Comics of the Day

Bad Word Edition (May 9)

2008-05-13T15:20:00.003-04:00

Worst:
I don't know that the coppertone ad is deep enough in our cultural consciousness to be a sound basis for a joke. I feel like most people my age wouldn't get it, I guess older people would. Since Grimmy is a sentient being, wouldn't the presumed pantsing qualify as sexual assault?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Garfield, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Agnes dethrones Get Fuzzy. I'm assuming Agnes is trying to swing some sort of excuse, but she's so spacey, I don't think we can rule out the possibility that she wasn't aware that she was in the hallway. I think it's funnier that way.

Runners-up: Dilbert, Family Circus, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine

Worst Insult Ever Edition (May 8)

2008-05-13T15:12:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Pathetic Meow Sack? Not a very compelling insult.

Runners-up: Baldo, Blondie, Curtis, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter, Pooch Cafe, Speed Bump

Best:
Lots of good stuff in this one. Uncool Canadians, Marco Polo, coolishness. Darby Conley just blows away the competition on his good days. Kudos for the threepeat too.

Runners-up: Agnes, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Rhymes with Orange, Watch Your Head

Disturbed Edition (May 7)

2008-05-13T15:03:00.003-04:00

Worst:
A kind of disturbing drawing backing a rather weird joke. I don't wicking clothing works quite like that anyway.

Runners-up: Blondie, Brevity, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Mutts, Pearls Before Swine, Speed Bump

Best:
Is Bucky a psychopath?

Runners-up: Agnes, Dilbert, Frazz, Lio

Tweedle Dumbfounding Edition (May 6)

2008-05-13T14:52:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Even Billy seems bored by this lame joke.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Candorville, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Rhymes with Orange, Sally Forth, Speed Bump

Best:
Get Fuzzy is great on so many levels. Great dialog, great art, great characters.

Runners-up: Agnes, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Lio, Pearls Before Swine

Devil in the Details Edition (May 4)

2008-05-13T14:44:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Toilet water could more accurately be described as swirled rather than shaken or stirred. What really bothered me was Ralph's water bowl. The water appears to be a dome in the middle of the bowl. Is there any physical way that could happen, at least to that extent? Sometimes we all get caught up in the details I guess.

Runners-up: Blondie, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible

Best:
The snake's expressions sealed this one.

Runners-up: Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head, Zits

Bastardization Edition (May 4)

2008-05-13T14:21:00.003-04:00

Worst:
One of the problems with Hagar the Horrible, and there are many, is the willingness of Chris Browne to jettison the historical context to make bad jokes. I Got Mine is a 21st century catchphrase which seems jarringly out of place here. What's the point of a Viking strip if the joke would have worked just as poorly in Blondie or Rhymes with Orange or Barney Google and Snuffy Smith?

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baldo, Blondie, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Opus

Best:
The pidgin English bit for the crocs can get a bit tiresome sometimes, but I think it worked well for their bastardization of things Charlie Brown might say. Me Kick Football is a great line in this context.

Runners-up: Agnes, Candorville, Cul de Sac, Get Fuzzy, Watch Your Head

Craftsmanship Edition (May 3)

2008-05-13T14:11:00.004-04:00

Worst:
An absolutely atrocious pun, that is made to work with bizarre art. I'm not sure which offends my comedic taste more.

Runners-up: Close to Home, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, On the Fastrack, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Not as great as many Get Fuzzy strips, but still the best for the day. Darby Conley is not content to come up with a joke and dedicate a whole strip to it. There is a punchline at the end, but the set-up is more entertaining than most strip's punch lines.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baby Blues, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Candorville, Frazz, Sally Forth, Single and Looking

Mr. Bojangles Edition (May 2)

2008-05-13T14:03:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Inserting technology into an anachronistic situation is not inherently funny, as this joke proves.

Runners-up: Blondie, Curtis, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Non Sequiter, On the Fastrack, Speed Bump

Best:
As always, great details in the art. Hiding a rhino under a lamp shade is brilliant.

Runners-up: Agnes, Pearls Before Swine, Watch Your Head

Horrible Poetry Edition (May 1)

2008-05-01T12:07:00.003-04:00

Worst:

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baldo, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Close to Home, Curtis, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
That's how you tell a joke.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baby Blues, Pearls Before Swine, Pickles, Single and Looking, Speed Bump

Hello Kumquat Edition (Apr. 30)

2008-04-30T08:30:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Is a fart joke really the best we can do?

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baldo, Blondie, Candorville, Curtis, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Sally Forth

Best:
I enjoyed the dialog here.

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Dilbert, Frazz, Prickly City

Poorly Political Edition (Apr. 29)

2008-04-29T21:00:00.004-04:00

Several weeks ago, Scott Stantis published some bold strips condemning torture. Here, Mike Peters' demonstrates the wrong way to approach torture. Comparing a bath to waterboarding trivializes the impact of torture. If you're going to send the wrong message, at least make it funny.

Runners-up: Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Pickles, Red and Rover

Best:

Runners-up: Baby Blues, Big Nate, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frank and Ernest, Frazz, Pooch Cafe, Speed Bump, Watch Your Head, Zits

Comics Note:
The bargain that Dolly has made isn't that different than that made by a housewife. In return for the validation of having a boyfriend, she is doing his work for him. A housewife, in return for the validation and support of a husband, does his work for him. Hopefully Thel will sit Dolly down tonight and read the Feminine Mystique to her, but I wouldn't count on it.

Metanote: For the first time in a month I am caught up. If you're lazy and intermittently committed, I would recommend not starting a blog that needs to be updated every day. Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping up, although I have a vacation in June that will set me back about a week and a half.

Welcome to the Club Edition (Apr. 28)

2008-04-29T20:53:00.003-04:00

Worst:
I threw up a bit when I read this one.

Runners-up: Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter,

Best:
Sherman's Lagoon falls into the category of solid strips in my opinion. Every once in a while I think it's really good, and Jim Toomey rarely puts out any really bad strips. The characters all have interesting points, although they sometimes get a little repetitive. Rarely brilliant, rarely bad, which makes it better than most strips in the paper.

Runners-up: Agnes, Candorville, Lio, Watch Your Head

Pathos Edition (Apr. 27)

2008-04-29T20:40:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Dagwood is from a rich family and has a white-collar job. Does anyone like that actually bowl? Maybe in the 1950's, but it seems pretty unlikely here in 2008. It's an awful lot of set-up for a bowling joke.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Prickly City, Rhymes with Orange, Sherman's Lagoon, Zits

Best:
Andy exists purely to create pathos, I enjoy it.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baldo, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Cul de Sac (based on Dil's line in the last panel), Dilbert, Get Fuzzy

Visceral Reaction Edition (Apr. 26)

2008-04-29T20:32:00.002-04:00

Worst:
This image just bothered me. Combine that with the illogical situation and we have a winner.

