Slog
News & ArtsFriday, July 31, 2009
Arts Your Daily Poll Dance
Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 10:49 AM
From the ashes of yesterday's Family Circus-soaked poll rises today's follow-up poll:
What is the worst comic strip of all time?
(Click names of comics for examples of each.)
11
Geez Cathy haters have some heart!
Consider the Marmaduke Circus:
Family circus image with Marmaduke caption
+ Marmaduke image with Family Circus caption
= Something transcendent
Consider the Marmaduke Circus:
Family circus image with Marmaduke caption
+ Marmaduke image with Family Circus caption
= Something transcendent
14
This is nearly impossible. I think my actual vote would be Fred Basset, since I always read it as a kid expecting it to be funny. And it never once was. It never even attempted to be funny.
But, my vote here has got to be Family Circus. So pointless...
But, my vote here has got to be Family Circus. So pointless...
18
@5: Oh jesus, how did they overlook that one? Would have had my vote in a heartbeat. As it stands, it was really, really hard to choose between family circus and cathy. Garfield was up there, but then I remember all the amazing things that have been created by screwing with garfield and think popular culture is better for Jim Davis having existed.
19
Family Circus barely beats Cathy on my dislike scale.
We like "For Better For Worse", in our house. Not for the humor, but for the grace in which they handled a character's coming out to his family and friends, and another character being physically abused at home by his father. It has opened up a lot of healthy discussion in our home.
We like "For Better For Worse", in our house. Not for the humor, but for the grace in which they handled a character's coming out to his family and friends, and another character being physically abused at home by his father. It has opened up a lot of healthy discussion in our home.
21
@7 -- You are right. The death of Heathcliff was the only thing that made me happy about the death of the P-I.
22
That was the hardest Daily Poll Dance ever! I stared at it for over a minute not sure which steaming pile to vote for. Okay, back to work.
23
@19: Kim, I share your feelings about the Family Circus vs. Cathy conundrum and came to the exact same decision. They really should have let us vote for more than one, don't you think?
25
Hehehe... 1 out of 2 sloggers replied that they hate the two comics they've seen in the past two days on Slog.
Readers, you don't HAVE to hate what the Slog tells you to hate.
Seriously, there were some really bad comics to choose from. Tough decisions all around.
Readers, you don't HAVE to hate what the Slog tells you to hate.
Seriously, there were some really bad comics to choose from. Tough decisions all around.
27
with a few notable exceptions, comic strips are just bad. but doonsbury remains the one comic strip i've always hated with unbridled rage, simply because it's so. fucking. UGLY. whether it's funny or not i couldn't even tell you. i can't stand to look at it long enough to find out.
hideous!!
hideous!!
28
Family Circus it is. All the rest are terrible, but, for most of them, someone, somewhere probably once found them funny. As one example, children seem to like Garfield. Kids also have terrible taste, but whatever.
Family Circus has never, ever been funny, insightful, or anything else. It exists solely for elderly stroke victims.
Family Circus has never, ever been funny, insightful, or anything else. It exists solely for elderly stroke victims.
30
the worst is clearly the lockhorns. just get a fucking divorce already! i don't think i've ever laughed at that. cathy looks artful compared to the lockhorns.
31
@20 Yes!
I voted Lockhorns because you can get great comedy out of two hateful people married to each other, yet Lockhorns always failed.
I voted Lockhorns because you can get great comedy out of two hateful people married to each other, yet Lockhorns always failed.
32
Marmaduke by far. Cathy can sometimes, and that's a BIG sometimes, be funny or just "haha, true". Family cirus is annoying, but fucking marmaduke completely annoys the hell out of me.
34
I always liked For Better or For Worse when I was younger, though I don't read it now. It wasn't typically all that funny, per se, but I enjoyed following the kids through time and having a comic that seemed more "real life" (but while steering clear of Sally Forth territory or anything).
37
Fred Basset is easily the worst comic strip ever. All those other ones at least have some sort of attempted point or try for a punchline. You might not like what Family Circus does, you might be sick of the endless cliches that Cathy spouts, but Fred Basset doesn't even attempt any of these things. Seriously, read some examples and see if you can even discern any form of humor or even any sort of point.
39
BC should have definitely been on the list but the all time worst is the right wing nut comic "Prick City."
