Family Circus gets dipped in honey and staked outdoors.
Cathy is drawn and quartered.
Beetle Bailey gets a safe dropped on him.
There are probably more, but these comic strips are the ones that, to my mind, need to die the most. They are a drag on the comics page. They're crap that your grandparents don't even laugh at any more. They need to go.
Opus, you are our last hope!
[ November 23, 2003, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Storm Saxon ]
Posted by MoonRabbit (Member # 3652) on :
B.C. should be crucified. Upside down.
The comics are supposed to make you laugh. If I wanted a sermon, I'd go to church.
[ November 23, 2003, 04:14 PM: Message edited by: MoonRabbit ]
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Do whatever you like to the other comics, but there are a few nobody touches.
Boondocks stays. As does Non Sequitor. And I will personally murder the man that tries to do away with Doonesbury.
And what the hell, Garfield and Zits can stay, too.
Beyond those, yeah, send the rest to the firing squads.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
How about Peanuts?
They're not even new strips for goodness sake!!
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
You can tell the difference? I thought they were new adventures Charlie Brown had each time he went to Lucy's psychologist box, or tripped on the pitcher's mound.
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
I'm a very enthusastic comics-page reader, and I'm really hoping that some newspaper around here decides to dump the old and pick up Opus.
I talked to the editor of my hometown's local paper a year ago and he said that sadly Cathy and Family Circus are some of their more popular comics according to the surveys they do. A part of me died that day.
I also have something against Garfield. Seriously, it just stopped being funny at some point. I think I've laughed at perhaps three garfield comics in the past five years (excepting when I looked back at the old ones). I don't think that's a very good percentage. Especially when I frequently crack up at Foxtrot and others.
Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side were the best, I think. And their authors weren't ones to continue milking their cash cows after they felt their comics had run their course. I wish there were something out there to replace them. Comics pages need to try fresh ideas.
Comics that need to go: Garfield, Marmaduke, Blondie, Cathy, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Classic Peanuts. Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Non Sequiteur is printed too small for me to read comfortably, in my paper. It didn't grab me the first few times I tried, so I don't bother to try anymore.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Get Fuzzy rocks yo' momma's socks.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Oh, Ela, dude, you're missing out. Grab a subscription to the LA Times if necessary, or check out Yahoo.com's My Yahoo if you want them for free, but Non Sequitor's really one of the better political comics in existence at the moment. The author's kinda trippy regarding his characters -- they frequently die, head up to Heaven, then come down reincarnated as something else, usually a human and its pet -- but the current set, a little girl and her pet horse, are great with the political commentary.
Posted by Toes (Member # 4603) on :
There shalt be no hating on the Classic Peanuts! hehe. I love Snoopy! But I do understand your point. And yes, Family Circus should be burned.
[ November 23, 2003, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: Toes ]
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
Rex Morgan, M.D. and Spiderman both need to go.
Mark Trail, though. Mark Trail must be burned in a pot of scalding vegetable oil. It's not even funny, folks. No, it's like the nature documentary from heck. It just doesn't go away...
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
All the soap opera ones should go.
What was the one about the old lady? Was that Mary Worth? A soap opera comic strip about an old lady?! Talk about not knowing your demographic!!
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Prince Valiant.
Boring.
Regarding Boondocks--aren't comic strips supposed to be funny?
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Icky, Prince Valiant and Mary Worth? I haven't seen those in years and years. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
The Herald doesn't carry them, but they still exist!
And my stupid paper doesn't carry FoxTrot.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
They still have Mary Worth in my local paper, and it royally sucks. Even comic strips I hate occasionally make me laugh. I have never laughed at Mary Worth, and I will continue to read it until it makes me laugh, and when it does I will still hate it, but maybe not so much.
Get Fuzzy is my current favorite. I miss Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Both Prince Valiant and Mary Worth are in our local comics pages. Both, well, suck.
Me, I tend to rely on the Internet for my comic page needs, anymore; the strips have room to breathe there, and I can make a page with my OWN links. It's a shame that Breathed wants Opus to be newspaper-only -- but given how terrible Outland was by the end, I'm not sure it's really all that great a loss.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Jose, we'll have to fight to the death one of these days.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Oh come on. You get off on opposition. What would you do if I were gone?