Runners-up: Baby Blues, Blondie, Close to Home, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:
Darrin Bell wins for the third day in a row. Like Darby Conley, Bell gets a lot of mileage out of a small set of characters.

Runners-up: Dilbert, For Better or For Worse, Get Fuzzy, Lio

I Read a Week of Lousy Set-up and All I Got Was This Lousy Strip Edition (Apr. 25)

2008-04-27T22:19:00.003-04:00

Worst:
We finally have the denouement in Curtis after a week of very awkward set-up. Ray Billngsley has been setting us up to think that Curtis has been dealing drugs, but since this is Curtis, we know it won't touch on anything remotely threatening. Instead of a series that touches on the seamier side of urban life, we're left with penny ante capitalism. This could have been great, and it's mediocre.

Runners-up: Blondie, Brevity, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Prickly City, Speed Bump

Best:
I really enjoyed how Darrin Bell rendered the glow of the torch. The joke was good too.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Dilbert, Lio, Sherman's Lagoon

Racist Edition (Apr. 24)

2008-04-27T22:10:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Grimmy is apparently racist, but I'm more concerned with the horribleness of this pun.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baldo, Curtis, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter, Piranha Club, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Candorville is one of the better strips in the paper, and is well worth reading on a daily basis. Darrin Bell uses his character's personalities to set-up his jokes, and he does it well.

Runners-up: Dilbert, Frank and Ernest, Zits

Family Dynamics Edition (Apr. 23)

2008-04-27T22:01:00.003-04:00

Worst:
A beautiful woman marries a clown, this could be fertile ground for a therapist in a few years. This play on words hurts my brain.

Runners-up: Baldo, Blondie, Curtis, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Gotta love the detailed knowledge of Star Wars minutiae. It's interesting that you can watch a movie dozens of times without thinking about questions like this.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frazz, Get Fuzzy

Earth Day Edition (Apr. 22)

2008-04-27T21:50:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Learning Place? Schoolhouse Earth? This could have been better if the kids were pictured near a big rock, and the caption read "This is my favorite place to learn, Schoolhouse Rock." Then it would be mildly humorous in addition to the intended goal of sickeningly sweet.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Dilbert, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible (everyone looks horrified by the giant except Honi who looks on adoringly, there's a story here...), Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover

Best:
Lots of Earth Day cartoons, some good, some bad, some bizarre. I liked this one best, as it was fairly clever. Scott Stantis does a good job using setting in his strip.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Get Fuzzy, Zits

And You Thought Pearls Before Swine had Dark Humor Edition (Apr. 19)

2008-04-27T21:38:00.003-04:00

Worst:
So we have a nagging mother-in-law who attacks through he daughter, a wife who takes her mother's criticism and uses it as a reason to nag her husband, an alcoholic husband who would rather drink than be with his family, and a relationship with no healthy, viable communication. What fun.

Runners-up: Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Close to Home, Daddy's Home, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Prickly City, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
Agnes' bizarreness was enough to win on a fairly weak day.

Runners-up: Lio, Mutts, Pooch Cafe, Single and Looking

My Eyes Edition (Apr. 16)

2008-04-27T21:25:00.004-04:00

Worst:
This is unspeakably awful.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Mutts, Prickly City, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
As someone who works with kids for a living, I enjoyed this interplay between Frazz and the students.

Runners-up: Daddy's Home, Dilbert, Get Fuzzy, Piranha Club, Pooch Cafe

Lazy Edition (Apr. 21)

2008-04-22T23:38:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Jim Davis' writers obviously ran out of ideas. It's not cool when you reference your own strip in a joke.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baby Blues, Blondie, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Pickles, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Sally Forth, Speed Bump

Best:
Not a really strong day. Imagining the sound effects was kind of fun.

Runners-up: Pearls Before Swine, Single and Looking

Is Cul de Sac the Second Best Strip in the Post? Edition (Apr. 20)

2008-04-22T23:26:00.005-04:00

Worst:
Sigh.

Runners-up: Argyle Sweater, Baldo, Blondie, Foxtrot, Garfield, Prickly City, Zits

Best:
The characters and writing of Cul de Sac compare favorably to any other strip. Alice and Petey are never dull. I think the Post should add Cul de Sac to its every day line-up.

Runners-up: Agnes, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Dilbert, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Mutts, Opus, Sherman's Lagoon, Single and Looking

Historical Innacuracy Edition (Apr. 9)

2008-04-22T23:08:00.004-04:00

Worst:
What really bothered me about this joke is that Native Americans were usually either hunter/gatherers or farmers, so they didn't have a pay day. Even if they did, it's a really bad pun.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Close to Home, Daddy's Home, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Darby Conley's rendering of old comic scripts. Conley uses language as well as any artist in the paper.

Runners-up: Agnes, Dennis the Menace, Pearls Before Swine, Piranha Club, Pooch Cafe

Torturous Edition (Apr. 6)

2008-04-22T22:59:00.003-04:00

Worst:
I think this might be the worst strip so far this year. All it is is horrible puns of celebrity names combined with bad art.

Runners-up: Blondie, Daddy's Home, Garfield, Zits

Best:
When the characters are good, the jokes flow naturally. Love the visual of Bucky with the ice cream carton.

Runners-up: Agnes, Beetle Bailey, Candorville, Cul de Sac, Foxtrot, Frazz, Hagar the Horrible, Lio, Mutts, Pearls Before Swine, Single and Looking, Speed Bump

Poop Joke Edition (Apr. 5)

2008-04-22T16:50:00.004-04:00

Worst:
This dog and cat combo really annoy me. The dog is meant to be stupid and the cat cranky and cynical, but it's poorly done. There are a lot of more interesting anthropomorphic animals in the comics.

Runners-up: Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, On the Fastrack, Prickly City

Best:
Yes, it's a poop joke, but it's a funny poop joke.

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Daddy's Home, Dilbert, Frazz, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Zits

Clever? Edition (Apr. 2)

2008-04-22T16:27:00.003-04:00

Worst:
We've seen this joke a million times before.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brevity, Daddy's Home, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:

Runners-up: Big Nate, Dilbert, Frazz, Lio

Make it Stop Edition (Apr. 18)

2008-04-18T13:46:00.002-04:00

Worst:
We had a lot of bad puns today but this one might have been the worst. Frank and Ernest gave it a good run though, and the spousal abuse in Hagar the Horrible made this quite a good day for worst strip candidates.

