COMIC STRIP COMPLAINT, Etc.

[Fozzie Bear]

Heya,

It's called "Boondocks," and I'm not a fan. I think it fits more into the 'editorial' cartoons than it does the 'funnies.' Quite honestly, I've never been entertained by it, and the weird thing is I keep reading it hoping it'll catch on.

You've proven one of my points before that some strips are good, but mainly if you have a family, just exactly what you said here:

that as I've become a father, my feelings towards things like "Family Circus," which I may have burned in effigy at one point, have softened.

Family Circus has lost it for me lately, but my friends with families dig it.

Here's something interesting to note: Bill Keane wanted a raise from his syndicate, and they called him out for a meeting. He showed up, and they brewed largely over his 'raise' and things got to boiling really good, and that's when the big whigs threw some Family Circus comics at him.
"Who did this?" Bill asked, and they pointed to a 19 year old that was in the room with them the whole time. He dropped the 'comics' on the table and left without the raise. That's a story as I have heard it.

I seem to doubt very seriously that Picasso would have been treated as badly.

 

[Gonzo]

Heya,

It's called "Boondocks," and I'm not a fan. I think it fits more into the 'editorial' cartoons than it does the 'funnies.'

...I think there's room for more than just "funnies" in the comics section--and as someone who's been drawing editorial cartoons for the last five years, I also think there's room for more on the editorial page than they've currently got going on. Cartoons featuring political humor have been a feature of the comics section since..."The Yellow Kid," and comics may not have come to exist in their current form in the last century without political cartoons. Your same relocation request should be leveled against "Doonesbury" and "Bloom County."

But I can respect that you don't enjoy it. I don't enjoy some of the ones you listed, and think they would fit more into the classifieds than the funnies.



My big beef today is comics that are just pooooorly drawn, like "Helen Sweetheart of the Internet." That one is a fairly recent addition to our newspaper, and it's horrible.

BTW, both major Salt Lake newspapers just doubled their comics sections, resulting in both larger comic strips and more of them...I was shocked and awed to see THAT happen. They'll probably shrink the format again in a few months, so I'll take it while I can.

 

[Drtooth]

Am I the only person in the world who thinks Get Fuzzy isn't funny in the least? In fact I find it stupid, in my honest opinion.

I fail to see the humor in most of the strips I've seen. What is its charm and appeal? I know it was just named best strip this past year, and for the life of me, I'm lost as to why.

Radioboy, you are not alone! I hate gte Fuzzy! I thought it was an anti-Garfield (lord knows, I do love Garfield) but then it became homoginized into another "Talking Animals being cute" strip (Come on, we know Kevin here is more deserving!!!)

Garfield is just losing his tough! We need more "Weird Strips" and less of the boiring "Going through the motions" strips. More hits like "DOOR DOG!!!" And ones where John Arbuckle screams.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

One thing I'm shocked at is that FBOFW hasn't become a series, animated or live action, yet. The story lines are very good, and that's why I like it.

FBOFW was actually made in to an animated series several years ago. Not sure if it was an "original" series or a collection of specials (like the Peanuts/Snoopy TV show that turns up every few years). It was aired in Canada on Teletoon and it must have been on in the US somewhere because Teletoon wasn't producing anything independently then.

The Christmas special is 10+ years old now. If memory serves, there were a series of seasonal FBOFW specials.

Don't get me wrong about Lynn Johnson either. She's constantly broken ground in comics throughout her career. FBOFW is practically the national comic strip of Canada. Readers would riot if a paper up here cancelled it. I just don't enjoy the strip as much as I used to, partially due to the fact I only get to read it from time to time so I can't follow the storylines closely.

 

[sarah_yzma]

partially due to the fact I only get to read it from time to time so I can't follow the storylines closely.

how do you live

 

[radionate]

The Christmas special is 10+ years old now. If memory serves, there were a series of seasonal FBOFW specials.

These show up on video at her website from time to time. I really would love to at least get the Christmas special as I remember it very fondly.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

how do you live

Let's not go there....

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Your same relocation request should be leveled against "Doonesbury" and "Bloom County."

Definitely Doonesbury!! Actually, it isn't in our local paper next to regular dailies; it's in sports or editorials, I forget which, along with Ziggy (?!) and a comic strip about a duck.

Badly drawn toons? I agree. I can never bring myself to read Sally Forth. It looks like something I'VE drawn!! Ick.

As far as simplicity goes, I like Mutts and Born Loser. Those are fun. I can't see why the simpler drawn comics aren't as well liked as the more detailed drawn strips. Anybody familiar with Mutts? No or Yesh?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I believe "Bloom Country" ended a decade or more ago. "Outland" followed it up, but that was retired several years ago too, wasn't it? If either of these are still running in papers, its because they are reruns, like Peanuts.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I haven't seen either published as of late.

I loved both, though.