A Look at the Funny Papers! [Archive]

w3sy

07-21-2005, 04:22 PM

Time for our periodic look at the funny papers. That term is still a bit of an oxymoron, since most comics are NOT funny.

But some are. My new favorite (after my paper regrettably axed "Willy 'n' Ethel") is "Pearls Before Swine." Too hard to describe this comic. You must read it for a couple weeks to get the feel. But there is a definite taste of Far Side and Dilbert mixed in there. My favorite episodes involve the bumbling Crocodiles who want to eat the zebra next door. Sound crazy? Tune in, and it will make sense. Very wry, very ironic, very intelligent. (That means it's doomed in this paper, but we shall see.) Recently took a satirical swipe at the insipid "Family Circus" comic by suggesting Osama Bin Laden was hiding out with that family because they were the only family in America so "out of touch" that they wouldn't know who he was.

"Get Fuzzy" took a while to grow on me. Now it's one of my favorites. You have to understand the connection between the characters.

"One Big Happy" is clever, funny, and appealing.

"Dilbert?" I don't just love it -- I LIVE it. If you don't work for a big company, you have no idea how REAL the humor is.

"Sally Forth" sucks in every way a comic can suck, plus some new ways of sucking that scientists are only beginning to understand. My head is developing an indentation where I've been repeatedly cracked over the skull with its heavy handed feminist message. Enough smug preaching. I'm so sick and tired of the "perfect" Forth family surrounded by people (usually MEN) who sometimes make their lives unhappy. The cartoonist needs to take a lesson from "Dilbert," where EVERYONE is flawed.

"For Better or Worse" is a sappy, smug Canadian comic that pushes the limits of PeeCee to new frontiers. The most recent episodes have us dropping in on "stay at home dad" Anthony, whose sourpuss wife is much too important to be a MOTHER, God forbid. Yet he takes it, and seems to "know his place." Good boy. Yesterday, he was carrying the baby in one of those front-mounted slings, where the baby dangles at about stomach level. Anthony mused, "Now I'm starting to understand what pregnancy is all about!" Just put on a dress, Anthony. Jesus....

"B.C." is still brain dead, and desperately unfunny. Is the attempt at humor forced? More like "constipated."

"Boondocks" and "Doonesbury?" Banished to to editorial pages with all the other "I Hate America" crap my paper prints. Should have happened long ago.

For now,
I am

Out.

kl7aj

07-21-2005, 05:23 PM

Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 21 2005,09:22)]Time for our periodic look at the funny papers. That term is still a bit of an oxymoron, since most comics are NOT funny.

But some are. My new favorite (after my paper regrettably axed "Willy 'n' Ethel") is "Pearls Before Swine." Too hard to describe this comic. You must read it for a couple weeks to get the feel. But there is a definite taste of Far Side and Dilbert mixed in there. My favorite episodes involve the bumbling Crocodiles who want to eat the zebra next door. Sound crazy? Tune in, and it will make sense. Very wry, very ironic, very intelligent. (That means it's doomed in this paper, but we shall see.) Recently took a satirical swipe at the insipid "Family Circus" comic by suggesting Osama Bin Laden was hiding out with that family because they were the only family in America so "out of touch" that they wouldn't know who he was.

"Get Fuzzy" took a while to grow on me. Now it's one of my favorites. You have to understand the connection between the characters.

"One Big Happy" is clever, funny, and appealing.

"Dilbert?" I don't just love it -- I LIVE it. If you don't work for a big company, you have no idea how REAL the humor is.

"Sally Forth" sucks in every way a comic can suck, plus some new ways of sucking that scientists are only beginning to understand. My head is developing an indentation where I've been repeatedly cracked over the skull with its heavy handed feminist message. Enough smug preaching. I'm so sick and tired of the "perfect" Forth family surrounded by people (usually MEN) who sometimes make their lives unhappy. The cartoonist needs to take a lesson from "Dilbert," where EVERYONE is flawed.

