Which Extinct Comic Strips Do You Miss??

[CO Liberal]

Here's my list:

Calvin & Hobbes
The Far Side
Bloom County
Li'l Abner

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Calvin & Hobbes

and The Far Side

[commander bunnypants]

2. Far side

DDQM

[GOPisEvil]

3. God, I miss Bloom County.

Berkeley Breathed would have had SO much to say in times like this!

[peekaloo]

4. Far Side and Bloom County

[brokensymmetry]

5. Calvin and Hobbes!

How I miss Spaceman Spiff!

[supernova]

6. Gotta go with Bloom County and C& H

Just too hysterial for words. Do you think Bill the Cat would be running for Governor? :7

[Darranar]

48. Bill the Swartzenager!

Ack!

[MindPilot]

7. Yep, like TV shows--if it's good, it has to go

No Far Side, C&H, but we still have Cathy, BC, and freakin' Marmaduke.

[Kellanved]

8. Calvin & Hobbes

And:
Flem Comics


and a few more.

[joeybee12]

9. Calvin and Hobbes was pure genius!

I wonder what the creator (whose name escapes me now) is thinking about seeing little Calvin peeing on a Ford or Chevrolet. Surely that wasn't authorized.

[CO Liberal]

10. Or Calvin Praying Before a Cross

I see a lot of them during my daily trips to Colorado Springs, a cesspool fo Christian fundaMENTALism.

[mark0rama]

47. That's really funny because...

Calvin once expressed some doubts about the existence of Santa Claus in a strip that was a thinly disguised satire of Chrisitianity.

I'll have to try to dig that one out sometime.

[thom1102]

17. Bill Waterson specifically refused to authorize the licensing

of Calvin and Hobbes products (beyond the books). Any representation you see of Calvin or Hobbes or any of the characters is a ripoff, and isn't sanctioned.

[mark0rama]

45. Sadly, ironically, Watterson's refusal to license his characters...

...makes it harder to enforce actions against bootleg products.

In other words, intellectual property law is better at letting Fox harass Al Franken than it is at protecting an artist who's not greedy enough to make a quick buck merchandising his work.

[MisterP]

23. Bill Watterson

he was grateful the Reagan years were over, and looks like Calvin's dad

[thom1102]

26. Thanks for the correct sp.

I knew it wasn't exactly right. Someone in a related thread called him Sam Waterson, and I corrected the first name. Thanks

[catzies]

37. His name is Bill Watterson, yes all those are bootlegged and

all illegal.

I hate the one with Calvin praying at a cross. I even saw that with a copyright © next to it. Can you steal an image, alter it, and then copyright it??? :mad:

[Sinistrous]

49. Of course you can,

if you're a republican.

[thom1102]

55. The saddest part about it is that

Calvin was a hellion, not a pious, religious kid.

[larryepke]

Among the more well known...

such as Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County (I can't figure why Outland, which used the same creator and many of the same characters was such a bust), I'll mention...

Rick O'Shay, a western which nicely mixed comedy and light drama, and was VERY well drawn, in a deceptively simple style.

Travels with Farley, about a young man traveling the country.

Kudzu, a funny Southern-based strip.

And Peanuts. In his best days, Schulz wasn't touched by anyone.

And if you dig adventure newspaper strips, Terry and the Pirates when Caniff did it was outstanding. There are reprint volumes around (though I think they're all out of print) that show the finnesse with which he made that strip move. He turned into a rightwing flack in the 60s (when he was doing Steve Canyon) but he was a real artist when he was younger.

[Sophree]

35. Peanuts

I cried the day Charles Schultz died- that comic strip was such a big part of my childhood.

My Dad used to read "The Great Pumpkin" and the Charlie Brown Christmas books to me and my brothers on Halloween and Christmas, respectively.

;(

[WilliamPitt]

11. Bloom County

:(

[GOPisEvil]

15. This makes me feel better sometimes...

http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/

Berke started out here in Austin at the U of TX. (Why do I push UT so much, I went to A&M :crazy: )

[rogerashton]

12. Pogo

I started to add Tumbleweeds, but the Weed is still growing --

http://www.tumbleweeds.com/

just not in any paper I read. Snif.

[MrBenchley]

13. I Go Pogo

Still remember Walt Kelly taking on Joe McCarthy with the sinister Sinple J. Malarkey, investigating chickens to see if they was Rhode Island Reds...

Howland owl: "You may disagree with my right to say it, but you'll defend to the death whatever it is."

[supernova]

22. Ooooh Pogo

Good choice. I had almost forgotten the most famous quote of all time:

"We have met the enemy and he is us."

[MrBenchley]

40. Which appeared on the first Earth Day

one of the great strips of all time......

[fortyfeetunder]

57. Pogo was a political statement

Walt Kelly had created his comments around political statements, most notably the environmental movement. I loved Pogo and his little buddies.

[VelmaD]

25. does anyone else remember

the Pogo for President movie? God that thing was hilarious. My little brother and I watched it all the time back when we were kids. I'm sure it helped warp my politics for life. :-)

Wish I could find it for my nephew.