40
the only thing that redeemed marmaduke is "marmaduke explained" (http://marmadukeexplained.blogspot.com/)
43
Family Circus, while bad, has made me titter from time to time.
Cathy, on the other hand, never, ever has.
Cathy, on the other hand, never, ever has.
49
I'd have to go with Apt. 3-G as the worst comic ever.
But for your enjoyment, Cracked has a list of The 5 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Comic Strips. It's pretty funny.
But for your enjoyment, Cracked has a list of The 5 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Comic Strips. It's pretty funny.
51
BC is the worst, it was not only terribly unfunny, but often xenophobic and racist as well, and not back in the old days when all the comic strips were racist, it's been like that this millenium.
52
it wasn't until today that i ever considered the fact that ziggy is really only my 5th most-hated comic strip. thanks, stranger.
marmaduke-haters resource: http://marmadukeexplained.blogspot.com/
marmaduke-haters resource: http://marmadukeexplained.blogspot.com/
53
This was really hard. I could have seen voting for five or six of the ones presented. Mallard Filmore was conspicuous in its absence from the list of choices. I guess the concern is if you include Mallard Filmore, and it wins, you'll never know whether it was its politics or its suckiness that pushed to the top. But it could win in either category alone. BC has horrible politics but I have occasionally found some of the nonpolitical, nonsexist, nonracist and nonreligious BC strips funny.
54
I went with Marvin just for the "artist's" sheer inability to draw or to visually tell a story, let alone be unfunny. Some Marvin strip look like three panels of single photocopied piece clip-art with really crappy word baloons.
58
In a few years I think everyone will realize that Get Fuzzy is a steaming pile of shit.
We'll also acknowledge that Funky Winkerbean tried too hard to be like For Better or Worse, and that they were both awful as well.
We'll also acknowledge that Funky Winkerbean tried too hard to be like For Better or Worse, and that they were both awful as well.
59
@57: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *gasp*
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
62
It's hard to love Garfield now, but think back to its early days! I have one name for you: LYMAN! Mainstream comics' first suspiciously gay character?
63
BC, Mallard Fillmore and Prickly City are all horrid because stabbed-in-the-back whiny right-wing victimization by definition is not funny. The others on the list are all pretty damn bad (when Jeff MacNelly was alive, Shoe was tolerable--no longer), but Cathy, with its insane materialism, borders on evil, and in years of periodically reading Marmaduke, I only once saw an African American depicted (as a basketball player on TV), so for retrograde hackishness, I go with the Great Dane.
66
I frequently enjoy me some B.C., even if it is often creationist. Family Circus, on the other hand, is just godawful. For Better or For Worse was boring when I was a kid, but I grew to be a big fan in college. I was upset the day that Farley died.
67
If we nominated comics right now for a "best of the bad", I'd have to jointly nominate Jane's World, Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine because the artists clearly haven't come to terms with their mutual dislike of eachother.
Pastis constantly terrorize's Braddock's dog in his strips, Braddock refers to Pastis as a sweaty jackass and Conley has nothing but mean things to say in reference to Pastis while making vague reference to Braddock from time to time.
Pastis constantly terrorize's Braddock's dog in his strips, Braddock refers to Pastis as a sweaty jackass and Conley has nothing but mean things to say in reference to Pastis while making vague reference to Braddock from time to time.
68
Worst Family Circus plot gimmick: dead grandparents dressed as angels and smiling from clouds as kids do something especially lame.
69
Family Circus achieves a new level of awful. It just lies there on the page and you know better but somehow it attracts your gaze and you can't look away and then OH MY GOD THE SUCK ITS EATING MY SOUL.
Also, it's porn for old republicans.
Also, it's porn for old republicans.
70
Although one must frequently quell the urge to retch while reading the Family Circus, it's predominately for young children and family sharing. Cathy, on the other hand, tries to be a humorous and insightful portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a modern, single woman in today's world. Ack.
Those who enjoy and relate deeply to Cathy's daily petty fears and social disorders are most likely the grown children of families that regularly laughed together while reading Family Circus. “Look, PJ…. Mommy is enabling Jeffy's eating disorder."
Those who enjoy and relate deeply to Cathy's daily petty fears and social disorders are most likely the grown children of families that regularly laughed together while reading Family Circus. “Look, PJ…. Mommy is enabling Jeffy's eating disorder."