"For Better or Worse" is a sappy, smug Canadian comic that pushes the limits of PeeCee to new frontiers. The most recent episodes have us dropping in on "stay at home dad" Anthony, whose sourpuss wife is much too important to be a MOTHER, God forbid. Yet he takes it, and seems to "know his place." Good boy. Yesterday, he was carrying the baby in one of those front-mounted slings, where the baby dangles at about stomach level. Anthony mused, "Now I'm starting to understand what pregnancy is all about!" Just put on a dress, Anthony. Jesus....

"B.C." is still brain dead, and desperately unfunny. Is the attempt at humor forced? More like "constipated."

"Boondocks" and "Doonesbury?" Banished to to editorial pages with all the other "I Hate America" crap my paper prints. Should have happened long ago.

For now,
I am

Out.
Zippy the Pinhead saves the day. Smart, ironic, and more funny the more you think about it. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

eric

KW4MW

07-21-2005, 05:55 PM

It is not my intent to hijack this thread but:

kl7aj, Can you please explain to me why you felt it necessary to reprint the entire text of SY's comments, particulary since your posting immediately followed his?

IN other news:

A strip I particulary enjoy is "Pickles" but you probably have to be an OF like myself to enjoy it.

K8YS

07-21-2005, 06:00 PM

Since the end of Farside, I have not looked at the comic page.

k4kyv

07-21-2005, 06:35 PM

Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 21 2005,09:22)]"Sally Forth" sucks in every way a comic can suck, plus some new ways of sucking that scientists are only beginning to understand. My head is developing an indentation where I've been repeatedly cracked over the skull with its heavy handed feminist message.
I think you are taking it way too seriously. However, I usually read it; the thing that catches my attention is the permanent smirk everyone seems to have, especially the females. Ever notice that?

I thought it was pretty asinine when they gave up the trip to Paris to pay $4000 for surgery on the cat, to placate their whining spoilt brat. I would have had the cat euthanised and acquired a new one after the trip. No shortage of kittens looking for a home.

Quote[/b] ]"Boondocks" and "Doonesbury?" Banished to to editorial pages with all the other "I Hate America" crap my paper prints. Should have happened long ago.
I get Doonesbury over the internet. Our local paper did not renew it after Trudeau returned from his sabbatical. They wouldn't admit that the editors didn't like some of the political satire, so they came up with the lame excuse that something about the sizing format of the strip wouldn't fit what the newspaper uses.

kc2kde

07-21-2005, 06:45 PM

I agree with 4MW. "Pickles" and "Dilbert" are the best in my paper. The worst? Well, probably "Sally Forth". Marmaduke used to be funny, but the writer must have lost his thing.

w3sy

07-21-2005, 08:20 PM

OM KYV ---

What you are seeing is the "punchline smirk." The last panel ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS has someone smirking.

As for the cat episode, still baffled by that one. I know people who LOVE their pets beyond all description.... But would not pay that kinda chedda for surgery. All this followed on the heels of Control Freak Sally unilaterally dictating that the family was now on a budget so tight, they'd be eating baked beans and counting paper clips for the duration.

The next week, she decided they needed to go to (of all places) Paris.

Huh?

Either you have disposable income, OR YOU DON'T. The "we're not spending a dime more than we have to" talk only comes up if you are really strapped... again, unless you are a control freak and like laying down rules for everyone. "Oh never mind. Let's spend several kilobucks and travel to Europe."

Then the stupid cat got sick. Yes, the whining brat forced that decision. Speaking of annoyingly-precocious, and not-at-all-gender-stereotyped Hillary (yeah, that's the kid's name), remember when her school suggested she skip a grade? Yeah, I'll bet we were ALL relating to that one. Even smart kids have to be prodded to keep up with their school work and get decent grades. In their smug little world, the kid is too good for her grade. Yeah, that happens every day.

Biggest beef (among many) with the strip is the cartoonist seems never to have worked in an office in the past 20 years, or had kids. Why do Sally and her co-workers all dress like it's 1980? Ties, suspenders, two-tone shirts... Haven't seen that for ages! And when Hillary was recommended for a grade skip, Sally was all, "Do it! Do it! Do it!" A REAL parent would very very carefully consider the social impact of moving up a child into a grade where the kids were older, bigger, and more socially advanced. NO sane parent would quickly rubberstamp a decision like that...