Runners-up: Baby Blues (complaining about a lifestyle choice is unfair), Baldo (reader submitted comics=mailing it in), Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Daddy's Home, Dennis the Menace, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
The incongruity of the old comic lines is rather enjoyable.

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Candorville (Darrin Bell demonstrates the proper way to do a technology joke), Dilbert, Mutts, Piranha Club, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Vive le Difference Edition (Mar. 30)

2008-04-18T13:35:00.003-04:00

Worst:
One of the things I have never liked about Foxtrot are the constant pop culture references. Bill Amend is mailing it in, which is his right, but I don't have to enjoy it.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Daddy's Home, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
Here we have the rare joke that is both literate and well-crafted.

Runners-up: Agnes, Cul de Sac, Dilbert, Family Circus, Get Fuzzy, Mutts, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Prickly City, Single and Looking,

Depressingly Bad Edition (Mar. 28)

2008-04-18T13:25:00.003-04:00

Worst:
The awfulness of this strip speaks for itself.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brevity, Dennis the Menace, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, On the Fastrack, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:

Runners-up: Agnes, Get Fuzzy, Mutts, Watch Your Head

Bejeezus Edition (Apr. 15)

2008-04-15T16:13:00.002-04:00

Worst:
I had to look up who Rod Serling was, which is never a good start to a strip. He created the Twilight Zone, which makes sense, and is probably something I should have known.

Runners-up: Blondie, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Prickly City, Zits

Best:

Runners-up: Agnes, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Non Sequiter, Watch Your Head

Immature Edition (Apr. 14)

2008-04-15T16:07:00.002-04:00

Worst:
This is simply immature and not funny.

Runners-up: Blondie, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Speed Bump

Best:

Runners-up: Agnes, Dilbert, Frazz, Mother Goose and Grimm, Pearls Before Swine, Single and Looking, Watch Your Head

Living in the Future Edition (Apr. 13)

2008-04-15T15:41:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Here we have a strip ostensibly set around the year 1000 AD portraying stereotypes of gender relations from Eisenhower's America. It's rather astonishing how many comic strips cannot move past the 1950's in various ways, a list that includes Dennis the Menace, Blondie, Hagar the Horrible and the Family Circus. How long does it take an editor to realize that these strips are completely irrelevant.

Runners-up: Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Zits

Best:
What appealed to me the most about this strip was the bottom line montage of the shot settling onto the back of the rim. I just liked the use of small panels within the larger panel. It's nice to see cartoonists move outside the box a little bit.

Runners-up: Candorville, Cul de Sac, Family Circus, Get Fuzzy, Mutts, Sherman's Lagoon

How to do Cliche Edition (Apr. 12)

2008-04-15T15:17:00.002-04:00

Worst:
I suppose the joke is that lawyers are blood-thirsty sharks, which is very cliche. The checked suit on the lawyer bothered me also. This shows up a lot in Close to Home and doesn't add anything to the strip.

Runners-up: Blondie, Family Circus, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, On the Fastrack

Best:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the escape storyline in Piranha Club so far. It's not at all sophisticated, as it depends largely on slap stick and scatology. It's funny though.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Dilbert, For Better or For Worse, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine

Childhood is Forever Edition (Apr. 11)

2008-04-15T15:05:00.003-04:00

Worst:
I find this a lot closer to creepy than to funny. Do we really need to see Hello Kitty going wild?

Runners-up: Blondie, Brevity, Curtis, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover

Best:
I fully approve of being childish, although without losing sight of responsibility.

Runners-up: Agnes, Get Fuzzy, Sally Forth, Single and Looking, Watch Your Head

Subverting Authority Edition (Apr. 9)

2008-04-13T14:43:00.004-04:00

Worst:
More inanity from Mother Goose and Grimm.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brevity,

Best:
I've spent the last few years slowly becoming an adult. It's one of those things where you need to pick your battles.

Runners-up: Agnes, Family Circus, Pearls Before Swine, Piranha Club, Rhymes with Orange, Watch Your Head

Out of Place Edition (Apr. 8)

2008-04-13T14:31:00.002-04:00

Worst:
I felt the phrasing on this one was really awkward. I'm not enjoying this whole Hello Kitty storyline. Mother Goose and Grimm doesn't do any better when it's not being topical though.

Runners-up: Blondie, Close to Home, Hagar the Horrible, Speed Bump

Best:
Get Fuzzy wins on a slow day.

Runners-up: Agnes, Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Daddy's Home, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frazz, Lio, Piranha Club, Rhymes with Orange, Sally Forth, Single and Looking, Watch Your Head, Zits

I Don't Get it Edition (Apr. 10)

2008-04-10T12:54:00.003-04:00

Worst:
I absolutely do not get this. Is there some ad campaign for V8 that involves people getting bonked on the head? Even if there is, the set-up is very awkward. I don't think I've ever heard someone say that someone else bonked them on the head.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Curtis, Garfield, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
I want to be a professional imaginer. I like how Agnes' Grandmother just rolls with the punches.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Piranha Club (I'm really enjoying this escape attempt series in spite of myself), Sally Forth, Watch Your Head (Cory Thomas does a nice job of shading in some back story)

Misplaced Homage Edition (Apr. 7)

2008-04-10T12:36:00.003-04:00

Worst:
The rise of Snoopy is, in my opinion, one of the faults of the later Peanuts. The early strips generate their power from pathos. As the strip becomes more unrealistic, it loses a lot of this power. Therefore, I am firmly not a member of the cult of Snoopy. I still think Peanuts is one of the greatest strips of all time though.

Runners-up: Dennis the Menace, For Better or For Worse, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Speed Bump

Best:
Tony Cochran has a great ear for comedic dialogue.

Runners-up: Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Piranha Club, Sherman's Lagoon

Cheap Knock-Off Edition (Apr. 3)

2008-04-09T09:34:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Bill Watterson made this joke a lot better with his Dinosaurs in Rocket Ships series.

Runners-up: Close to Home, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Get Fuzzy, Hagar the Horrible, Speed Bump, Zits
Best:

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Curtis, Dilbert, Piranha Club

Technology is not Inherently Funny Edition (Apr. 1)

2008-04-09T09:26:00.005-04:00

Worst:
Another lame technology joke.

Runners-up: Baldo, Curtis, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Pickles, Red and Rover, Rymes with Orange, Zits

Best:

Runners-up: Candorville, Lio, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Terror of the Trees Edition (Mar. 31)

2008-04-08T20:51:00.004-04:00

Worst:
So why doesn't Henry just not go 100 when his girlfriend is in the car?

