Comics of the Day

Worst: Barely from outer space? Pretty weak punchline in my opinion. Garfield's random change of expression seems out of place too. Shouldn't he be cynical in the last panel instead of shocked? I feel like it would make more sense that way.

Runners-up: Brevity (What does the Energizer Bunny have to do with the Rolling Stones?), Dilbert (Dilbert used to be clever, now it always follows the same set-up: statement, counter-statement, insult), Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm (how many times can you punish a strip for using the same dumb joke? As many times as they use it.), Mutts, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best: Lots to love in this one. Poncho's end around attack in panel one. Chazz's misguided decision to take his dog's side instead of his wife's. Carmen's irrational response. His appeal to Poncho for help, and Poncho's completely backwards way of going about it. I enjoyed pretty much everything about this strip. Definitely one of the best to come along in a while.

Runners-up: Agnes, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Doonesbury, For Better or For Worse (FBOFW is usually very platitudinous, but sometimes it reaches the level of profound), Get Fuzzy (would of won many days, but Paul Gilligan hit a home run), Pearls Before Swine

Comics of the Day

Worst: Is Family Circus giving Mother Goose and Grimm some competition for worst comic in the paper? This is day six in a row as either worst or runner-up for worst. Bad puns almost always will land you on the worst side of the ledger, especially if they're awkwardly set-up.

Runners-up: Blondie, Curtis, Mother Goose and Grimm (still perfect!), Red and Rover, Speed Bump

Best:

Conversely, is Pooch Cafe the best strip in the paper? I would have guessed Get Fuzzy. Get Fuzzy is one of those strips that could get hot and win five bests in a week. Still, Pooch Cafe is a surprise front-runner so far.

Runners-up: Watch Your Head, On the Fastrack, Lio, Frazz,

Comics of the Day

Worst:I thought this joke was clever when I first heard it, about fifteen years ago.

Runners-up: Tank McNamara, Red and Rover, Non-Sequiter, Mother Goose and Grimm, Hagar the Horrible, Baldo

Best: I loved the joke in the last panel. When it comes to story telling, Cory Thomas is one of the best in the business.

Runners-up: Doonesbury, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine

Worst: Sigh. This would work better without the silent penultimate panel. It would still be stupid, but it would be well done stupidity. For the record, this makes four worst strips for Grimm, and three worst runner-ups, in seven days (MG & G does not run on Sunday, thank God).

Runners-up: Dilbert (the third panel is a waste of space), Mutts, Hagar the Horrible, Family Circus, Sally Forth (the high was 70 degrees today), Close to Home, Zits, For Better or For Worse, Piranha Club, Candorville, Tank McNamara, Rhymes with Orange

Best:

This is the one strip that made me smile today.

Runners-up: Pearls Before Swine, Watch Your Head, Frazz, Pickles, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!

Comics of the Day

Worst: Mother Goose and Grimm wins again. Is this the worst comic in the Post? I would have guessed Hagar the Horrible or Blondie; while they're certainly bad, they don't seem to be this bad. This strip in particular is built around a poop joke (humor at its lowest form) and an absurd situation (humor at its third lowest form). All we're missing is a pun and we'd hit the bad humor trifecta.

Runners-up: Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Family Circus, Rhymes with Orange, The Piranha Club, Zits

Best:

This, by contrast, is an example of good comedy. The humor is driven by the characters. Poncho's attitude and willingness to cause trouble create the joke.

Runners-up: Watch Your Head, Candorville, Sherman's Lagoon, Beetle Bailey, Lio, Mutts, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Blondie

Comics of the Day

Worst: What bothers me about this comic is Thel's response. No parent of young children, knowing their kids were looking for back scratchers, would assume they wanted to scratch their backs. They would either say either what Thel says in the second bubble, or ask why they were looking for them. Young kids are not bound by reality, and any parent knows this. It's wrong, and it bothers me.

Runners-up: Rhymes with Orange, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Speed Bump, Blondie, Tank McNamara, Beetle Bailey, Zits, Prickly City

Best:
Strips like this one demonstrate much of the genius of Get Fuzzy. The joke grows out the characters' personalities. You get some funny wordplay and nice art. It makes you chuckle because it's funny, and smile because you're rooting for Satchel.

Runners-up: Cul de Sac, Dennis the Menace, Sherman's Lagoon

Metanote: I'm going out of town this weekend, I'll probably catch up Tuesday.

Week in Review

The clear winner this week was Lio, two best and one runner-up. Pooch Cafe was the other strip with three appearances, but only one of them was for best in show. Mother Goose and Grimm brings up the rear this week with a remarkable showing of worst or runner up for worst every day so far this year. Can MG & G run the table? Could they make the countdown all 366 days? Stay tuned to find out.

Worst: This dialogue is incredibly stilted. It's impossible to imagine someone speaking like this. For example, why does Grimm need to tell Phil that the tree is outside. Why does the conversation veer from psychological problems to forestry? I'm starting to get pissed off, so I need to move on with the post.

Runners-up: Red and Rover, Family Circus (again the dialogue is awkward, a real five year old would not throw in the line about beating dad, he would just ask mom to play), Tank McNamara

Best:

And here we have an example of good dialogue. Tony Cochran sets up the joke well. The punchline is subtly implied in the last panel. And the dialogue, while certainly unusual, is believable.

Runners-up: Doonesbury, Watch Your Head, Baby Blues, Lio, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!

Metanote: I had a debate with myself while I was preparing this post. I thought Family Circus was the funniest comic in the paper today. But it was funny in a schadenfreude kind of way, because Billy is going to be scared because his dad won't play with him. In the end, I decided this does not count. The strip is funny only because it is bad, and that does not reflect well on Bil Keane.