Odd that a cartoonist who writes about the workplace and the family would be so out of touch with each. Ya follow me?

Notice that all the real jerks at work are MEN? The calm, thoughtful, wise ones are all women? Without commenting on where REALITY actually lies, this one-sided portrayal is just more male bashing. Feh!

As for husband Ted, overall, he's kind of a non-assertive, limp wrist Girly Guy. That, in itself, is okay. He is what he is. Could you imagine Sally hooking up with a guy she COULDN'T control? Having said that -- Why does he sometimes take on this "I'm too macho" persona now and then, like when he was confronted by Sally about letting her be coach of Hillary's softball team? Seems very out of character for him. Looks like the cartoonist is grasping at straws to find MORE ways men can be jerks. Yawn.

Okay. This is the last "panel" of this reply. Look -- I'm smirking and squinting.

K8ERV

07-21-2005, 08:46 PM

Pickels, Beetle, Id, Dilbert, Hager, Alley Oop, Frank & Ernest, Born Loser, Garfield. All the rest go on the floor under dawg.

TOM K8ERV #Montrose Colo

w3sy

07-21-2005, 09:21 PM

Family Circus --- Why do the kids come up only to their parents' knees? Why do people who wear glasses have no eyeballs? Why isn't the Platitude Spouting Granny in a home? Why does the dead grandfather wear a robe with a rope belt and live on a cloud? How come he doesn't fall to the ground on a clear day?? Who would name their dog "Barfy?" And why would you NOT name your cat "Pukey?"

Doonesbury -- You are old if you remember when this strip was about a bunch of carefree college cutups. The constant daily heavy-handed far left political preaching is a relatively recent development.

Blondie -- Will the self-congratulation stop soon?? The strip is nearing its 75th anniversary, apparently, and that's all they've been droning on about for weeks. Supposedly, characters from other strips will make "guest appearances" in Blondie (in the comic strip, that is) to join in the "celebration." Gimmeabreak. Nobody cares.

Cathy -- The single most annoying comic strip ever written. "Sally Forth" is "Far Side" by comparison. The theme used to be:

1) Cathy is single.
2) Cathy is fat.
3) Cathy works too hard.
4) Poor Cathy!

Then she got engaged to that yuppie moron, Irving. For MONTHS, all the cartoonist wrote about was the engagement and wedding plans. Supposedly, Cathy the cartoon character mirrors the life of her creator/cartoonist, who also married late in life after sitting on the shelf WAY beyond her "best if used by" date. If you are male and like this comic, better double check to be sure you have "two of 'em."

Out.

N0KLT

07-21-2005, 09:23 PM

If you folks think Sally Forth is the worst comic strip ever, you have never seem Mary Worth. For some reason, our paper keeps on carrying that piece of crap strip even though every time they run a reader poll to see what strips to continue, which to drop and which to add, Mary Worth ranks as the least favorite strip and highest on the list to drop, it continues. The only thing I can think of is that the syndicate that handles the strip charges next to nothing for it or pays the paper to run it. Several good strips have been dropped over the years due to high charges to run the strips.

I would love to see Tumbleweeds picked up by our paper as well as several other strips but I hear their budget is getting thinner up there every year for carrying funny strips.

As long as they don't drop Sherman's Lagoon, I guess I will survive. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

w3sy

07-21-2005, 09:26 PM

The last remaining readers of Mary Worth and Apartment 3-G died in 1972. Hard to understand why comics of that ilk still run.

AG3Y

07-21-2005, 09:28 PM

I really miss "Calvin and Hobbs" ! ! ! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

n0jaa

07-22-2005, 01:14 AM

I haven't read the funny papers ever since Charles Schulz passed away.

w3sy

07-22-2005, 04:25 AM

Calvin, Far Side... All the good ones die young.