Runners-up: Blondie, Brevity, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter, On the Fastrack, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
I just love the phrase Timmy the Terror of the Trees.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Candorville, Lio, Pooch Cafe, Single and Looking,

Metanote: I'm having trouble uploading certain images on my new computer, which is why the comics are being posted out of order. I'm going to try to figure out why certain files won't upload, and then go back to the days I had to skip. I'm using Safari on a Macbook now, so if you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments.

What the Heck is That Edition (Mar. 29)

2008-04-08T20:32:00.004-04:00

Worst:
I am really starting to loathe Hagar the Horrible. It presents a completely bleak picture of marriage, it bends the setting and characters for bad jokes. The first problem with this strip is Helga's unhealthy approach to marital problems. Josh Fruhlinger, of the Comics Curmudgeon, had a great take on this strip. He points out the second problem, which is the poor art. Hagar is absolutely weird looking.

Runners-up: Baldo, Close to Home, Frank and Ernest, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
I loved this strip.

Runners-up: Agnes, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Sherman's Lagoon, Zits

Not Sure What to Make of this One Edition (Apr. 4)

2008-04-04T11:20:00.005-04:00

Worst:
As is all too common with Brevity, this makes no sense. Guy and Rodd take a random situation and assume it's funny.

Runners-up: Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Speed Bump

Best:
Poncho is a great character, and that is what drives this strip.

Runners-up: Frazz, Lio, Mother Goose and Grimm, Piranha Club, Sally Forth (cynical and charming, I enjoyed it)

Comics Note:
I enjoyed Mother Goose and Grimm today, despite the outdated boom-box reference. Pop culture references by adults usually fall flat, but the image of Castro dancing with his boxers hanging out was so absurd I enjoyed it.

Metanote: I have a lot of catching up to do, so I decided to just keep going with the current strips rather than getting bogged down in the backlog. I will do catch up posts for all the days I missed, but it's not going to get done until my weekend (Sunday-Tuesday).

Metapost

2008-04-02T23:30:00.003-04:00

My new computer has arrived, so I hope to start catching up tomorrow. I work long hours at the end of the week, so I probably won't finish until early next week. Thanks for being a patient audience.

Metapost

2008-03-28T09:34:00.001-04:00

The computer I've been using is no longer with us. I'll still be able to post, but it will be more difficult. As a result, posting might be even more erratic until I get a new computer.

Stereotypical Edition (Mar. 27)

2008-03-27T14:57:00.004-04:00

Worst:
It's not good if your joke depends on cheap stereotypes of another culture.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Rhmyes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:
Weak field today. This is clever on some levels.

Runners-up: Agnes, Get Fuzzy, Lio, Watch Your Head

Outdated Stereotypes Are Not Funny Edition (Mar. 26)

2008-03-27T14:43:00.003-04:00

Worst:
The comics frequently mine gender stereotypes in an attempt to be funny. Men hate shopping, can't cook, play golf every other day and don't clean. It's not funny anymore, and largely not accurate. We still see these every day though.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brevity, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Speed Bump

Best:
Candorville proves that you can be topical without sacrificing humor.

Runners-up: Agnes, For Better or For Worse, Frazz, Pooch Cafe, Rhymes with Orange

Headache Edition (Mar. 25)

2008-03-25T19:55:00.003-04:00

Worst:
If Attila is holding the book, how does Grimm throw it at him? This doesn't make sense on a lot of levels.

Runners-up: Daddy's Home (the men can't cook joke has been done a million times, if that's what you're putting out it's time to hang it up), Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter

Best:
I love the interplay of the relationships in Pooch Cafe.

Runners-up: Agnes, Dilbert, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Red and Rover, Watch Your Head

Horribly Insensitive Edition (Mar. 24)

2008-03-24T12:39:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Get back to Danae! It baffles me why Wiley Miller gets away from his characters, who are always interesting, and instead puts out dumb jokes.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Big Nate, Daddy's Home, For Better or For Worse, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Speed Bump

Best:
This was basically the health care plan for thousands of years. You got sick, your family took care of you, maybe you died. If you get past the fear of death, it's not too bad a system, and it's a lot cheaper than what we got now.

Runners-up: Agnes, Blondie, Candorville, Garfield, Pooch Cafe, Single and Looking, Tank McNamara

Black & White Edition (Mar. 23)

2008-03-23T19:05:00.004-04:00

Worst:
This was an easy choice for two reasons. First, Dolly's pun is as bad as a pun can be. Second, I can not envision any scenario that would cause someone to be upset because the moon change phases. Unless Grandma is some sort of reverse werewolf, which could be a great spin-off strip.

Runners-up: Daddy's Home, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mutts, Rhymes with Orange, Tank McNamara

Best:
This was a more difficult choice; I almost went with Agnes. What sold me on this at the end was Rob. Without him, it's just a bizarre interaction between Satchel and Bucky.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baby Blues (I'm not sure that love comes before lust, love the music in the lust panel though), Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Cul de Sac, Pearls Before Swine

Comics Note: Garry Trudeau is going on vacation, so Doonesbury will disappear from my lists for a while. While Doonesbury will be missed, it's always nice to get a chance to try out some new strips. Last time, we got Agnes and Watch Your Head out of the deal. Daddy's Home is off to a slow start, leading off its run with a typical poor joke. The Matt Groening homage offers some promise though.

Ripping Off a Bad Comic Strip Edition (Mar. 22)

2008-03-23T18:57:00.003-04:00

Worst:
This is basically a Marmaduke strip. If you are going to rip off an idea from a strip, why the heck would you choose Marmaduke?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Piranha Club, Red and Rover

Best:
So true.

Runners-up: Doonesbury, Lio, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Sally Forth

Not Cute Edition (Mar. 21)

2008-03-22T17:33:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Red and Rover is built on the premise that dogs are cute. They aren't, and therefore the strip doesn't work. I do not understand how this strip appeals to anyone. It's like Family Circus, it's meant to be cute but it's not.

Runners-up: Blondie, Curtis, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, On the Fastrack

Best:
If I have kids, I think I'll teach them to curse like this.

Runners-up: Doonesbury, Frazz, Lio, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Single and Looking, Speed Bump

Nuclear Edition (Mar. 20)

2008-03-20T12:07:00.003-04:00

Worst:
In addition to the bad joke, we have a silent penultimate panel. Matt Gill used to document these at the Silent Penultimate Panel Watch, and he points out the flaws better than I ever will. If you're really interested in comic strips, you should read through his archives. The SPP here adds nothing to the strip and ruins the what timing the joke had.

