# Let's Fix The Comics! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344 "2001-04-01T05:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/21 "2001-04-01T22:30:48Z")
Hoo boy, what fun! Let’s see now… In: \*\*Steve Canyon \*\* by Milt Cannif. Incredibly well drawn and great villians to boot. \*\*Dick Tracy \*\* but only in the classic gangster days before Chester Gould started fooling around with the hokey Moon Maid and Personal Flying Trash Cans \*\*Odd Bodkins \*\* by Danny O’Neill. Anybody who makes characters like Norton the wonderbike, the Lesser Hoo-Hoo, and the Werechicken of Petaluma deservest to be running again today Out: \*\*Family Circus \*\* though I like **Little Nemo** ’s suggestion \*\*Mary Worth \*\* haven’t read it for years. \*\* B.C. \*\* which, as noted above, has become too preachy too often and too little funny ---
**Author:** ![Jenericho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Jenericho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenericho)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/22 "2001-04-01T22:46:06Z")
I’d have to reinstate _Bloom County_… failing that, _Outland_. I’d happily see any other comic go for either of these… except maybe _Get Fuzzy_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/23 "2001-04-01T23:32:50Z")
I have to add that I would also happily give up _Mallard Fillmore_ for…well, just about anything, to tell the truth. An anthropomorphic duck making right-wing policy points with little humor and no wit. Joy. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/24 "2001-04-02T01:16:46Z")
I don’t really know what I’d care to bring back, but along with the already mentioned **Andy Capp** if I never saw **The Lockhorns** again it would be too soon for me. ---
**Author:** ![riley\_dieffenbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@riley\_dieffenbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/riley_dieffenbach)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/25 "2001-04-02T01:30:33Z")
I would vote back in The Fusco Brothers. Probably still exists but not in my world. Out would be Curtis. Like only the very worst strips can I am magnetically drawn to it EVERY DAMN MORNING. Thus every dad starts with Curtis’ Dad telling him to turn off the rap junk or Curtis chiding his Dad for smoking. Please put me out of my misery. ---
**Author:** ![ignatzmouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b2d939/32.png) [@ignatzmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatzmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/26 "2001-04-02T02:11:04Z")
Yeah!!! So far we have Pogo, Krazy Kat, and Little Nemo back; I’m happy. Although I am a great fan of the medium, I have pretty much stopped reading the comics. I would certainly dump Fred Bassett, Marmaduke, Heathcliffe, Garfield, Cathy, and B.C… Assuming the creators could be ressurected (when necessary) and were guaranteed to remain creative, I would bring back(In addition to the above classics) the Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Tom K. Ryan’s “Tumbleweeds.” As long as I’m wishing, I’d like to see some of George Herriman’s earlier work like “The Family Upstairs,” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/27 "2001-04-02T05:32:21Z")
Here’s another suggestion. Hook Frank Cho up with a writing partner. Cho is probably the best illustrator currently working in the comics, but unfortunately his writing skills are average at best. If he could combine his artistic talent with a writer of equal caliber, _Liberty Meadows_ would be one of the all time greats. ---
**Author:** ![exchicagoan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@exchicagoan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exchicagoan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/28 "2001-04-02T07:46:16Z")
IN—DENNY DIMWIT—I miss his pointed little head and good and bad angels on his shoulders. OUT—GARFIELD-----who cares. IN—POGO-----cute—Churchy LaFemme—aaaawwwwww. OUT—ZIGGY----homely—no STYLE. (DICK TRACY–B O PLENTY, GRAVEL GERTY etc. the greatest!) ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/29 "2001-04-02T16:12:07Z")
In: Calvin & Hobbes, The Far Side, Dick Tracy, and yes, Dondi. Out: Cathy, BC, Family Circus, Frank & Ernest. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/30 "2001-04-02T17:14:49Z")
Back from the dead (seconding): Calvin & Hobbes The Far Side Bloom County (ca. 1981-82, _not_ in its 1986-87 dotage) Pogo Krazy Kat More back from the dead: L’il Abner Terry and the Pirates Eyebeam (Sam Hurt’s strip; never got much of a major-daily run) Bury these, they’re already dead: Dennis the Menace Family Circus That’s Life Classic Peanuts Garfield Shoe Hagar the Horrible Hi and Lois The Born Loser Rex Morgan Judge Parker Mary Worth Apartment 3-G Mark Trail Cathy Blondie Beetle Bailey B.C. Wizard of Id Broom-Hilda Spider-Man Six Chix A couple of these are new, but most of these light bulbs burned out decades ago. The Washington Post has 43 comics in its daily comics section, and maybe ten of them have a pulse, most days. **riley d** - you asked about the Fusco Brothers. It’s available at [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/comics/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/comics/) , among other places. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/31 "2001-04-02T17:52:24Z")
Given that the Washington Post has announced that _Liberty Meadows_ is on hiatus whilst they test something called _Agnes_ I’d have to say LM is in desperate need of rescue. Hey, at least that one **can** come back. Death to these strips: BC Momma Family Circus Hagar the Horrible Hi and Lois Beetle Bailey Snuffy Smith Broom Hilda and the host of other one or two gag strips. Really, what’s the point? Who keeps reading these things? ---