Peanuts is being re-run in our paper. Hardly ever laugh so hard I wet myself, but I love that strip. Its appeal is timeless and ageless. Charles Schulz was the Mozart of the funny papers.

k4kyv

07-22-2005, 05:18 AM

Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 21 2005,14:21)]Blondie -- Will the self-congratulation stop soon?? The strip is nearing its 75th anniversary, apparently, and that's all they've been droning on about for weeks. Supposedly, characters from other strips will make "guest appearances" in Blondie (in the comic strip, that is) to join in the "celebration." Gimmeabreak. Nobody cares.
Ever noticed how in Blondie, no-one ever stands up straight? Everyone ALWAYS stands in a slouching posture with their knees bent.

KG4CGC

07-22-2005, 05:26 AM

Quote[/b] (k4kyv @ July 22 2005,01:18)]Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 21 2005,14:21)]Blondie -- Will the self-congratulation stop soon?? The strip is nearing its 75th anniversary, apparently, and that's all they've been droning on about for weeks. Supposedly, characters from other strips will make "guest appearances" in Blondie (in the comic strip, that is) to join in the "celebration." Gimmeabreak. Nobody cares.
Ever noticed #how in Blondie, no-one ever stands up straight? Everyone ALWAYS stands in a slouching posture with their knees bent.
and butts poking out.
But, alas for it only ran for one season:
http://timstvshowcase.com/blondie.jpg

k4kyv

07-22-2005, 05:39 AM

Beetle Baily used to always be funny, but I think the writer has run out of ideas and now much of the time, the strip is just plain stupid.

Sarge still occasionally falls off the cliff and catches the little bush growing out the side to hang onto. I like most of those.

The strip lost its punch when the Army became all-volunteer. The whole object of the story was to depict a lazy, resentful draftee who got a kick out of beating the system.

Even 30 years ago, the artist never quite got the Army uniform right. And I remember when some readers complained about Miss Buxley, so he made the strip more politically correct by drawing her showing less skin.

Even though the artists' names are different, the same person must draw Beetle Baily and Hi and Lois.

KG6YTZ

07-22-2005, 09:25 AM

Quote[/b] (KW4MW @ July 21 2005,10:55)]A strip I particulary enjoy is "Pickles" but you probably have to be an OF like myself to enjoy it.
I get my comics online, and "Pickles" is one of my favorites as well. #In the same vein, I also enjoy "Ben," another good strip about grandparenthood, and got some laughs out of the defunct "Grandfather Clause" by Virgil Wright. #OF? #Me? #Nope... #Just screamin' downhill toward 39.

Scott Adams ["Dilbert"] proclaimed Stephan Pastis's "Pearls Before Swine" to be the best comic to come along in a VERY long time, but now he says that about "Unfit," the saga of a musclebound personal trainer with some hopelessly out-of-shape clients. #The jury's still out on that one over here - "Unfit" does have its moments, but the artwork is amateurish. #[Can any of those people ever bend their elbows, or are they all permamently fused at that angle?]

I really miss the inimitable and unique "James" by Mark Tonra. #The lifespan of that truly terrific strip was all too brief.

Really, I have current favorites too numerous to count, and if you want to go way off the mainstream, check out Leonard Cachola's "Innies And Outties" web comic [start at the beginning to get the character development, or none of it will make any real sense] and various strips by Owen Dunne at http://www.youdamnkid.com. #[Caution: Much of Owen's stuff is NOT for kids!]

Others strips [mainstream newspaper stuff!] to check out: "Big Nate" by Lincoln Peirce, "The Buckets" by Scott Stantis [don't worry, there is absolutely none of Stantis's "Prickly City" political preaching in that one], and "Soup To Nutz" by Rick Stromoski [speaking of amateurish art again http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif].