Darth Velma

[MrBenchley]

41. No!

I'm sorry I missed it....

[Lisa]

38. Walt Kelly would have had a field day with W!

An artist and Pogo fan I know had some fun doing a caricature of Bush as a little Connecticut woodchuck, dressed up in a Texas cowboy costume.

[MrBenchley]

42. He sure would have...

Remember he used to do agnew as a hyena dressed like an operetta general...

[JanMichael]

58. Beat me to it. I still have several old Pogo books.

I REALLY loved those cartoons as a kid...

[Noordam]

14. Bloom County

no question

[SmileyBoy]

16. Basically your first two.

The Far Side in its hey-day was a really awesome strip. The ones that you couldn't get were drawn in the latter days.

[Eat_The_Rich]

18. Zap Comics

Featuring:
The Furry Freak Brothers
Wonder Warthog

and my favorite,

Vinny Shinblinds, the Invisible Sex Maniac

[markus]

27. DWGYTTONMBTMWGYTTOFND

Keep on truckin'...

[LynneSin]

19. For those of you who miss Bloom County

http://www.ucomics.com

Ok, you have to pay $10 a year for the subscribtion but they are going through the entire Bloom County Series from start to finish. One day you'll get an entire week of the daily strip (6 strips) and the next day you get the Sunday Paper strip - every one of them, all in order that they were published in the paper. I've paid the $10 and it is so worth it to read these. Right now we're up to the part where Opus has been introduced to the strip but his snout is still pretty normal in size. Bobbi ditched Steve Dallas for Cutter and all the fun with Milo and the Reagan administration.

We so desparately need Bloom County back!! But then again we have Boondocks!!!

[ForrestGump]

20. Same as everyone else

Bloom County
The Far Side
Calvin and Hobbes


:-(

[Zuni]

21. I miss

Actually, C and H, Far Side and Bloom County were my all time favorite comic strips. I still have some of the old books.

[MrBenchley]

24. The Phantom

Corny...but I always liked "The Ghost Who Walks."

[larryepke]

29. The Phantom's still around

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/phantom/about.htm

I don't know much about it, though.

[MrBenchley]

39. Wow!

So are the Katzenjammer Kids, which I had forgotten about...

Do you suppose there actually IS anyone (besides the guy who draws it) who gives two craps about Steve Roper and Mike Nomad?

I'm reminded of the mid-80s, when the Daily News held a comics poll, and found that not only did no-one want to see Dondi, many readers harbored a deep hatred of the plucky little tyke...

[markus]

28. Bloom County (from adulthood), and from childhood

Prince Valiant.

I had a real crush on those twins.

[Bridget Burke]

74. Prince Valiant's adventures continue.

Here's a link:

www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/pvaliant/about.htm

The Houston Chronicle runs it.

[MiltonLeBerle]

30. Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, Far Side, and Alley Oop.

but I never got into Lil'Abner.

[Michael Daniels]

31. Bloom County/Outland

Best birthday present I ever got was a stuffed Bill the Cat doll.

Got it as a gift from my parents during my college years and he became the unoffical mascot of the house that used to host a bunch of beach/surf parties that my friends threw on a weekly basis.

[mac56]

32. I'm with you on the other three -

but "Li'l Abner" will forever be tainted for me by Al Capp's reactionary politics.

Remember the film clips of him visiting John & Yoko at one of the bed-ins - just to be a shit disturber?

What an assclown.

[CO Liberal]

36. One Thing I Always Liked About Al Capp When I Was a Kid

He filled his strips with very buxom women and very large women....

[Sinistrous]

33. I second your choices,

and thank the person who reminded me of the great Pogo.

My Dad, from whom I inherited my appreciation of good plays on words, got a chuckle remembering the line from Pogo, "Hell hath no fury like a woman's corns."

[Ellen Forradalom]

34. Pogo!

Walt Kelly's combination of verbal wit and superb draftsmanship has yet to be matched.

[disgruntella]

43. Peanuts - forever

As another poster said, this was a huge part of my childhood. Nothing will ever touch it. Nothing.... (I would type this in all caps if it wouldn't make me lose respect for myself)

I do miss Far Side, and I liked early Bloom County. I was never into Calvin & Hobbes. If I see another "Calvin Pissing" sticker on a truck -- well, I won't do anything because I'm a chicken. I'll just grit my teeth and think about Snoopy and Woodstock and Linus and Peppermint Patty and the rest of the Peanuts gang.

[mark0rama]

44. Ever seen the book Peanuts - the art of Charles M. Schulz?

It's a gorgeous book, jam-packed with vintage strips.

It's loaded with wonderful textures - none of the strips are reproduced conventionally; they're all photographed, either from the original line art, with visible pencil work (and, in some cases, alternate panels glued in place) or from old newspaper reproduction (in the Sunday strips you can see the huge dots of the color tints).

