Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, February 25, 2009
Books See You in the Funny Pages
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 5:49 PM
The Oregonian is going to cut ten comic strips to save money.
They've published a list of "safe" comics that won't be going away:
"Adams' Apples"
"Dilbert"
"Doonesbury"
"Get Fuzzy"
"Mother Goose and Grimm"
"Pearls Before Swine"
"Stone Soup"
"Zits"
Dilbert? Zits? Mother Goose and Grimm? Why are those safe? Hasn't Dilbert hanged himself in the face of all this terrifying economic despair? Even if you don't read the Oregonian, you can vote for your three favorite and three least-favorite cartoons here. Here's mine:
Although, if I had it all to do over again, I'd probably pick Cathy for #3 instead of Wizard of Id. And Ziggy was close, too.
1
Or at least been laid off.
Hasn't Dilbert hanged himself in the face of all this terrifying economic despair?
Or at least been laid off.
3
Family Circus is the worst comic ever made. I used to think, "OK, I'm not a parent, so maybe I just don't get it." But, now I'm a parent, and I still think it sucks. Not funny. Not cute.
Nietzsche Family Circus almost makes it bearable.
Nietzsche Family Circus almost makes it bearable.
7
@5
Sadly, my grandma LOVES the family circus.
I blame it on her working in a munitions factory during the war. Poor g-ma.
Sadly, my grandma LOVES the family circus.
I blame it on her working in a munitions factory during the war. Poor g-ma.
8
Its easy to hate on family circus, but we must destroy Luann as well. Every day it makes me want to vomit.
10
I went to do the survey but couldn't get past the first screen where I pick three favorites. I don't think I recognize a single good strip in the list, much less three. Any 3 random Web comics on an RSS feed, even if they're not chosen by me to my taste, will be better than anything the Oregonian puts together.
11
Judge Parker is flippin sweet, as the comics crumudgeon has dubbed it "sexy people doing boring things"
12
Sure, Family Circus is a dud, but try swapping the captions around. It's frequently much funnier with a Lockhorns or Dennis the Menace caption under it.
15
I'm in complete agreement with 10.
I have a list of 10 or 15 webcomics that I compulsively check every morning, yet I can't think of one funny or worthwhile print strip. Webcomics, by and large, are so much more creative, challenging and intelligent than whatever lowest common denominator strip is deemed "appropriate" for a wide audience. Give me the artistic audacity of Dresden Codak, the dry smarts of XKCD, the crude laughs of Penny Arcade and the mindblowing storytelling of Rice Boy over anything on that list any morning.
I have a list of 10 or 15 webcomics that I compulsively check every morning, yet I can't think of one funny or worthwhile print strip. Webcomics, by and large, are so much more creative, challenging and intelligent than whatever lowest common denominator strip is deemed "appropriate" for a wide audience. Give me the artistic audacity of Dresden Codak, the dry smarts of XKCD, the crude laughs of Penny Arcade and the mindblowing storytelling of Rice Boy over anything on that list any morning.
16
Oh my fucking God! How in the world can Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Bailey, and Ziggy continue to exist. Blondie, however, has a great rack, so I keep readin.
I'll put in a plug for 9 Chickweed Lane, although I admit it is a soap opera.
I'll put in a plug for 9 Chickweed Lane, although I admit it is a soap opera.
18
Those were some slim pickins on the favorites. I picked Baby Blues, For Better or Worse, and Non Sequitur. The least of the evils....
Least favorites were Family Circus, Ziggy, and Sally Forth (I don't do serials). The Lockhorns and Fred Basset weren't choices -- those are my go-to worst comics ever.
Least favorites were Family Circus, Ziggy, and Sally Forth (I don't do serials). The Lockhorns and Fred Basset weren't choices -- those are my go-to worst comics ever.
19
Yes, Family Circus is awful. But it's easy to ignore. My eyes just glaze over, and I pass by it.
Cathy, on the other hand, nearly triggers a completely irrational rage response in me. The "artwork" is like a 3rd grader's scratchings, and totally grates my nerves. The "humor" makes me want to punch the writer in the teeth. Worse than merely awful. It makes my sense of humor beg to die.
Cathy, on the other hand, nearly triggers a completely irrational rage response in me. The "artwork" is like a 3rd grader's scratchings, and totally grates my nerves. The "humor" makes me want to punch the writer in the teeth. Worse than merely awful. It makes my sense of humor beg to die.
20
Bizarro is good. Pearls Before Swine is good.
Get Fuzzy is stupid and should be mauled by pitbulls.
Get Fuzzy is stupid and should be mauled by pitbulls.
21
Every Ziggy improves dramatically if you change the caption to "Fuck you, dick."
Also, since Herman and The Family Circus run side by side in the times, if you swap captions it usually improves them both. No, really.
Also, since Herman and The Family Circus run side by side in the times, if you swap captions it usually improves them both. No, really.
22
Where's the hate for B.C.?
When there are jokes they aren't funny, and when there aren't jokes there's blatant proselytizing.
