Columnist Binges On Comics, Decides Funnies No Longer So

Denver WestWord:

Not long ago, I was a zealous reader of daily newspaper comics, devouring at least a dozen strips per day, more when I had the time. But somewhere along the line, that number began to dwindle, with my enthusiasm waning each time favorites such as Gary Larson ("The Far Side"), Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes"), Bill Amend ("FoxTrot") and Aaron McGruder ("Boondocks") either quit, cut back or went on indefinite hiatus. Recently, I realized there isn't a single strip in the Denver Post that I bother to peruse anymore, and just two in the Rocky Mountain News: Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury," which remains strong more than three decades down the line, and Darrin Bell's "Candorville." Moreover, others with whom I spoke seemed similarly dispirited about the current state of comics. The only strip that stirred much commentary was Tom Batiuk's "Funky Winkerbean," because of a wrenching story line starring Lisa Moore, a longtime character who's battling terminal breast cancer. Batiuk has confirmed that Lisa will die this fall.

Read the whole story: Denver WestWord

Comments

[Grulg]

07:41 PM on 09/06/2007

I like some of the 'evergreens', my fave comic of the last few years however has been Mr. Boffo. That is at least kinda fun.

[wm1066]

07:28 PM on 09/06/2007

I agree with you on this, the Bluemeannies have taken over the world and everything is grey, has been since Bush was put in power by the supreme court. Can't wait for Sargent Pepper to teach the band how to play again.

[Portnoy]

03:47 PM on 09/06/2007

Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Doonesbury and the Sunday OPUS are the only strips I read nowadays.

[godlessclif]

01:16 PM on 09/06/2007

No one want to be the stand up comic on the deck of the Titanic. Tough room.

[CJGibson]

12:09 PM on 09/06/2007

Just as media-blogs are quickly out-pacing the traditional media, webcomics are out-pacing (some, myself included, would say they have long since out-paced) traditional "funny pages."

Not only is there are far greater variety of funny to be had, webcomic authors aren't bound by the traditional tropes and limits of the funny-page authors.

Some to check out include:

Something Positive: http://somethingpositive.net/

Penny Arcade: http://www.penny-arcade.com/

PvP: http://www.pvponline.com/

Megatokyo: http://www.megatokyo.com/

DM of the Rings: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14

Devil's Panties: http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/

Ctrl+Alt+Del: http://www.cad-comic.com/

VG Cats: http://vgcats.com/

The Order of the Stick: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots.html

Erfworld: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf.html

8-Bit Theater: http://www.nuklearpower.com/index.php

Sluggy Freelance: http://www.sluggy.com/

There are more out there, but those are some of the more popular ones.

Wikipedia has a fairly extensive list of webcomics currently "in print." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_webcomics_in_print)

[dadw5boys]

11:35 AM on 09/06/2007

It is hard to be funny when the world is on the verge of explosion all the time.
It is very hard to be Happy too in this enviornment.

[Portnoy]

03:46 PM on 09/06/2007

I'm happy. Sorry to hear your life is a downer.