Runners-up: Blondie, Close to Home, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Hagar the Horrible, On the Fastrack, Red and Rover

Best:

Runners-up: Candorville, Dennis the Menace, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Sally Forth

The World Turned Upside Down Edition (Mar. 19)

2008-03-20T11:09:00.004-04:00

Worst:
Problem One: basketballs are really hard to pop, and probably could not be popped by a cat's claws. Problem Two: Cat claws are retractable and therefore would be retracted if a cat did play basketball.

Runners-up: Blondie, Brevity, Curtis, Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Piranha Club, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
I love Pig.

Runners-up: Agnes, Doonesbury, Get Fuzzy, Lio, Mutts, Speed Bump

Potty Mouth Edition (Mar. 18)

2008-03-18T16:06:00.002-04:00

Worst:

I hate Rhymes with Orange. The art is terrible and it's not redeemed by the jokes.

Runners-up: Curtis, Dilbert, Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm

Best:
I enjoyed this send up of a comic strip convention.

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Doonesbury, Mutts, Zits

I Hate St. Patrick's Day Edition (Mar. 17)

2008-03-18T16:01:00.002-04:00

Worst:
This is your typical bad pun with an awkward set-up.

Runners-up: Brevity, Curtis, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Agnes coloring a pop tart is a funny image.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Dilbert, Garfield, Get Fuzzy, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head, Zits

Child Abuse is not Funny Edition (Mar. 16)

2008-03-18T15:53:00.005-04:00

Worst:
Another example of poor family dynamics. I, for one, do not find spousal or child abuse funny. The throw away panels did not run in the Post, so I chose this on the basis of the child abuse.

Runners-up: Blondie, Family Circus, Garfield (very easily could have been Worst. Jon is on hold the entire strip. It's just incredibly lazy and boring.), Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover

Best:
I want some sentient sunglasses.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baby Blues, Baldo, Candorville, Cul de Sac, Doonesbury, Frazz, Pearls Before Swine, Single and Looking

Passive Aggressive Edition (Mar. 15)

2008-03-18T15:42:00.003-04:00

Worst:
The comics have an interesting take on families. Apparently, most comic strip artists think that unhealthy marriages and poor parenting are funny. Helga uses a passive-aggressive approach to solving her problem. Her needs are not getting met so she threatens to withhold something that Hagar wants. This interaction has descended into a contest to see if Helga can control Hagar. In a healthy relationship, the two partners would be able to discuss their needs maturely and come to some sort of compromise. All this would piss me off less if the joke was funny.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Curtis, Family Circus, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:Pierce often gets on my nerves. He is supposed to represent wild teenagers and is just a stereotype without much depth. This time, he was funny though.

Runner-up: Frazz

Doh! Edition (Mar. 14)

2008-03-18T15:25:00.004-04:00

Bad pacing, worse message.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Brevity, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Doonesbury has an off kilter take on family life in this strip. Doonesbury has great characters.

Runners-up: Dilbert, Pickles, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Devil in the Details Edition (Mar. 13)

2008-03-18T15:16:00.003-04:00

Worst:
This one is just weird and no makes no particular sense.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Big Nate, For Better or For Worse, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:
Much of the greatness of Get Fuzzy is in the details. I love that Rob has a consistent wardrobe. In many strips, the characters wear the same outfit every day. Rob has a series of outfits that he wears on a rotating basis, just like a real person. It's a small thing, but it's a nice touch.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Frazz, Pooch Cafe, Sherman's Lagoon,

Sigh Edition (Mar. 12)

2008-03-18T14:25:00.002-04:00

Worst:
Another bad pun.

Runners-up: Baby Blues, Beetle Bailey, Curtis, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm

Best:
Lio's dad must be the most put-upon dad in the comics.

Runners-up: Agnes, Dilbert, Doonesbury, Get Fuzzy, Pooch Cafe, Prickly City,

Free Food Edition (Mar. 11)

2008-03-18T14:17:00.002-04:00

Worst:
This is just a bad visual joke.

Runners-up: Baldo, Close to Home, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm

Best:
Lio has all the coolest toys.

Runners-up: Baby Blues, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Pooch Cafe, Speed Bump, Zits

Absurdity Edition (Mar. 10)

2008-03-18T14:06:00.003-04:00

Worst:
Rhymes with Orange consistently makes jokes that are meant to be clever, but they rarely are. The joke here is that skunks are black and white. Of course a skunk has no need for a passport, so the premise is absurd. Absurdity can be funny (as Stephan Pastis proves well), but it's hard to cross absurdity with reality and not lose something.

Runners-up: Baldo, Blondie, Brevity, Curtis, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover

Best:
Lio is probably the best example of how absurdity can be funny. Of course everything in Lio is absurd, which helps make it work. We do not get distracted by the fact that Death is hitching a ride because it's Lio, and we're used to anything happening.

Runners-up: Dilbert, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Watch Your Head

Terrible Pacing Edition (Mar. 9)

2008-03-17T20:20:00.006-04:00

Worst:
Problem One: It takes Garfield five panels to eat an apple. This strip could have been condensed down to three panels. It's an incredibly boring strip. Problem Two: What is up with the worms? Garfield features spiders and mice, but suddenly we have worms on the counter? Problem Three: The joke makes no sense and is not funny.

Runners-up: Dilbert, Family Circus

Best:
Cul de Sac is one of my favorite strips. Alice is perfect as a four year old. She shows a great amount of insight combined with utter cluelessness. The strip mines her absurd take on the world for great effect.

Runners-up: Baldo, Big Nate, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Prickly City, Sally Forth, Watch Your Head, Zits

Metanote: Last Sunday marks the end of when I had chosen Best and Worst for each day and simply not posted them. Now I need to go back to the last week of papers and choose the winners. So that's all for tonight. I'll try to finish up tomorrow, but I need to be not lazy.

Over My Head Edition (Mar. 8)

2008-03-17T20:07:00.004-04:00

Worst:
Bad puns are typical for Frank and Ernest, usually there's a strip that even worse, so the strip avoids a lot of worst titles. Some days there aren't any worse strips, and Frank and Ernest end up on the bottom of the pack. The worst part about this is that Bob Thaves has passed, and yet we still get bad puns instead of a fresh strip that would be entertaining. Replacing F & E with Heart of the City, Cul de Sac, My Cage or another strip that is interesting would instantly improve the comics page a lot.