[ November 23, 2003, 05:47 PM: Message edited by: Icarus ]
Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :
I like Get Fuzzy, Foxtrot, and Brenda Starr. Family Circus deserves death. I mean, jeez, it relies on being cute more than clever or witty. Same with stuff like One Big Happy. Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
Can we please get rid of Zippy? I don't get it, it doesn't make sense, and recently it hasn't even been in English! And I request that my paper add Calvin and Hobbes because it doesn't currently print that one.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
No papers currently run C&H.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote: Oh come on. You get off on opposition. What would you do if I were gone?
Never leave the bathroom.
Posted by Maethoriell (Member # 3805) on :
Many newspapers have different comics so I'm not really sure what Opus and some of those you have are.
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
Rhymes With Orange and Bizarro are my favorites, but no one seems to know them.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
That, or I'd seek out the company of any and all local jatraqueras.
"TELL me you don't like homosexuality! Yeah, yeah, and you think Bush is a good president, don't you? DON'T YOU?"
The best part is, I can ask them who their daddy is, and according to Jose's theorum, I'd get off no matter which way they answered.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
[ November 23, 2003, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: Storm Saxon ]
Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :
I read opus today for the first time.
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
Rhymes with orange is very good. My favorites in my paper are Foxtrot, Boondocks, Non Sequitor. I really like Arlo and Janis and Zits.
From my paper, zippy, family circus, mallard fillmore, and Sylvia or whatever its called need to DIE horrible deaths. mallard fillmore is just INSULTING. His "Liberals, the early years" segments always have me writing angry letters to him. At least Boondocks and Doonesbury target PEOPLE, not categories of people. Like, I think the Gropenfuhrer stuff in doonesbury has been awesome. Its REALLY funny. But who is it making fun of? One guy. Not 50% of the country.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
You know, I've got to admit that both Doonesbury and Mallard Fillmore annoy the crap out of me, but not nearly as much as B.C.
I think Pearls Before Swine does a pretty good occasional political comic, though.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Amen to the destruction of most of the comics mentioned.
Some other ones needing a Viking funeral: Blondie, The Lockhorns, Hi and Lois, Hagar the Horrible (no longer by the original creators).
"Non Sequitor" makes me laugh sometimes, but makes me wince more. It's too misanthropic and too much into war-of-the-sexes. ("The Far Side" could be misanthropic, but in an indifferent sort of way; "Non Sequitor" is just mean.)
"Doonesbury" makes me laugh sometimes, but Trudeau has never been as good since his first sabbatical -- he's become more irrelevant, too much into cutesy self-referential jokes and making his art more stylized, and his characters have gotten sadder and meaner. Sometimes he can be right on. Other times he goes wandering off and starts yet another rant about celebrities and modern art or does another series about Duke.
I'll be curious to see if "Opus" is any better than "Outland" and later "Bloom County." My impression of Berke Breathed is that after his first 3 books' worth of "Bloom County" strips he became a cynical burnout who watched too much TV and would try to make up for his cynicism with the occasional cheap shmaltz.
Stuff I like: Zits, Foxtrot, Tom the Dancing Bug... there's others, but can't remember them just now... if my Internet connection was faster I'd look for stuff online, but since it isn't I don't like to wait around for stuff to load...
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
quote:Icarus said: All the soap opera ones should go.
What was the one about the old lady? Was that Mary Worth? A soap opera comic strip about an old lady?! Talk about not knowing your demographic!!
Well, you can guess who usually fills out the surveys the newspapers have for comics preference. Even if they aren't a huge portion of the comics page readership.
One day I just decided that I was tired of not understanding what was going on in Prince Valiant, so I started reading it. I read it for about a year, through one of the major plotlines. Then everybody returned to England, and I got bored, haven't been interested at all since.
[ November 23, 2003, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: Nato ]
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
Zippy the Pinhead may just be the most pointless comic strip on the face of the Earth.
The Washington Post has Rhymes with Orange, btw
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Comics I heartily recommend, in no particular order:
Sinfest (online) Schlock Mercenary (online) Penny Arcade (online) Sluggy Freelance (online) Zits Pearls Before Swine Get Fuzzy Something Positive (online) Pardon My Planet For Better or For Worse Tom the Dancing Bug (online) Player vs. Player (online) Non Sequitur
Comics I would have recommended without reservation a few years ago, but now have reservations about: Foxtrot Baby Blues Rose Is Rose Funky Winkerbean Sherman's Lagoon This Modern World Doonesbury Boondocks Dilbert Bizarro Robotman
Comics that need to be taken out behind the barn and shot: Garfield Hi and Lois Blondie Hagar the Horrible The Lockhorns Marmaduke Dennis the Menace Beetle Bailey Family Circle ANY soap opera strip
It's too early to tell about Opus, but I don't have high hopes.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Red Meat is freaking hilarity defined.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Zippy stays.
