it. I’m pretty tired of Berkeley Breathed’s stuff.

Anyway, hopefully that gives an idea of what I like. Any suggestions from that page? I’ll also take suggestions for other comics that had an RSS feed (I get new Dilbert, SMBC and XKCD that way).

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**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/2 "2021-01-17T18:37:34Z")

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On gocomics, absolute musts:  
Cul de Sac - wry, charming little kids trying to make sense of the world.  
The Dinette Set - an acquired taste, dull complacent mid-westerners living in a bubble of their very own, selfish, clueless, often clever.  
For Better or For Worse - long running family strip with plenty of fans, still!  
Get Fuzzy - often clever, cruel, erudite, droll strip about a man with his dopey sweet dog and evil scheming cat.  
Jump Start - good strip about a large family, working as cops, nurses, football players, quite addictive.  
Luann - about college students and their families and lives - this strip has a HUGE following, comments get very heated.  
Pearls Before Swine - a very clever strip of talking animals, often political, often just leading to a convoluted pun, observations about modern life and problems. Also a huge following.  
Wallace the Brave - another clever, droll strip about small kids living in a seaside town, imaginative and addictive.  
For some real fun, seek out ‘Mary Worth’ elsewhere - another strip with a huge heated following. The strip is verrrrrrry slowwwwww and often lame, but the comments on the action (or lack of) are hilarious!

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**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/3 "2021-01-17T18:47:34Z")

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You are always welcome to [my](https://schumanchu.eu/index.php) page, should you like it. I don’t post every day, though, not even every week.  
Just a question: why do you show a bar of chocolate obviously not Ritter Sport on you avatar?  
And now let’s go to GoComics. The internet is really big and full of stuff.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/4 "2021-01-17T19:00:38Z")

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A quick look at my list of comics to read daily include:

Order of the Stick - Updates on a weird schedule - D&D joke a day that turned into an epic tale of heroism and redemption. And cats.  
Full Frontal Nerdity - Gamers getting their game on  
Pixie Trix - Montreal comics and sexiness  
Bizarro - 'nuf said  
Baby Blues - Funny even to the kidless  
Zits - If you raised a teenager, or ever were one  
The Far Side  
Sherman’s Lagoon - sharks and crabs and turtles, oh my!  
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal  
Oglaf - pure filth and moderately hilarious  
Least I Could Do - the on-going saga of Rayne For Jesus  
Dork Tower - started as a gamer strip, now getting more real-life  
Rhymes With Orange - just hat is says on the box  
PvP - another gamer strip, at least in the beginning. Now more business. family

and that’s not even getting into my gocomics list.

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**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/5 "2021-01-17T20:08:38Z")

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I would recommend Sally Forth. For some reason I thought it was a Hi and Lois clone but at some point it changed and became something else that can be very funny. It has a wry sensibility with a Gen X bent.

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**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/6 "2021-01-17T20:18:13Z")

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> [@salinqmind1](#):
>
> Cul de Sac - wry, charming little kids trying to make sense of the world.

Seconded. If you like Calvin and Hobbes, you’ll probably like Cul de Sac.

Also [Tiger](https://www.comicskingdom.com/tiger) on Comics Kingdom.

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**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/7 "2021-01-17T20:27:36Z")

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[At random comics](https://www.atrandomcomics.com/) amuses me

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**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:** [January 17, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/8 "2021-01-17T20:32:00Z")

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Speed Bump is a one-panel strip that usually makes me laugh at least once a week.

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**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/9 "2021-01-17T20:59:28Z")

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I will second or third the recommendations on Cul de Sac, Pearls Before Swine, Baby Blues, Zits, and Sally Forth.

From my list I would recommend: Dark Side of the Horse, Off the Mark, Rip Haywire, Brewster Rockit, Ink Pen, Arlo and Janis, Big Nate, Candorville, The Knight Life, and Agnes.

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**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/10 "2021-01-17T21:49:53Z")

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> [@salinqmind1](#):
>
> For some real fun, seek out ‘Mary Worth’ elsewhere

Does The Comics Curmudgeon (“JoshReads”) still snark on those?

[YES, he does!](https://joshreads.com/) As well as other “how can these _still_ be running?” comics.

(Check out his caption to [the 1/7/21 Mary Worth](https://joshreads.com/page/5/) for an attempt to add some spice to a vintage vanilla strip…)

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**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/11 "2021-01-17T23:01:13Z")

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Wow! Thanks everyone! I’ll check these out starting tomorrow.