**Author:** ![riley\_dieffenbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@riley\_dieffenbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/riley_dieffenbach)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/32 "2001-04-02T18:22:47Z")
Every Sunday as soon as the Washington Post arrives I go straight to “Snuffy Smith” and read it aloud to the family. “Family Circus” is also vastly improved if you read it in a properly dramatic voice. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/33 "2001-04-02T20:26:45Z")
[intake of breath] I think reviving C&H or Far Side would be… a very bad idea. Both of these strips were starting to atrophy, Far Side more noticeably. Their authors did the courageous, proper thing of killing them off before they could slip any further. For that alone, they each deserve many honorary Reubens. I’m a very to-everything-there-is-a-season man m’self. I’m inclined to agree with those who would re-run classics; one great 50s-era Peanuts or Pogo is worth a month of sundays of all the lesser strips combined. But bringing them back for a fresh run? No, no, no. What’s maddening is to see these attenuated, bathetic (yes, with a “b”) strips wheeze along for decades after the spirit (and often the flesh) of their creators is long dead. Btw, how many strips have been passed along like some sort of mouldering, moth-eaten memento? Blondie, Barney Google & Snuffy Smith, Gasoline Alley, Nancy, Beetle Bailey, Hagar, Hi & Lois (the last three would win my Witless Withered Wonders award, along with Family Circus), and now Shoe (if Jeff MacNelly weren’t already dead, he’d deserve to die for arranging for Shoe’s continuity). Has any one of them been something other than an embarrassment? Grudging respect for Schultz for letting Peanuts die with him. Pity he didn’t kill it off before introducing Woodstock. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/34 "2001-04-03T01:28:20Z")
_whips out his notepad. . .starts writing down names. . ._ MmmmmmmmmmHmmmmmmmmmmm. . . Old? No. I believe the word you are all looking for is “classic.” ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/35 "2001-04-03T04:24:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*\ > Those of you who saw the Dysfunctional Family Circus website know that this works really well. > \ \*\* …and for those of you who haven’t (but everyone should): [Here it is in all it’s glory](http://www.zompist.com/dfcindex.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/36 "2001-04-03T05:58:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\* > Have Bill Keane continue to submit the strips as he currently does. Then remove the dialogue. Each day, the wordless strip will be run and creative readers will submit proposed punchlines for it. A panel of judges will choose the funniest line and rerun the strip a week later with its new punchline. > > Those of you who saw the Dysfunctional Family Circus website know that this works really well. My guess is that as long as the checks roll in, Keane will have no problem with this. It’s pretty obvious he has no shame now. \*\* Well, Keane did have a problem with the original DFC website–that is why it no longer exists. Apparently, the paycheck isn’t all that’s important to him. I would bring back the larger format of old comic strips, and get rid of a lot of the old stinkers to do it: Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, Garfield (sorry, **Garfield226** ), Family Circus, Dennis the Menace, Hagar the Horrible, etc. All the old strips that are now done by heirs, replacements, or committee. I would keep B.C., though. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the esoteric discussions in rec.arts.comics.strips if I couldn’t read that. Remember the “Lorna Doone” arc? That was _bizarre_. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/37 "2001-04-03T07:44:53Z")
All I have to say is: Thanks for the Web! In my local papers they are rerunning Peanuts (It’s dead already! Dead! Kill it!), and I haven’t even looked at Cathy, family circle, garfield, Blondie, or lots more in many many years. But hello Web! Go check out Goats, Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly, Diesel Sweeties, When I Grow Up, The Joy of Tech, and Bruno the Bandit. They’re all light-years beyond what you can read in your daily rag. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/38 "2001-04-03T12:18:29Z")
IN: _Calvin & Hobbes_ OUT: _Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet_ MAKE A MOVIE OF: _Overboard_ I’M SURPRISED NO ONE HAS SAID: bring back _Strange Ed_ (“Ed, you’re strange.”) ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/39 "2001-04-03T12:27:47Z")
I want BLOOM COUNTY back and that’s an end on it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344/40 "2001-04-03T14:28:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > \*\*But hello Web! Go check out Goats, Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly, Diesel Sweeties, When I Grow Up, The Joy of Tech, and Bruno the Bandit. They’re all light-years beyond what you can read in your daily rag. \*\* I agree about web comix. I’ve practically stopped reading the newspaper comic section in favor of my webbies. To the above list, I must add Boy Meets Boy, MegaTokyo, Angst Technology, Spaz Labs, Residence Life, and Adam & Andy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fix-the-comics/60344.md?page=3)