The final photo of the book is of his drawing board and his box of pens and things, as he left them after putting down the pen for the last time. The board nearly has a hole worn through it, and his box o' goodies includes old-fashioned pen nibs spattered with ink, gunked-up erasers and a few Snoopy Band-Aids. It brings tears to my eyes every time.

He was a giant. His contribution to the art form will never, ever be matched.

On edit: see also Conversations with Charles Schulz, a book of interviews and profiles spanning his entire career.

[disgruntella]

52. i see that's coming out in softcover.

I looked through the hardcover edition at a store, but the binding was so horrible I didn't buy it. (I'm a book geek so that kind of stuff matters to me.)

Thanks for the description of the last page, I will definitely want to look at that again.

[Darranar]

46. All of the above...

aside from Li'l Abner. Never read it.

[bloom]

50. Calvin & Hobbes

I have two of Watterson's last strips above my computer.

[mitchum]

51. "Andy Capp" (what a lout!)

never very funny, but it's bindboggling that a drunken, abusive, philandering layabout starred in a mainstream comic strip

"Dondi" because even as a child, I loved to hate it

[ulysses]

53. Bloom County

[Aristus]

54. Calvin and Hobbes.

No question about it. I love the one where Calvin and Hobbes come across a lot of garbage out in the woods and wonder if there will be any environment to speak of when Calvin grows up. Then Calvin says (beautiful line.) "I wonder if you can refuse to inherit the Earth?" Hobbes responds. "I think if you're born, it's too late."

Incredible strip.

[TheBigGuy]

56. Bloom County....also liked Big George.

Bloom County.....probably one of my favorites.

I dont really know if Big George is defunct, but i havnt seen it in years.

I also liked the artwork in Bringing Up Father.

[annonymous]

59. I really miss Bloom County.

It was such a perfect satire of the 80's. I also miss Calvin & Hobbes and Far Side.

[thehonesttruth]

60. you hit 3 of my faves

far side, bloom county and calvin and hobbes- funny stuff.

[SOteric]

61. Dandelion Break!!!

Bloom County.

[ButterflyBlood]

62. CALVIN & HOBBES

no contest

[anti_shrub]

63. Calvin, no doubt

Mom once said she thought Calvin corrupted me, since I ended up just like him.

The last strip still gets me, I wonder if he still thinks its a magical world out there.

[Spirochete]

64. The Neighborhood

Bloom County
Tumbleweeds

[marigold20]

65. Those three and Moose and Molly

It's funny that I don't remember a thing about Moose and Molly except that I really liked it and named my two cats Moose and Molly.

My kids had all of the Calvin and Hobbes collection books. They left the books when they left home so I can reread the strips whenever.

My desk hasn't been the same since the page a day Far Side stopped publishing last year. Now I have the Onion calendar which is good but not as good as the Far Side.

[arwalden]

66. Alley Oop

[nuxvomica]

67. I think Alley Oop is still in syndication

It may just be gone from your local paper.

[arwalden]

69. Thanks for the update... I'll keep my eyes open for it.

-- Allen

[ACK]

68. Bloom County most of all

Opus helped shape my political belief system.

Worn beat Democrat supporter walks out of the convention with a Mondale sign.

Looks at Opus and asks:
"The Meadow's party? What you got on the ticket?"

Opus looks nervous and replies:
"A dead communist cat and a shy liberal penguin sir."

Dem supporter throws away his Mondale sign and says:
"What the hell."

[TheBigGuy]

70. does anyone remember Dondi? or Grin and Bear It?

they where in syndication in the 1960s

[FarLeftRage]

71. Yes, I do...

My childhood was the 1960's...

[CO Liberal]

76. "Grin and Bear It" Is Still Around

They carry it on Sundays in the Pueblo Chieftain.

[incontrovertible]

72. B.C.

The funny version of B.C., that is. Which is definitely extinct.

I miss both early Peanuts (the theological manic-depressive era) and late Peanuts, when Charles Schultz had just gone completely insane and started doing violently unfunny strips - such as Snoopy standing in the middle of a picture postcard, doing nothing, or Woodstock speaking bird gibberish for eight panels, saying nothing.

The fact that Schultz swallowed a Socratic cocktail at midnight on the day of his final strip also speaks reams.

One day there'll be a fascinating doctoral thesis on Peanuts.

[incontrovertible]

73. Jimmy Corrigan

Chris Ware is the only genuine talent of any consequence whatsoever currently practicing anywhere near the mainstream comic art medium. He's a living legend already, and not even forty yet.

Jimmy Corrigan, of course, was brought to its logical conclusion at the end of its book.

I literally wept.

[Bridget Burke]

75. Two variations on the vulgar bootleg Calvin seen in Houston:

* Wearing a cowboy hat--peeing on "La Migra"

* Also in a cowboy hat--peeing on a big "W"

Like most everybody, I miss Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County. Don't remember Pogo from the papers but we had a book & sang "Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie" every Christmas.

Speaking of fossils, let's go WAY before my time to the surreal environs of Coconino County, where Krazy Kat, Ignatz & Offisa Pup play out their eternal triangle...

[Keithpotkin]

77. SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN

fucking amazing