Runners-up: Close to Home, Curtis, Pooch Cafe, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:
I love the line about remembering amnesia. I don't get the line about French citizenship, but Darby Conley has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Runners-up: Agnes, Beetle Bailey, Lio, Mother Goose and Grimm, Pearls Before Swine, Prickly City, Red and Rover, Watch Your Head

More or Less Awkward Edition (Mar. 7)

2008-03-17T19:59:00.002-04:00

Best:
I don't read to the comics to think about sex, that's what the rest of the internet is for. Any joke based around a character having sex, even a dog, has little margin for error.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Curtis, Family Circus, Mother Goose and Grimm, Tank McNamara

Best:
Frazz goes back to back. The image of a train driving into Lake Michigan entertained me. It's a nice touch that this would happen if the train went any direction from Chicago that approximated East.

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Candorville, Dilbert, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe

Sexist Edition (Mar. 6)

2008-03-17T19:29:00.003-04:00

Worst:

This bothered me on a number of levels, not least because I spent many hours reading Baby-Sitter's Club books growing up. I just find the idea kind of sexist that a guy can't read and enjoy books about a group of girls, especially when they are well written, at least on the scale of elementary school lit. Also, Billy would need to be a pretty precocious seven year old to reading Baby Sitter's Club books, and the general demonstrated intelligence of the family, it seems unlikely that any of them would be called precocious.

Runners-up: Close to Home, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Watch Your Head

Best:

One of the better jokes I've read in a while. The set-up is not awkward, and the punchline is clever. It's a pleasant change of pace from most joke strips.

Runners-up: Agnes, Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Big Nate, Blondie, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Candorville, Dilbert, Get Fuzzy, Mutts, Non Sequiter, Pooch Cafe, Sherman's Lagoon

Metanote: So you might have noticed that I've fallen a little behind. Part of my philosophy of life is that there are many excuses but very few good excuses. I will say that I have been working a lot of overtime at work, but ultimately, I could have kept up if I had been more dedicated, so ultimately all I can do is apologize to any readers I might have and say that I'll try to do better. I should be able to catch up over the next day.

I Hear Voices Edition (Mar. 5)

2008-03-05T10:16:00.002-05:00

Worst: Another really bizarre strip, with an awkward set-up. Who thinks this stuff is funny?

Runners-up: Baldo, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:

I just enjoy Pooch Cafe.

Runners-up: Candorville, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine

What the Hell Edition (Mar. 4)

2008-03-04T17:20:00.004-05:00

Worst: What the hell?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Curtis, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:

Weirdest. Pathos. Ever.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Watch Your Head

Good Parenting Edition (Mar. 3)

2008-03-04T17:02:00.003-05:00

Worst:This is another of those what the heck strips. The thought process must have been something like: Jimi Hendrix looks funny. Poodles look funny. What if I cross Jimi Hendrix with a poodle?

Runners-up: Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brevity, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, On the Fastrack, Pickles, Speed Bump

Best:

Zits, for once, shows good parenting. Connie consistently over-indulges Jeremy, and then whines when he acts spoiled. Protecting kids from consequences only leads to risky behavior.

Runners-up: Agnes, Pooch Cafe, Sally Forth, Sherman's Lagoon

I don't get it (Mar. 2)

2008-03-04T15:43:00.002-05:00

Worst: I suppose the joke is that the cow's udder is comparable to a belly button? If that is the joke, it's not funny. If that isn't the joke, I have no idea what is going on here.

Runners-up: Family Circus, Foxtrot, Frazz, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:

It's always kind of incongruous when the animals' natural behavior clashes with America's natural behavior.

Runners-up: Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Candorville, Get Fuzzy, Opus, Sherman's Lagoon

I knew the Far Side, and you, sir, are no Far Side (Mar. 1)

2008-03-03T12:09:00.002-05:00

Worst: What the hell is that thing?

Runners-up: Blondie, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Speed Bump

Best:
Scott Stantis continues his bold stand, and his avoidance of bad jokes.

Runners-up: Baldo, Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Rhymes with Orange, Watch Your Head

To the Bold go the Spoils (Feb. 29)

2008-02-29T12:37:00.003-05:00

Worst: The wording is awkward, and topical jokes generally aren't very good. Compare this to a strip like the early Peanuts. In 40 years, no one is going to get this joke or care about this strip. Peanuts remains relevant because it is character driven, and builds it's strips on the universal theme of suffering.

Runners-up: Baby Blues, Baldo, Family Circus, Speed Bump

Best:

Prickly City is hit or miss, more often miss. Yesterday and today, Scott Stantis has taken a bold stand for the comics page. First, Stantis, who usually takes a conservative slant in his strip, takes a stand that contradicts most of his fellow travelers. Second, Stantis takes a risk with a strip that will probably offend many readers (think of the children!) who are used to such hard hitting strips as Family Circus. Kudos to Mr. Stantis for taking a risk to make a worthy point.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Brevity, Frazz, Lio (I think this would have been even better if we did not see Lio at all in the last panel, leaving it up to the reader to connect the dots), Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Unspeakable Evil Edition (Feb. 28)

2008-02-28T10:20:00.002-05:00

Worst: It's a Nazi snowman. Honestly, that was my first thought when I saw this. Why didn't some editor see this and think they might need to pull it? Am I overly conscious of historical overtones?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey(Why does the gourmet food on the cover look like a hamburger with a sprig of parsley on it?), Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Close to Home (welcome to 1984, suburbia edition), For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover

Best:

This is a fun strip.

Runners-up: Candorville, Get Fuzzy, Non Sequiter, Prickly City (confronting the waterboarding issue head on is very ballsy), Single and Looking

Repeat (Feb. 27)

2008-02-27T09:55:00.002-05:00

Worst: I don't get it. Is that supposed to be Larry King? I don't know if he is a relevant enough figure to be recognizable in snowman form. Aren't these supposed to be suggested by kids? Do they even know who Larry King is?

Runners-up: Curtis (we get it already, Gunk can't take off his coat), Frank and Ernest, Garfield (terrible pacing), Speed Bump

Best: Lots of good questions here. Just another clever strip.

Runners-up: Candorville, Lio, Pooch Cafe, Single and Looking, Watch Your Head

Three for the Price of One (Feb. 25)

2008-02-26T21:32:00.002-05:00

Worst: In addition to the same complaints as yesterday, this strip adds a level of family values crap. I hate the whole family values thing because of the hypocrisy of it. All these people pretend to be so righteous and that they have all the answers. Instead of focusing on strengthening families, they waste their energy on a few relatively trivial issues. I am all for values, but I prefer to focus on living up to them, instead of telling other people how they are not.

Runners-up: Frank and Ernest, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible (What the heck is a viking doing in a desert? What would there be in a desert to pillage? Why would they travel so far from home?), Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover

Best:

Love Satchel's misplaced empathy.