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**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:** [January 18, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/12 "2021-01-18T13:49:51Z")

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I recommend **Nineteen-Ninety-Something** in the strongest possible way.

[https://1990somethingcomic.com/](https://1990somethingcomic.com/)

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**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/13 "2021-01-18T16:46:57Z")

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Thanks! I’ve added it to my RSS feeds.

@Pardel-Lux, pretty biting stuff! Is there a feed I could subscribe to?

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**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/14 "2021-01-18T16:59:19Z")

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> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> […]… pretty biting stuff!

I am glad you like it! 😉 But, sorry, no RSS feed, no subscription, no facebook presence, no twitter updating, nothing. And I know it is stupid to navigate (hint: click on the left arrows to see the latest additions, otherwise you have to go through aaaall the older pics you have already seen) and that it does not work on phones. You can only put it in your favourites and check it every now and then.  
I don’t do it for money, I don’t collect any data at all from my visitors, therefore I must skip all the advantages the data could provide. I guess my interpretation of the [GDPR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation) is way too strict, but I prefer to err on the side of paranoia than on the side of social media. It is a stupid statement, but it is mine: it is my way of being recalcitrant.

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/15 "2021-01-18T17:42:28Z")

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Cow & Boy has its moments. Sort of an off-brand Calvin & Hobbes (young kid full of dumb ideas and precocious worldly observations accompanied by semi-wise animal mentoring figure/playmate)

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**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/16 "2021-01-18T22:24:22Z")

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Another recommendation for Agnes. I’m also a fan of Brewster Rocket: Space Guy!

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**Author:** ![Hermione1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d07c76/32.png) [@Hermione1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione1)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/17 "2021-01-19T05:13:50Z")

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I like Daddy Daze. It’s about Paul, who’s the (amicably) divorced dad of one-year-old Angus, who shares custody with his ex. Angus’ vocabulary, as yet, consists of three words, “ma” and “da” (pretty self-explanatory), and “ba”, which makes up the majority of his sentences. But Paul seems to have the amazing ability to correctly translate Angus’ language. Angus himself is quite a smart little cookie for his age as he figures out the world around him.

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**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/18 "2021-01-19T13:46:14Z")

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After finding many on-line comics and trying to remember links to all of them for my daily fill (I really didn’t want to join gocomics), I made a batch file to load up on to my browser (Firefox; I assume though not tested if it works for others. I’m in the Windows world). You start off creating a plain text file using notepad in a folder, then each line is similar to this:

**start “GoComics lio” [Today on Lio - Comics by Mark Tatulli - GoComics](https://www.gocomics.com/lio)**

The stuff in quotes is for your edification, the https is the webpage. Make sure it’s the latest/current/home page.

After doing a list, save it, then rename it from **comics.txt** to **comics.bat**. Double click on it to run the batch file. If you need to change or add something to the file, right-click it and click “edit”.

I have multiple bat files, each with only a dozen or so links, otherwise it overloads the browser. A separate one for Sunday onlys.

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**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/19 "2021-01-19T13:55:33Z")

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That’s tempting, but it brings you to the page that still required you to click something to get to the comic.

I love that you use Lio, though – that comic is just great.

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**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-comic-strips-to-follow/930737/20 "2021-01-19T14:18:58Z")

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Yeah, gocomic is weird – even the comments sometimes mention you have to click on the blowup picture to get the real comic. \>shrug\< I’m willing to take that. Especially Little Orphan Annie, where you can read the text in the blowup version before squinting at the real one. (I know, I know, it’s just Annie now.)

Here are some non-comics in my list (in batch file formatting):

start “Astronomy POTD” [Astronomy Picture of the Day](http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html)  
start “Earth Science POTD” [http://epod.usra.edu/](http://epod.usra.edu/)  
start “[ChessVideos.tv](http://ChessVideos.tv)” [Chess Puzzle of the Day - Can You Solve It?](https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-puzzle-of-the-day.php)  
start “hashi” “[https://www.puzzle-bridges.com/](https://www.puzzle-bridges.com/)”  
start “daily hashi” “[https://www.dailyhashi.com/](https://www.dailyhashi.com/)”

Sciency pictures of the day (anyone have more of these?), and game puzzles of the day (I think the first hashi has links to other puzzles too).

[ComicsKingdom.com](http://ComicsKingdom.com) also has many. Some of the snark comments are the only worthwhile part.