71
Seems to me the best comics don't last nearly as long as the worst.
Farside, Calvin and Hobbes, Perry Bible Fellowship. There are ones that give me a chuckle in the paper today, too, but they tend to be newer.
For Better or Worse, I actually think is a good comic but not necessarily a funny one.
Farside, Calvin and Hobbes, Perry Bible Fellowship. There are ones that give me a chuckle in the paper today, too, but they tend to be newer.
For Better or Worse, I actually think is a good comic but not necessarily a funny one.
74
Town called Dobson, gets points for making my smile and for making me think. http://www.towncalleddobson.com/
75
Get Fuzzy is not that bad... it's weird. That's usually better than your normal pile-o-shit treepaper comic.
For the life of me I can't decide C&H and Far Side for best. I dearly loved them both as a kid. However, working in a biology building and having a few choice elevator Far Sides in the rickety elevator repeatedly makes me smile.
For the life of me I can't decide C&H and Far Side for best. I dearly loved them both as a kid. However, working in a biology building and having a few choice elevator Far Sides in the rickety elevator repeatedly makes me smile.
77
at least family circus appears within a circle.
way more eyecatching, and cathys eyes are too close together.
way more eyecatching, and cathys eyes are too close together.
78
Where's the love for Bloom County? Now THAT was genius. Re-reading the books almost makes me misty-eyed for Casper Weinberger.
79
The Family Circus--it has never, ever, ever made me laugh even as a 5 year old. Cathy is a close second to me, because although it has a few humorous moments, it got real old, real fast. And somehow, it seemed insulting to women, not supportive.
I miss the Far Side--it still makes me laugh.
I miss the Far Side--it still makes me laugh.
81
Catalina Vel DuRay better weigh in on this
But as for me, I wanted to vote for all of them, but I voted for Ziggy to spite my father. He used to clip them and leave them on the kitchen counter for us. Blech.
But as for me, I wanted to vote for all of them, but I voted for Ziggy to spite my father. He used to clip them and leave them on the kitchen counter for us. Blech.
82
I'm surprised Garfield isn't getting more votes- but then, it does at least have Garfield Minus Garfield going for it. Either that or Jim Davis's marketing talents are just that insidious.
83
I know I'm late to the party, but Bizarro (by Piraro!) is the best strip printed today. Non Sequiter is up there, too. I miss my Far Side, Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes.
Cathy v. FC? At least FC appeals to young children. Cathy is horrible.
Cathy v. FC? At least FC appeals to young children. Cathy is horrible.
84
Blargh! You all know that Family Circus is just the worst. Think of all the times you read it, and hated it a little bit, silently. You know what you have to do...
87
BC had it's moments. Garfield had some AWESOME moments. As just about every other cartoon on the list other than Lockhorns had some brilliant moments.
Anyone else remember Rex M.D. (Is that what it was called?) I mean, what was the point of that?
But Family Circus and Cathy? It was a difficult choice for me, simply because they were never funny. Cathy is actually kind of offensive. I mean, it's a stereotypical self victimizing bitchy woman. Overly emotional, slave to chocolate, and hating on her thirty something singledom.
Same damn "jokes" over and over again.
Anyone else remember Rex M.D. (Is that what it was called?) I mean, what was the point of that?
But Family Circus and Cathy? It was a difficult choice for me, simply because they were never funny. Cathy is actually kind of offensive. I mean, it's a stereotypical self victimizing bitchy woman. Overly emotional, slave to chocolate, and hating on her thirty something singledom.
Same damn "jokes" over and over again.
89
Prince Valium. Will they EVER stop running that damned thing? The only reason I didn't vote BC, though, is because the artist retired it a year or two ago; he's no longer doing new ones. I fucking hated BC. I hate Mallard Fillmore and Prickly City, too - they've never once moved beyond their partisan hackery to even ATTEMPT to make an amusing point. It IS possible, albeit difficult, to be both conservative and witty, but both those strips fail dismally.
And I dearly love Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine. I think Conley and Pastis give each other shit in their respective strips because they're friends, and that's what guys do.
And I dearly love Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine. I think Conley and Pastis give each other shit in their respective strips because they're friends, and that's what guys do.
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