Runners-up: Big Nate, Doonesbury, Single and Looking, Watch Your Head

Underappreciated (Feb. 24)

2008-02-26T20:35:00.002-05:00

Worst:This is such a weird illustration. The joke was bad when it debuted on Sunday. It's not getting better with age.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Curtis, Dilbert, Mother Goose and Grimm, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump

Best:

Candorville is an under appreciated strip I think. Darrin Bell has created main characters with interesting relationships and unique personalities. He handles topical strips better than anyone, able to make a point without sacrificing humor, unlike most political strips. The art matches up with all but the best strips (Get Fuzzy, Lio and Watch Your Head are better, a few others might be just as good). Candorville should maybe be a top five strip.

Runners-up: Garfield (three best runners-up in four days, Jim Davis is on quite a roll), Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Prickly City, Single and Looking

Credit where credit is (or isn't) due (Feb. 24)

2008-02-25T22:36:00.003-05:00

Worst: Of course today, Cory Thomas abandons his characters and writes a typical joke strip. Not surprisingly, it falls flat. When you create great characters and then don't use them, it's easy to throw out a bad strip. Watch Your Head is the first strip to win Best and Worst back to back.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Frazz, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Prickly City

Best:

Darby Conley is another master of the character driven strip. Of course he is also adept at writing joke based strips, because he has a great ear for dialogue. He also might be the best artist in the business today. I love how Bucky seems proud of his fighting prowess in the last panel and how concerned Satchel is about his teddy bear.

Runners-up: Agnes, Cul de Sac, Dilbert, For Better or For Worse (character driven in a bad way, it's easy to dislike many of the characters; today's strip made me smile though), Non Sequiter, Opus, Rhymes with Orange

Pathos (Feb. 23)

2008-02-25T22:27:00.002-05:00

Worst: Not really a bad strip, but there really weren't any on Saturday. Of course it's certainly not a good strip.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Curtis (Curtis has basically been repeating the same strip all week), Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Rhymes with Orange

Best:

Perhaps the best character driven strip in the papers today. Cory Thomas has done a great job creating characters who are likeable. It's really easy to empathize with Cory in this strip, because we all want him to get the girl.

Runners-up: Frazz, Garfield, Sherman's Lagoon

So much wasted potential (Feb. 22)

2008-02-25T14:05:00.005-05:00

Worst:
This does not make sense unless the speaker is an epic idiot. Anyone who puts an unwrapped piece of candy in with their ipod would need to be. The living isn't as much healthy, as it is stupid. The art is bad, which is typical of Rhymes with Orange. In the second panel, it looks like the woman has a tennis ball in her back pocket instead of a butt.

Runners-up: Brevity, Family Circus, Mother Goose and Grimm

Best:
I love Bucky's line in the last panel, it's the best insult I've heard in a long time.

Runners-up: Doonesbury, Garfield, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Bonus Comics Note:I have an intense dislike for Red and Rover. It's generally a mix of trying to be cute and bad jokes. Unlike the legacy strips, it has no glory days to look back on, which might serve as some justification for it's presence in the paper. Today's strip, however, filled me with a sense of hope. The strip, for once, had a chance to transcend it's position as a (very) poor man's Mutts. We could have had a story involving Red and Rover wandering around in a rough neighborhood, which would be rife with potential, both comic and profound. Instead, the next day brought us...
...another dumb joke. Brian Bassett could have run with this story for a week and actually made something worthwhile with it, but he stuck to the formula.

Comics of the Day

2008-02-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

Worst: A wonderfully enlightened comic strip. I guess they could be laughing at Mr. Mitchell's choice of apron, but still.

Runners-up: Family Circus, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Rhymes with Orange

Best: Cats with guns are awesome.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Dilbert, Pooch Cafe, Zits

Comics of the Day

2008-02-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

Worst: The split dialogue thing never helps a strip. The stupid joke doesn't help either.

Runners-up: Blondie, Dilbert, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, Non Sequiter, Zits

Best:

Not the best Get Fuzzy ever, but it's cute, and nothing else was particularly inspired. This is Get Fuzzy's fifth win in the past week. Darby Conley's on quite a muffin.

Runners-up: Candorville, Pooch Cafe

Comics of the Day

2008-02-19T18:04:00.004-05:00

Worst: This is such a weird concept, and I think that is meant to be the basis of its humor. It doesn't work.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey (really awkward set-up), Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Mother Goose and Grimm, Speed Bump

Best:
Runners-up: Baby Blues, Candorville, Lio, Pooch Cafe, Watch Your Head

Comics of the Day

2008-02-19T15:40:00.003-05:00

Worst:Irony, real or misunderstood, is the most overplayed type of humor right now.

Runners-up: Blondie, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Zits

Best:
Darby Conley plays with language better than any artist working today. His art compares favorable with anyone also.

Runners-up: Lio, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Pooch Cafe

Comics of the Day

2008-02-19T15:34:00.003-05:00

Worst: I don't really get this one. Why wouldn't people be able to successfully get off the ski lift even if the attendent was sleeping? I also don't understand why this is supposed to be funny. Is it the juxtaposition of the Spanish idea of a siesta with snow? Is it meant to be based on the visual?

Runners-up: Baldo, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Single and Looking, Tank McNamara, Zits

Best:

I enjoyed the art, and the off-beatness of this joke.

Runners-up: Cul de Sac, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Lio

Comics of the Day

2008-02-19T15:28:00.004-05:00

Worst: Scott Stantis is still fighting the battles of ten years ago. We're getting kind of tired of it.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Pickles

Best:
Runners-up: Baby Blues, Candorville, Dilbert, Lio, Sherman's Lagoon

2008-02-19T15:28:00.001-05:00

Comics of the Day

2008-02-19T15:24:00.003-05:00

Worst: A dumb joke with an awkward set-up.

Runners-up: Family Circus, Garfield, Prickly City, Red and Rover

Best:

Quality artwork.

Runners-up: Baldo, Big Nate, Candorville, Get Fuzzy, Non Sequiter, Pearls Before Swine, Sherman's Lagoon, Watch Your Head, Zits

2008-02-14T17:17:00.003-05:00

Worst:
Bill Clinton is a flawed man, which puts him in good company. Is he really worth all the bile that is spewed at him from the right?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Close to Home, Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, Speed Bump

Best:

Most strips have one joke, usually bad, that they lead up to in the first two or three panels. Darby Conley today has a joke in each panel, and they're all funny. The fact that his jokes are often good puts him in the top tier of cartoonists. The fact that he often gives two or three or even more jokes for the price of one makes him, arguably, the best (Mark Tatulli would be the other candidate who would deserve a long look).