It is the most amazing piece of introverted surrealist graphic onanism, it has to be art.
I see your Skeeball and raise you a cesspool sippy straw.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
...I also must give a big "bleh" to Sinfest, Tom. It's the pinnacle of a comic painting itself into a corner, doing a little shifty-eyes thing, and then saying, "Surprise, expletives!" [EDIT: In fact, I think it invented that particular cliche.]
It has its moments, mind you, but hasn't anyone ever told tatsui (sp?) that cursing is the crutch of the inarticulate?
Aside from that disclaimer, it's scary how much I agree with Tom... Except dropping Zits and Robotman (no, wait, it's Robotman and Monty, no wait still agian, its just Monty).
-Bok
[ November 23, 2003, 11:10 PM: Message edited by: Bokonon ]
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Reading Sluggy Freelance is like watching 15 seconds of a Scooby Doo episode, every day, over the course of 3-4 months. You eventually get to the end but don't notice that the next episode is pretty much exactly the same as the last.
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
quote:TomD said: Comics I would have recommended without reservation a few years ago, but now have reservations about: Foxtrot
I think I agree with you on this one. It seems like he's sort of lost his touch. I really liked the earlier stuff, and even own a good portion of the books, but recently I've been fairly unimpressed.
Stormy, thanks for the Red Meat link. I've been laughing for the last 20 minutes.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
The difference, of course, is that Sluggy Freelance is rather enjoyable. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I must have clicked on the wrong dozen strips over at Red Meat. They got a few faintly amused nods, but not so much as a single chuckle.
Hilarity defined?!?!
I don't think so.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
*pat pat*
Just stick with your Family Circle, Icarus.
[ November 24, 2003, 12:17 AM: Message edited by: Storm Saxon ]
Posted by Polemarch (Member # 3293) on :
Primal Curve, I must wholeheartedly disagree. I thoroughly enjoy Sluggy Freelance- in fact, I like it because it feels refreshing and different from many other comics I've read out there. The adventures are varied, if there are some cliche's, but they're used well, and often satirically, I find, and there are some brilliant jokes in there. My only objection so far were the Harry Potter parodies, which were mindlessly annoying and should be purged from the archives. Other than that, it's an excelent comic which I check daily.
Moving on: Yeah, Family Circus definitely needs to go. I use it as an insult: "You have all the wit of Family Circus."
[ November 24, 2003, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: Polemarch ]
Posted by MoonRabbit (Member # 3652) on :
I can't believe the anti-Zippy sentiments. Zippy has been my favorite comic since 1982. Bill Griffith is a genius. I did an english paper on him in college: "Bill Griffith, master of the non-sequitor". Alas, there are just some people that don't "get" Zippy. I feel sorry for you. Who else could you imagine saying:
"Donuts up!! Left foot forward!! Sunglasses on straight!! We have business to discuss!" -Reality, Perception and Donuts
Zippy also invented "Are we having fun yet?"
If you don't get it, I suggest buying some of the old Zippy or Yow comics from the early 80's.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
"Don't blame me,I voted for Bill 'n' Opus."--man, I wish that t-shirt still fit me.
quote: Rhymes With Orange and Bizarro are my favorites, but no one seems to know them.
Brinestone. I haven't heard of Bizarro, but Rhymes With Orange rocks! I loved the 4 excuses for being late last year.
Yeah, Peanuts was great in it's day, but now it's just milking a cash cow for the heirs. Beetle Baily bites and should be nuked, along with Family Circus, Dennis the Menace and freakin' Blondie, the same jokes for 60 years! Enough Blondie already..
Actually, I get a laugh out of how incredibly lame and out of touch the Mary Worth strip is. It's a guilty pleasure. Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
Check out a few strips. Look for the eyeball, upside-down bird in a hat, the UFO, the piece of pie, the stupid bunny, etc. Then read the descriptions of the symbolism of each of these objects. It will be enlightening for you.
Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
I get C&H, For Better or For Worse, Foxtrot, Boondocks, and a random political cartoon in my email every morning. I love them. I can't believe the cartoon strips that are still living in the 1940's are still published. Blondie? Good lord.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
I don't find Get Fuzzy funny at all.