AND FINALLY, before I forget it, DO NOT overlook "Brewster Rockit: Space Guy" by Tim Rickard. #If any comic strip is poised to make the crossover to a smash hit TV series, it's this one. #As long as they were to retain Rickard to do the writing, that is... #"Brewster" and the crew of the space station R.U. Sirius pay loving tribute to science fiction and all its fanboy cliches while simultaneously giving it a sharp poke in the eye. #Scott Adams is wrong - "Unfit" is not the best new comic. #"Brewster Rockit" is.

w3sy

07-22-2005, 11:55 PM

Re: How people stand in the Blondie strip... Their center of gravity is WAAAY off... Their knees are bent, and they are leaning backwards. Try it -- YOU CAN'T DO IT!

And when they are surprised by something, exclamation points squirt out of their heads. What's up with that??

Does Russ Meyer have anything to do with drawing the Blondie comic? All the women have huge... huge....... HUGE tracts of land! Haw....

As for Sally Forth, does it disturb any of you that wimpy weenie husband Ted has no body hair and NO NIPPLES? Years ago, they would show him with arm hair when he was being "macho" about something, and no arm hair when he was being his usual limp wristed self.

Yeah, I notice things like that.

KI4DYA

07-23-2005, 12:15 AM

Comics.com (http://www.comics.com) carries 'Get Fuzzy' (one of the best IMHO) along with several of the others.

Chopping Block (http://www.choppingblock.org) is another great one, but not for everyone, I highly recommend starting at the beginning.

CtrlAltDel (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com) is great if you're into gaming, kind of story driven, so again, start at the beginning.

RealLifeComics (http://www.reallifecomics.com) is just all-around cool, again, the beginning to avoid getting lost.

Questionable Content (http://www.questionablecontent.net) mainly appeals to those of us in the younger age brackets I think. Great Emo/Indie strip.

Sinfest (http://www.sinfest.net) one of the best, bar none! Tatsuya is a God amongst cartoonists.

Helps to be into Linux, or at the very least computing in general to fully appreciate Userfriendly. (http://www.userfriendly.org)

Ubersoft (http://www.ubersoft.net) is the brainchild of a friend of mine, kind of along the same lines as Userfriendly. Definately for the geek set.

KG6YTZ

07-23-2005, 07:24 AM

Quote[/b] (KI4DYA @ July 22 2005,17:15)]Sinfest (http://www.sinfest.net) one of the best, bar none! #Tatsuya is a God amongst cartoonists.
Well, I just might be able to get into Sinfest. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Over five years' worth to catch up on, though...

Hey, did anyone here read HappyLand by [John?] Hlinko & Gus D'Angelo? That was back around '97 or so and the strip is long since gone, but the animation site which rose from the ashes - The Quickie - is still around, although apparently relatively stagnant.

AG3Y

07-23-2005, 03:19 PM

I'm glad someone mentioned "UserFriendly" Really funny E-Toon ! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

n0xu

07-23-2005, 03:36 PM

One of the best lately is "Zits". Has teenage angst to the letter, and the angst of parents-who-have-teenagers-with-angst down pat. Very funny strip.

KD4LEI

07-23-2005, 04:01 PM

Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 21 2005,03:22)]"Dilbert?" I don't just love it -- I LIVE it. If you don't work for a big company, you have no idea how REAL the humor is.
Dilbert reminds me a little of the movie, "Office Space."

Gosh what humourous movie.

KC0W

07-23-2005, 04:13 PM

Crankshaft.

'Ole Ed is what every ham will be someday!!!

Tom kcØw

k4kyv

07-23-2005, 04:30 PM

I still miss Li'l Abner.

Used to read Dick Tracy, but it morphed from a semi-credible 1930's era cop story to the ridiculous (people living in an open valley on the moon, police using magnetic flying buckets that looked like a cross between crutches and a golf bag, and the two-way wrist TV). "Junior" ended up marrying a native moon resident! I haven't seen it in years. Does it still run anywhere?

Li'l Abner used to sometimes carry episodes of "Fearless Fosdick", a spoof on Dick Tracy.

Another one that started out funny but degenerated to the asinine, was Kudzu. Our local newspaper discontinued it after readers complained they were tired of seeing nothing but the idiotic preacher.

