# Worst comic strips, past or present **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920 "2018-05-10T14:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/61 "2018-05-11T07:12:16Z")
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I bothered to look at the comics page at all, wanting to see _ **any** _ comic strip. Comic strips, by their very design, are not likely to be clever. > [@Biotop](#): > > [This made me laugh.](http://www.cracked.com/article_15667_the-5-most-unintentionally-hilarious-comic-strips.html) I especially like the _Mark Trail_ talking animals. I think that is about the only reason for me to look at comics. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/62 "2018-05-11T07:40:10Z")
I only read web comics …and only 4 or 5 of those ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/63 "2018-05-11T16:36:42Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I bothered to look at the comics page at all, wanting to see _ **any** _ comic strip. Comic strips, by their very design, are not likely to be clever. There might not be many, but there certainly are some. _Pearls Before Swine_ is consistently funny. _Bizarro_ sometimes makes me laugh out loud ([like this one](http://bizarro.com/comics/may-10-2018/)), but that might just be my sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/64 "2018-05-11T16:49:33Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > _Pearls Before Swine_ is consistently funny. . If only Rat could threaten certain other punsters with his baseball bat. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/65 "2018-05-11T19:57:10Z")
Don’t think I’ve seen “Garfield” on here. He wore out his welcome about 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/66 "2018-05-11T20:00:09Z")
I think Garfield is one of those "classic"ones that not many read anymore but the’ll throw a fit if its not there ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/67 "2018-05-11T20:29:40Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Seanbaby loves [family](http://www.cracked.com/blog/pg13-family-circus/) [circus](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-family-circus-cartoons-improved-with-dick-jokes/). And yet he manages to be even less funny. [The Comics Curmudgeon](https://joshreads.com/category/family-circus/) he ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/68 "2018-06-26T20:02:54Z")
A couple of those white knights for new Nancy have started infesting Nancy Classics with their trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/69 "2018-06-27T11:37:31Z")
I dislike “9 Chickweed Lane” and “Pibgorn” with a passion. The former has (at least as of when I stopped reading it about five years ago) degenerated into euphemisms for sexual innuendo slightly below the level where it is interesting. The latter is the meticulously-drawn sexual fantasies of a severely repressed Lutheran minister. Nicely drawn, but still not worth it. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/70 "2018-06-27T12:04:23Z")
All time worst-- **Andy Capp**. Alcoholism, domes6tic violence, no laughs…God Help Us! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/71 "2018-06-27T13:07:09Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I dislike “9 Chickweed Lane” and “Pibgorn” with a passion. The former has (at least as of when I stopped reading it about five years ago) degenerated into euphemisms for sexual innuendo slightly below the level where it is interesting. The latter is the meticulously-drawn sexual fantasies of a severely repressed Lutheran minister. Nicely drawn, but still not worth it. I started reading “9 Chickweed Lane” because of the quality of the art, but it’s become almost impossible to keep following. Whenever I check in on it these days, it seems to be the same thing. There are no real storylines, just, “Here’s a couple. They’re really hot for each other. Let’s watch them have sex.” The only variation from week to week is which couple we’ll be watching. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/72 "2018-06-27T13:58:24Z")
Out of what runs in my local paper (the Cleveland Plain Dealer), the two that stand out are _Mutts_ and _Prickly City_. _Mutts_ typically has one not-very-funny joke per week (typical example: Crabs are crabby), then re-tells that same joke six times. Sometimes they don’t even bother with that, and just have six strips each consisting of an “inspirational” quote. Sometimes the quotes even come from other comic strips: Why not just read that other strip, then? _Prickly City_ is a political strip starring a liberal girl who for some reason thinks she’s a conservative, and her best friend, an idiot coyote who for some reason thinks he’s a liberal. To its credit, the author clearly despises Trump (he’s depicted in the comic as a skunk), and seems to be slowly coming to the realization that he’s the face of modern conservativism, and that the values he stands for have never really been supported by conservatives. If he ever finally gets that, the strip might be good, but for now, it’s just cringingly straw-man. We do also get WuMo, and I’ll grant that it’s usually pretty bad, but that’s mostly because it’s extremely out-there and absurdist. But that also means that it’s occasionally, very rarely, absolutely hilarious. It doesn’t hit the mark nearly as often as, say, _The Far Side_ did, but I’d still hate to discourage that sort of experimental strip. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/73 "2018-06-27T14:52:38Z")
No mentions of Prince Valiant? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/74 "2018-06-27T15:23:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > _Prickly City_ is a political strip starring a liberal girl who for some reason thinks she’s a conservative, and her best friend, an idiot coyote who for some reason thinks he’s a liberal. We had Prickly City in the Chicago Tribune when it first started out, fifteen or so years ago, but the paper dropped it within a year or two. However, a couple of years ago, the Tribune hired that strip’s writer / artist as their new political cartoonist, and so, the strip returned, as well. Every once in a while, it’s funny, but mostly, it’s just kind of strange. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/75 "2018-06-27T15:28:01Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Doonesbury Yes, this, I could never understand the appeal of it. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/76 "2018-06-27T15:30:30Z")
I need more Calvin and Hobbes in my life, not to highjack, but that was the best! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/77 "2018-06-27T15:34:39Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Doonesbury > [@Patx2](#): > > Yes, this, I could never understand the appeal of it. It’s a political cartoon in daily strip format with a regular cast, but I think it peaked in the Carter & Reagan administrations. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/78 "2018-06-27T16:45:46Z")
[Six Chix](http://comicskingdom.com/six-chix): the comic strip based on the idea that humor can be improved with division of labor. If a comic drawn by one artist if funny, one drawn by six artists should be six times as funny. Now that [Marvin](https://comicskingdom.com/marvin/2018-06-27) has moved on from dirty diaper jokes, it’s merely unfunny rather than both unfunny and disgusting. For incompetent artwork, it’s hard to beat [Close to Home](https://www.gocomics.com/closetohome). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/79 "2018-06-27T16:53:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And yet he manages to be even less funny. [The Comics Curmudgeon](https://joshreads.com/category/family-circus/) he ain’t. That Family Circus panel is the funniest since one of the kids said mom was putting on her “oil of old lady.” The 6/13/18 one about the dog… ---
**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:** [June 27, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920/80 "2018-06-27T17:38:56Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Oh Andy Capp, you wife-beating drunk… I see the **Simpsons** reference, but I never understood why anyone thought this was a strip about a wife-beater. Flo ALWAYS gives as good as she gets. Domestic violence isn’t funny, and I agree that this strip sucks, but it’s not because of wife-beating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-comic-strips-past-or-present/813920.md?page=5)