And for that matter, what about Snuffy Smith? Does that not run anywhere that folks read Slog? It's really amazingly offensive but it's still around.
Not that I don't hate the Family Circus and Cathy, mind you; I do. I hate them with an acidic, burning disgust that only grows with time.
Okay, you know what? I give up trying to sort out the bad ones. It's past time for newspaper comics to die. There are no good ones. Every joke and every story that can be told in the sterile family-safe medium of the funny pages has been told to death and the only "artists" left are the feeble-minded (like Bil Keane) and the blatant hacks (like Jim Davis). Like their parent publications, newspaper comics are relics of a nostalgically idealized but actually awful past era that just don't know they're dead yet.
When there are jokes they aren't funny, and when there aren't jokes there's blatant proselytizing.
And for that matter, what about Snuffy Smith? Does that not run anywhere that folks read Slog? It's really amazingly offensive but it's still around.
Not that I don't hate the Family Circus and Cathy, mind you; I do. I hate them with an acidic, burning disgust that only grows with time.
Okay, you know what? I give up trying to sort out the bad ones. It's past time for newspaper comics to die. There are no good ones. Every joke and every story that can be told in the sterile family-safe medium of the funny pages has been told to death and the only "artists" left are the feeble-minded (like Bil Keane) and the blatant hacks (like Jim Davis). Like their parent publications, newspaper comics are relics of a nostalgically idealized but actually awful past era that just don't know they're dead yet.
23
I usually just read the stuff from the Sunday paper. I like the political ones like Doonesbury and Non Sequitur. I also like the Duplex and Foxtrot and I'm too much of a creature of habit to pass up another dumb Garfield comic.
I remember the movie "Go" explaining why Family Circus is so bad.
Todd Gaines:There you are, enjoying your comics, when all of a sudden there's the Family Circus just waiting to suck, and ruin your whole experience.
Claire:Then why don't you just not read it?
Todd Gaines:I hate it, but I'm compelled to read it.
— dialogue from the movie Go
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Ma…
I remember the movie "Go" explaining why Family Circus is so bad.
Todd Gaines:There you are, enjoying your comics, when all of a sudden there's the Family Circus just waiting to suck, and ruin your whole experience.
Claire:Then why don't you just not read it?
Todd Gaines:I hate it, but I'm compelled to read it.
— dialogue from the movie Go
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Ma…
25
if there's no opportunity to show support for zippy the pinhead, this is exercise is as productive as masturbation.
26
At the risk of a positive note: Any chance this paper could add a comic or two? Zippy? Red Meat? Your favorite here?
27
"Homosexuality is the handiwork of Satan."
- Johnny Hart, funloving creator of B.C. and Wizard of Id. So his stuff gets bumped a little higher up the list for me. Also because he dropped fundie shit in his actual "comics." Dick.
- Johnny Hart, funloving creator of B.C. and Wizard of Id. So his stuff gets bumped a little higher up the list for me. Also because he dropped fundie shit in his actual "comics." Dick.
29
1. Dilbert can't hang himself. He has no neck.
2. The proselytizing by B.C. is a long running joke. It has to be. B fucking C!
3. Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine rock. That's all I have to say about that.
2. The proselytizing by B.C. is a long running joke. It has to be. B fucking C!
3. Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine rock. That's all I have to say about that.
32
The best comics were Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and the Far Side. Those are long gone, and I know longer even turn to the comics page (in the paper that I don't buy).
33
Anybody remember "Chef Pierre"? It started up in the Times at about the same time as "The Far Side"; and these were my two favourite strips. I wonder if I'd still like the former?
Oh, I used to love "The Fusco Brothers" as well -- mid-to-late '80s, if I recall.
The best comics were Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and the Far Side.
Anybody remember "Chef Pierre"? It started up in the Times at about the same time as "The Far Side"; and these were my two favourite strips. I wonder if I'd still like the former?
Oh, I used to love "The Fusco Brothers" as well -- mid-to-late '80s, if I recall.
34
Peanuts is the all-time best. Better than Calvin and Hobbes. History will bear me out on this. And I like Calvin and Hobbes. The Far Side is already starting to look like a weird fad.
@29 is totally right about Dilbert, although it would be hilarious to watch him try.
@26: I am always a big advocate of comics, although I've gotta say, I never really understood Zippy, and Red Meat stopped being funny for me over a decade ago.
@29 is totally right about Dilbert, although it would be hilarious to watch him try.
@26: I am always a big advocate of comics, although I've gotta say, I never really understood Zippy, and Red Meat stopped being funny for me over a decade ago.
35
Remind me never to buy the Oregonian again.
Seriously, cutting comics means nobody wants to read you.
Just look at what's happening to the UW Daily now that they cut the very funny horoscopes - people are using it for wiping their windshield and not even bothering to read it anymore.
Seriously, cutting comics means nobody wants to read you.
Just look at what's happening to the UW Daily now that they cut the very funny horoscopes - people are using it for wiping their windshield and not even bothering to read it anymore.
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