For some interesting reading, check out some of the strips from the '20's and '30's. They can sometimes be found reprinted in book form at your local bookstore.

w3sy

07-26-2005, 04:08 PM

In today's "BC" (Braindead Comic) -- A fish swims ashore and walks out on two legs. He asks a clam, "Where's the Darwinian conference?" Clam says, "Two caves down."

In the final panel, as the fish walks away, the clam says, "And YOU thought CLAMS having legs was a stretch."

Okay, I know what this is all about. Johnny Hart, the cartoonist of this pathetically unfunny comic strip, is a hard core fundamentalist whack job. He's taking a swipe at the whole idea of evolution.

Right, Johnny. Creationism. Got it.

Sheesh.

KI4DYA

07-26-2005, 05:26 PM

Guy walks into a doctor's office screaming, 'Help me doc, help me! Oh please HELP ME!'

Doctor rushes from his office to the man's side and asks, 'What can I do? What's wrong with you?'

Guy says, 'It hurts when I poke myself in the eye!' and at these words he jabs a forefinger violently into his eye a couple of times. 'Oh Lord what can be done to stop the pain?' the man wails.

'Stop jabbing your finger in your eye' the doctor replies and walks away.

k4kyv

07-27-2005, 03:41 AM

Notice that the Beetle Baily strip has never made any reference to Iraq or the fact that the army is presently involved in a war. No desert training episodes or mention of guys getting shipped out.

During the Vietnam war, they depicted jungle warfare training, combat duty, and occasionally the word "Viet Nam" was actually mentioned in the strip.

KG6YTZ

07-27-2005, 05:27 AM

Are any of you aware of the connection between Beetle Bailey and Hi & Lois? I believe Beetle and Lois are related. [Brother and sister? Cousins?] At any rate, Beetle is related to either Hi or Lois [I'm fairly sure it's Lois], and one strip is a spinoff of the other. I think Beetle Bailey was first - I seem to recall reading that there was a sequence where Beetle took some leave and went to visit Lois [?], and the artist decided the characters were good enough to have their own strip.

Aside from the Beetle/Lois connection and "Bloom County" both morphing and spinning off into "Outland" and, later, "Opus," how many strips have directly spawned other strips? [No, this is not a pop quiz. I don't know the answer. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif And I can't think of any other examples, either.]

p.s.: I too am becoming a bit annoyed with Johnny Hart. "I've got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it." Was that Groucho Marx...?

Final for now: BRING "BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY" TO TV, dangit!!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

w3sy

07-27-2005, 04:00 PM

KI4DYA busts us up with:

Quote[/b] ]Guy walks into a doctor's office screaming, 'Help me doc, help me! Oh please HELP ME!'

Doctor rushes from his office to the man's side and asks, 'What can I do? What's wrong with you?'

Guy says, 'It hurts when I poke myself in the eye!' and at these words he jabs a forefinger violently into his eye a couple of times. 'Oh Lord what can be done to stop the pain?' the man wails.

'Stop jabbing your finger in your eye' the doctor replies and walks away.

Is Johnny Hart writing your material now, Dood? har...

w3sy

07-27-2005, 04:08 PM

OM YTZ....

Beetle Baily is by Mort Walker.... Hi and Lois is by "Walker and Browne." Could be the same Walker. If I weren't so damn lazy, I'd look it up.

There is definitely some incest in the comic pages... That is, the same guy might draw more than one strip. Seen that.

As for spinoffs, I'd like to see Sally Forth spin completely off the comic page. Haw.

KW4MW

07-27-2005, 04:28 PM

GARFIELD

How much humor can you squeeze out of a fat lazy cat, a dumb dog and an even dumber owner? There's never anything topical or fresh in any way, just different slants on the same few stale themes.

Garfield eats a lot of food, most of which he steals from Jon.
Garfield is lazy and sleeps a lot.
Odie is dumb and is Garfields foil.
Jon strikes out with the women.

ad nauseum

This is probably the kind of cartoon that appeals to the Cathys and the Sally Forths of the world.

k4kyv

07-27-2005, 04:55 PM

Quote[/b] (w3sy @ July 27 2005,09:08)]Beetle Baily is by Mort Walker.... Hi and Lois is by "Walker and Browne." Could be the same Walker. If I weren't so damn lazy, I'd look it up.