Runners-up: Agnes, Big Nate, Doonesbury, Pearls Before Swine

Comics of the Day

2008-02-14T14:01:00.006-05:00

Worst:Terrible on so many levels. Why don't they cancel this strip already?

Runners-up: Brevity, Pooch Cafe (I find Droolia kind of gross to look at), Prickly City, Red and Rover

Best:

The strip contains a silent penultimate panel, which is bad. The joke, while not very original, is well presented. I could not help but smile at Andy's simple response to the Olive's philosophy of relationshipness.

Runners-up: Big Nate (Mr. Rosa is a good teacher if he is willing to invest in a student on his lunch break), Curtis, Frazz, Garfield

Metanote: Sorry about the sporadic posting. It's a combination of laziness, getting involved in another project, and occasional problems connecting to the internet. It's going to continue for a few days, since I'm going out of town this weekend. After I finish today's comics, I probably will not post again until Monday.

Comics of the Day

2008-02-14T13:52:00.002-05:00

Worst: Probes, in this context, are not something I want to think about. Also, when you need to explain what is going on in the first panel, you're doing something wrong.

Runners-up: Blondie, Close to Home, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Pooch Cafe, Prickly City, Speed Bump

Best:

The Garfield strip needs to compensate for poor drawing with an awkward exposition in the first panel. Lio, of course, suffers no such problem. Most comic strip artists could learn from Mark Tatulli's ability to express things without words.

Runners-up: Agnes, Beetle Bailey, Candorville, Frazz, Non Sequiter (I like this strip based on the conflicts inherent in the characters' personalities. When it does not feature that, it often falls flat.), Pearls Before Swine

Comics of the Day

2008-02-11T14:36:00.000-05:00

Best: Any allusion to Jon having sex is best avoided.

Runners-up: Blondie, Family Circus, Mother Goose and Grimm, Pooch Cafe, Prickly City, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:

Andy is one of my favorite incidental characters; he's just so cute and pathetic.

Runners-up: Agnes, Dilbert, Lio, Piranha Club, Sally Forth

Comics of the Day

2008-02-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

Worst: Wins a close race over Rhymes with Orange (terrible pun) and Family Circus (just plain annoying). I did not like the static nature of this strip, with three panels of almost the same art in a row. The joke doesn't seem to make sense either. While a castle certainly has a higher reward, it is also a lot more difficult to sack. I would imagine the Vikings would at least pay some attention to an easy target, in case there were some hot peasant women or cheap peasant beer around.

Runners-up: Baldo, Family Circus, Garfield, Prickly City, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Tank McNamara, Zits

Best:

About the only thing that can save a pun is if it is really clever and contains cultural references. Jef Mallet's two part pun in Frazz qualifies.

Runners-up: Agnes, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Candorville, Cul de Sac, Doonesbury, Foxtrot, Get Fuzzy, Opus, Pearls Before Swine, Pickles, Watch Your Head

Comics of the Day

2008-02-11T09:27:00.000-05:00

Worst: At first, I didn't get this at all. Looking at it again, I think it's a pun of fore and four. Since Jeffy is not four yet, he doesn't have a fore head, only a three head. Yeah, it's that dumb.

Runners-up: Baldo, Close to Home, Dilbert, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Piranha Club, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump, Zits

Best:The best of a weak field today.

Runners-up: Curtis, Doonesbury

Comics of the Day

2008-02-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Worst:I disliked this strip because of the set-up. This is not a conversation I could ever imagine myself having. First, who plays in dart tournaments? Second, why would all the other teams name themselves after musicians?

Runners-up: Family Circus, Frank and Ernest, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Prickly City

Best:
Runners-up: Brevity, Candorville, Curtis, Dilbert, Frazz, Lio, Mutts, Sally Forth, Watch Your Head

Comics of the Day

2008-02-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

Worst: If you're going to attack a public figure, be clever about it.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Close to Home, Family Circus, For Better or For Worse, Hagar the Horrible, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange, Sally Forth, Speed Bump

Best:

Is Ninja Kitten a one time joke, or will he return to entertain us again?

Runners-up: Agnes, Doonesbury, Single and Looking

Comics of the Day

2008-02-06T09:40:00.000-05:00

Worst: Cross dressing!?

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brevity, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!, Family Circus, Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Red and Rover, Rhymes with Orange

Best:I know JFK did a lot to fight communism. He's got the Cuban Missle Crisis, the Bay of Pigs, and Vietnam on his resume. Other than that, I don't know what else he did. His presidency does seem long on mystique and short on policy successes though.

Runners-up: Agnes, Candorville, Frazz, Pearls Before Swine

Comics of the Day

2008-02-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

Worst: Even worse than yesterday's. Actually, I think it might be the worst pun we've seen in the comics in a long time, and the awkward attempt at a clever set-up does not help.

Runners-up: Close to Home, For Better or For Worse, Frank and Ernest (is this implying what I think it is?), Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Rhymes with Orange, Speed Bump, Zits (again this strip just comes across as curmudgeonly and out of touch)

BestMutts continues its homage to a recent movie. It's nice to see a strip aim somewhere south of the 70 year old demographic.

Runners-up: Frazz, Lio, Pearls Before Swine

Comics of the Day

2008-02-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

Worst: Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Brevity, Candorville, Family Circus (Calvin and Hobbes did this exact same joke years ago), Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Mother Goose and Grimm, Non Sequiter, Pickles, Prickly City, Rhymes with Orange

Best: Haven't you always wanted to try this?

Runners-up: Baldo, Big Nate, Curtis (Barry tells it like it is!), Dilbert, Frank and Ernest, Frazz, Lio, Pooch Cafe, Single and Looking

Comics of the Day

2008-02-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

Worst: Runners-up: Family Circus, Foxtrot, Garfield, Mutts, Non Sequiter, Prickly City, Zits (I woke up on time in high school, made my own breakfast, packed my own lunches, managed my own homework, Connie bothers me because she spoils Jeremy and he gets blamed for it)

Best:

I love the overly dramatic writing in the last panel. I love that Agnes' grandmother is religious. I love the sense of chaos and distance from reality Agnes displays.

Runners-up: Beetle Bailey, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! (love the attention to detail, some cartoonists might have let this slide with only the final joke), Candorville (nothing new about the joke, but well presented), Cul de Sac (I used to love mitten juice), Doonesbury (on the strength of Romney's "I change all the time" line), Get Fuzzy, Sally Forth (Sally's sister is cute), Watch Your Head