# Reminisce about defunct comic strips! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854 "2007-05-29T02:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/41 "2007-05-29T22:50:29Z")
Alley Oop. A prehistoric comic. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/42 "2007-05-29T22:58:29Z")
From the 70s, I remember [Conchy](http://www.planetpeschel.com/Essays/Conchy/conchy1.htm). And there was another one called “Kelly” about a boy and his giant dog Duke. That cartoonist was Jack Moore. Both pretty much forgotten nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/43 "2007-05-29T23:02:32Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] 😕 “Was”? Both of my local papers still carry _Prince Valiant._ [/QUOTE] Crap! I could have sworn, when the Denver Post dropped it a decade ago, it was because the strip had been discontinued. Those rat bastards! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/44 "2007-05-29T23:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sunrazor] Crap! I could have sworn, when the Denver Post dropped it a decade ago, it was because the strip had been discontinued. Those rat bastards! [/QUOTE] You can read the latest [here.](http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/pvaliant/about.htm) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/45 "2007-05-29T23:11:28Z")
Is it too soon to reminesce about _B.C.?_ It was one funny strip until Johnny Hart got saved, and even after that it wasn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/46 "2007-05-30T03:51:27Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3] With regards to impressive details, etc: Gilbert Shelton’s _Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers_. [/QUOTE] Ah, yes, and with a range of tips for more successful living. Like, when one is out of rolling papers, there are better substitutes than toilet tissue. And for those who like the silly, good-humored teenage years, there was [Emmy Lou](http://www.toonopedia.com/emmylou.htm), with Alvin and Taffy and parents, by [Marty Links](http://lambiek.net/artists/l/links_marty.htm). Before she went on to other activities, she re-published and re-drew her strips. I prefer the originals, [panels](http://absolutearts.com/masters/l/links-marty.html) too, [for example](http://comicstripfan.com/newspaper/e/emmylou.htm). Two other examples: Emmy Lou, sweet talking and hugging her bug-eyed father, “Daddy, I have a date with Alvin tonight. Will you be using your wallet?” And, in another panel, talking enthusiastically on the phone, “Sure, sure, I’ll give you another chance!..Who is this again?” ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/47 "2007-05-30T14:38:41Z")
It had passed its glory days by the time I started reading it around 1960, but I was a big fan of [_Smilin’ Jack_.](http://www.toonopedia.com/smilin_j.htm) I always liked the little promo “stickies” for upcoming stock car races Mosley would sneak into a panel. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/48 "2007-07-16T14:48:27Z")
_Terry and the Pirates_. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/49 "2007-07-16T22:14:08Z")
**Hello Carol** was a short-lived little strip from the Reagan era. Witty, fun, & with attractively-drawn characters. And I will not give up my printed collection. Another odd one from that era was **Eyebeam**. I love it, but I can’t describe it. ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/50 "2007-07-16T22:23:11Z")
[comics.com](http://comics.com) has many of the comics mentioned here – Johnny Hart’s “BC” & “The Wizard of Id.” They also have “Alley Oop” & old “Lil Abner.” [toonopedia.com](http://toonopedia.com) has information on nearly all of the old comics mentioned, plus cartoons, old & current. If anyone knows a website that shows the old comic strips, can they let us know? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/51 "2007-07-17T03:14:50Z")
Rest in peace, [Mr. Tweedy](http://www.comicstripfan.com/newspaper/m/mrtweedy.htm) (1954-87). ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/52 "2007-07-17T13:52:29Z")
My dad and I used to agonize over the ridiculous adventures of the original **Brenda Starr, Reporter**. (I know there is a current version, but the artwork bears no resemblance to the former Brenda, the one I knew growing up.) I also used to enjoy **Gordo.** The artwork was beautiful and I especially loved the various animal characters: the cat, the chihuahua, the beatnik spider. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/53 "2007-07-17T16:13:06Z")
Does anybody remember “Rudy”, a short-lived strip in the '80s? It was about a talking chimp who had had a career in early show business, and he was trying to make a comeback in new Hollywood. He lived with a parrot named Bonita. It was very sharp, clever satire and very funny, but ISTR it was too far over a lot of people’s heads and was dropped. The last daily strip showed Rudy packing up to leave, acknowledging the strip’s “cult status”, but saying that cult status was another way of saying that nobody read it. I was sad. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/54 "2007-07-17T16:38:05Z")
Another shout out for _Far Side_ and _Calvin and Hobbes_. In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper, and published an obituary when Calvin and Hobbes ended. I still have all of the books (and would recommend _Get Fuzzy_ for those who liked it). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/55 "2007-07-17T16:43:59Z")
I recall a couple of strips that have gone away. The first was from the late 1960s written by military man. A single panel strip, it was called **With Sargent Mike**. Two of them that I recall Scene: grunts standing on a road in front of a sign that reads “We’re two miles up the road -Signed the VC” One grunt says to the others, “I don’t like it.” Scene: Grunt talking to an officer “Thought about reenlistment? Yes sir, I thought about reenlistment. Thought about it, laughed about it, and forgot about it.” The other strip was also a single panel strip called [That’s Jake!](http://www.comicstripfan.com/newspaper/t/thatsjake.htm). Jake always wore a cowboy hat, and was a blue collar kind of guy. My favorite which I wish I had a copy of was this one: Tittle at top **Jobs that are worse than yours #47 in a series** Scene: Jake is carrying a large (and very heavy anvil up a sidewalk in a hilly area. Caption: Door to door anvil salesman in a hilly neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/56 "2007-07-17T16:51:38Z")
I miss [Cheech Wizard](http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~jdavies/bode/cheech/) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/57 "2007-07-17T18:07:40Z")
I miss the dailies of Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, Far Side and now Fox Trot. C&H was the most consistently humorous. Bloom County was so good in it prime that I own every Bloom County book. Far Side had many misses, but its also had many instant classics. Fox Trot was a consistent performer, and even had Jason take over Calvin’s Snowmen stuff a few times. It was fading towards the end, but I loved the mainstream geek humor in Fox Trot. A Paige once said, only Jason could make the Internet geekier. (They were typing in IP addresses instead of web addresses to be more L33t). Jim ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854/58 "2007-07-17T20:17:10Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] **Grin and Bear It** by Roy Lichty. It looked sloppy as hell, but that was one controlled line he drew with! [/QUOTE] It’s still around, albeit as a collaboration between Fred Wagner and Ralph Dunagin. [Here’s today’s panel.](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/grin.asp?date=20070717) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminisce-about-defunct-comic-strips/405854.md?page=2)