Comically Awful

By: Mr. Wilson on December 22, 2006
It's Friday, and it feels like a good day for some light conversation. So let's chat about the Journal Star's comics section, shall we? First the good news: the ol' LJS has a better comics section than many, or even most, newspapers. But that doesn't mean most of the comics don't make me want to wash my eyes out with toilet water after reading them. Let's pick on a few. First up is Garfield. Garfield hasn't been funny in ten years, though I have to give Jim Davis credit for finally trying a few new things over the past couple months. In general, though, the last time I remember really getting a kick out of Garfield was back in 3rd grade when I used to try to draw the fat cat as well as Nate Voss. (I never even came close.) Right next to Garfield is Adam@Home. Adam@Home is just plain depressing. It's a comic strip about one of the worst fathers of all time. Adam isn't a bad father in a funny way, like Homer Simpson. Adam is simply an awful, terrible father. His three kids are destined to become a junkie, a prostitute, and a murderer. Hagar The Horrible suffers from the same problem as Garfield. And heck, I may as well throw in Hi And Lois, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, and Marmaduke into that list as well. Next up is Mary Worth. Please don't tell me I have to explain to you how much Mary Worth sucks. If Luann hadn't already jumped the shark, it did so over the past two weeks. The current story line involves the family dog. No big deal, right? Except in this story line the dog can talk, and he somehow made it up to the North Pole to hang out with Santa. Sure, it's probably a dream or something, but that's no excuse. Incidentally, Fox Trot pulled something similar last week with its "Oh no, we've turned into ginger bread men because we ate too many cookies!" story line. I have to think Bill Amend was on crack. In everybody's favorite After School Special of the comics page, aka For Better or For Worse, the strip is currently dealing with a grandfather who had a stroke, and now we're being led to believe that Michael might be killed off in a house fire. How uplifting. I had better stop there. The long and short of it is that I would love to see some new blood on the comics page. Any new blood. Heck, I would even take Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes re-runs, if such a thing were possible, just to mix things up a bit. I don't have an in-depth knowledge of all of the options out there, but if anybody from the Journal Star is listening, Aluminum Siding might be one to keep an eye on.

Comments

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Karin
December 22, 2006 at 4:21PM

I would LOVE to see Boondocks- but it’s probably too cynical for most readers.

Also Get Fuzzy. Hell, I might subscribe to the paper if they ran Get Fuzzy.

I kinda like .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). at least I used to- doesn’t seem to be as good lately. I suspect all the comic makers crank out a bunch of comics ahead of time so they can have christmas off.

jwiltshire
December 22, 2006 at 4:36PM

For Better or Worse is ending soon, so there is that.  I think Fox Trot announced it’s upcoming ending as well, or I may be confusing that with another comic.  I was like you in thinking that Mary Worth sucks, until I began reading The Comics Curmudgeon, and suddenly Mary Worth became awesome.  You are right about Luann.  Normally I enjoy the strip (it’s my secret shame) but the Puddles storyline is hell of lame.  I think Dilbert, while still enjoyable, is beginning to lose relevance or freshness.  It all feels like it’s been done.  Finally, remember kids, write those letters to get Diesel Sweeties in the paper, now that it’s going syndicated.

beerorkid
December 22, 2006 at 7:04PM

I like shermans lagoon, zits, and that is about it.

A@home is garfield but replace lasagne with coffee.

derf city is my fav though.  used to be in the reader.

jwiltshire
December 22, 2006 at 7:13PM

Karin - Boondocks is on “hiatus”, i.e. cancelled.  Back in April Aaron MacGruder said he was going to take a break until October, and when October came and went without any word about the strips return, papers started dropping him.  Whether or not the he’s still with the syndicate I don’t know.  Kinda sad because before the cartoon came out, MacGruder said he wasn’t going to pull a Dave Chapelle, but he kinda did.

And I can’t believe I forgot about Get Fuzzy… I have all the books just because the JS doesn’t carry it.

Dave K
December 22, 2006 at 8:14PM

I’ve looked at the comics section maybe once or twice since The Far Side ended.  I guess I just don’t get comics anymore.

Neal
December 22, 2006 at 10:54PM

Back when we did “Night Knight” at the LJS, I had a lady tell me the Journal Star should let me have a comic strip on the comics page, because she thought I was better than those comics and WAY better than the loser cartoonists on the Opinion page.

Mr. Wilson
December 22, 2006 at 11:36PM

Yeah, stay away from those bozos on the opinion page, Neal. Those guys’ll just drag you down.

Marcia
December 26, 2006 at 7:29PM

I second the vote for Pearls Before Swine. It’s the best strip since The Far Side.

Karin
December 27, 2006 at 10:15PM

I’m sad Boondocks is gone :( maybe they’ll make more cartoons?

jwiltshire
December 27, 2006 at 11:16PM

The cartoon got picked up for a 20-episode second season that should be in production right now.  Episodes start airing in June.

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