There is definitely some incest in the comic pages... That is, the same guy might draw more than one strip. Seen that.
Remember "Nancy"? I think someone still draws it, but it doesn't run in our local newspaper anymore.

It used to be drawn by Ernie Bushmiller. It was one of those comics that were so unbelievably stupid that they were good. I never missed reading it.

Nancy, Sluggo and most of the other characters were drawn as cartoon characters. Both had pig-like faces, and Nancy had stovepipe legs, but Aunt Fritzi was drawn like a real human and wasn't bad looking.

That strip was a spinoff from a pre-WW2 strip called Fritzi Ritzi, in which Aunt Fritzi was the main character, living in sort of a Great Gatsby society from the 20's or 30's. Somehow, Nancy appeared in that strip, and evolved into a strip of its own, in which Fritzi played a secondary role.

The last time I saw a Nancy strip, all the characters were drawn differently, and that incredible stupidity that made it so good was no longer there. I suspect Bushmiller is long SK.

KG6YTZ

07-28-2005, 01:32 AM

Quote[/b] ]Beetle Baily is by Mort Walker.... Hi and Lois is by "Walker and Browne." Could be the same Walker. If I weren't so damn lazy, I'd look it up.
I believe it is. I'll have to do some poking around on that one m'self. I think the info is on the King Features site.

Quote[/b] ]There is definitely some incest in the comic pages... That is, the same guy might draw more than one strip. Seen that.
Brooke [yes, it's a guy] McEldowney of 9 Chickweed Lane also draws an online strip called Pibgorn [who is a fairy]. The Chickweed Lane character Thorax makes an occasional appearance in Pibgorn as the trans-dimensional being he claims to be in Chickweed Lane.

Quote[/b] ]As for spinoffs, I'd like to see Sally Forth spin completely off the comic page. Haw.
And drag every "serious" strip with her - Mary Worth, Judge Parker [?], and so on. I want FUNNY in my funny pages. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif And I don't always particularly feel like being clobbered by blatant editorializing in the process. "Doonesbury" is at its best when the topic is, say, the mail bag, the ongoing saga of Jimmy Thudpucker, and so on. And what ever happened to Hunk-Ra?

KG6YTZ

07-28-2005, 01:36 AM

k4kyv: "Nancy" is now being produced by brothers Brad and Guy Gilchrist - both hardcore fans of country music and NASCAR, apparently, so guess what Aunt Fritzi is into nowadays... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

w3sy

07-28-2005, 04:59 PM

Haven't had Nancy & Sluggo in these parts in ages. I think it disappeared shortly after Bushmiller croaked. #Gee, if Nancy were still around, BC would have some competition for most moronic and un-funny strip.

I now wish "Blondie" was retired when its creator expired in '73. (Now drawn by his son.)That way we wouldn't be exposed to the now-tedious daily storyline about the strip's anniversary. Enough! You thought Cathy's daily obsession with her wedding for six months was tedious? Blondie gives 'em a good run for their money. Have your anniversary, THEN PULL THE PLUG! The strip is a dinosaur and deserves a proper burial.

Another example of an "un-dead" comic: Sally Forth! When National Org of Women lapdog Greg Howard gave it up, a couple other weenie boys took it over -- Steve Alaniz and Francesco Marciulliano. Stay-at-home-dad (aka wimp, sponge, bum, momma's boy) Alaniz had to give it up when his wife got a NEW job and he had to go tag along after her. So now it's just Marciulliano carrying on that smug, yuppie, male-bashing, PeeCee to the Max crap. Ugh.

Notice the GOOD comics don't pull this crap. Did Gary Larsen hand off Far Side when he quit?? Would Scott Adams give Dilbert over to new cartoonists when he packs it in?? NO WAY, man. For some reason, only the crappy comics outlive their usefulness by being handed down from cartoonist to cartoonist. Why?

Out.