Posted by Maethoriell (Member # 3805) on :
What about the younger children who like to read the comics? What are they going to read? My brother and sister attempt to read Non Sequitor (sp) and all of those other comics and have a forced laugh. It's not funny anymore whenever you try to explain it and they still don't get it. So a few of those "hated ones" hafta stay people!!
Posted by The Silverblue Sun (Member # 1630) on :
Mallard Fillmore is an example of Conservatives at their "funniest". Which isn't funny at all.
I do check out Mallard Filmore just to see what he's saying, and usually the duck us like...
"Why are we giving mexicans and blacks special treatment?"
Great Sunday paper stuff, no?
I think Rose is Rose is cute.
Get Fuzzy can be funny (and I like rob and satchel and bucky)
Boondocks has had some funny ones, lately their thing about finding Condeleelza Rice a husband has been funny.
<T>
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I want to put in an argument for: Ziggy, Garfield, Peanuts, and Blondie.
Hey, some of the readers of the comics are actually kids. That's right. Some people who read the funny pages are just learning how to read. That's where I got my start reading. I worked on Blondie and BC. Small words and small sentences and a quick resolution are great for an early reading experience.
Sure, they are lame and weak for any adult, or even most pre-adolescents. Yet for the small kids, the historic base for comic readers, they are perfect.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
If you find a child that even smiles at Blondie, I will give you a cookie.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I like how Beatle Bailey is such a realistic portrayal of Army life. It's like you're right there... getting the smack-down from Sarge. Oh those wacky hijinx always get to me! Yuck Yuck!
Posted by Julie (Member # 5580) on :
quote: Zippy stays.
It is the most amazing piece of introverted surrealist graphic onanism, it has to be art.
And what planet are you on? It only pretends to make sense. He talks to statues as if they were real, which would be find except that they don't seem to answer him which means that they aren't real even in the confines of the comic strip. The only thing funny about Zippy is the fact that he thinks he's incredibly wise. Zippy deserves to die a horrible death.
Posted by Taberah (Member # 4014) on :
I agree with most of Tom's sentiments. I friend referred me to Pearls Before Swine, and I really like it. I'm also very partial to Non Sequiter.
I have to admit that I also frequently enjoy Frank & Ernest. It often relies on simple puns, but that's just fine with me.
Posted by Hazen (Member # 161) on :
Frank and Earnest is constistently the best looking comic in the paper on Sunday. It may not be high art, but (unlike most comics) it is lots of fun to look at. As for their jokes, a lot of them are stupid. But some are so brilliantly clever as to make up for it.
Johnny Hart needs to be shot. Both BC and Wizard of Id are constistently lame. I wouldn't mind the preaching, really, but he does such a horrid job of it, usually saying little more than "I'm a Christian- so there!" Calvin and Hobbes preached sometimes, but did so skillfully, and actually had a message. Hart doesn't. Furthermore, the regular jokes look like he didn't even try.
Garfield for a while was the epitome of the lazy artist. All we saw was the table with a blank wall behind it. I remember one Sunday when he actually drew the edge of the table. They were too lazy to draw something that might look like a table, so they drew a box instead. It has gotten a little bit better lately, but I think the stip still needs to be canceled. If little kids need something to read, let new strips take the old ones' place.
One more note: Is it just me, or is Dilbert seriously starting to decline. It seems like it is becoming less a commentary on business and more a self parody. I hope Adams stops it before it gets too stupid.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I agree regarding Dilbert.
Posted by Sweet William (Member # 5212) on :
******POSSIBLE SPOILER*********
Opus returned this Sunday to my paper. I was, well, a little disappointed.
"I suppose you're where you thought you'd be in ten years?"
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I always liked Prince Valiant. I have no idea why, seeing as it's not actually funny. At all.
I'll read most of the comics. I love Get Fuzzy, though, and I've got a soft spot for FoxTrot, but about the rest I'm rather ambivalent.
Posted by asQmh (Member # 4590) on :
Eh, I have to agree with Icarus on Red Meat. Not my thing. Sluggy, however, is hilarious and addictive. There are some valleys, but oh!the mountain peaks. You have to start at the beginning and work your way up, but it's worth it.
I don't read it anymore, though. The last slump was a long one.
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It's a shame that Breathed wants Opus to be newspaper-only -- but given how terrible Outland was by the end, I'm not sure it's really all that great a loss.
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Brenda Starr. Family Circus deserves death. I mean, jeez, it relies on being cute more than clever or witty. Same with stuff like One Big Happy.
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