as you most likely already guessed, i read the local paper each day...i actually wake up by mixing large amounts of caffiene(in the form of coffee), nicotine, with reading my way through most of the paper...being a creature of habit, i read the same sections in the same order every day...front section first, which provides my mdr of hard news and also light entertainment(editorials and letters to the editor, don't people think before they submit?), then local news....done with the serious stuff i turn to the sports(hey, i'm a guy, okay) to see how poorly my teams(dodgers, raiders, lakers) have fared, what athlete has found what method of stepping on his dick, and scoping the predictions for next season....i save the best for last, the living section, which has reviews, dear so and so(kind of springer light) and the real reason i buy the paper, the comics...while i like to stay up on events, i must admit that the true reason i buy the paper is the comics...they let me start my day with a smile most days, and balance out the ugliness of reality, as sampled by the news editors.
i am truly grateful for the people who write and draw comics, and feel that they are often underappreciated for their work...it must be extremely difficult to write a comic in syndication, without becoming stale or boring...they provide such a wide spectrum of comic creativity too, or at least the dallas morning news includes a variety...i feel sorry for new yorkers, as the times is too snobby or whatever to print comics and the post will never be a real paper(to me)...though i read almost all of the daily comics, there are some that for one reason or another are my current favorites...of course, i feel i must list them, and why.
My List:
Get Fuzzy; damn, i love this comic...good art(in a weird way), great characters, and dialog...bucky is the epidemy of cat quirkiness, and satchel demonstrates doggy loyalty and innocense...rob, unlike many humans, is not clueless or an imbecile, and has the blend of acceptance, amazement, humor and resignation real pet people have...this comic to me is the anti-garfield...what will bucky do next, has me looking forward to each day's strip.
Bizarro; one of the best and weirdest comics ever...this is the comic that finally replaced the hole left when the far side went away...while completely different in subject, and appearance from the far side, it shares that way off the wall view of life...i can't even guess what fuels the thoughts crossing dan piraro's mind(any more than i did those of gary larson's) i hope they keep it up, and that he keeps sharing them for many more years.
Foxtrot; jason picked up the torch dropped when calvin and hobbes stopped, providing that boy's view of the world...speaks to the 8 year old in me...i love his never quit, jump in with both feet approach to life...this strip also features some amuzing family dynamics, and pokes fun at modern culture.
Dilbert: i lived in that world for many years, and while not always as sharp as the earlier days, still freqently finds and ridicules corporate stupidity mercilessly.
Non Sequitur; this comic goes right for the jugular, mixing sharp social and political commentary displaying the folly and stupidity of current events...sharp without be overly cruel or bitter...one of the best at championing the benefits of keeping an open mind, and the pitfalls of letting the media or politicians do your thinking.
Mother Goose and Grimm; visual puns and sight gags at their best(worst)
Sherman's Lagoon: just strange fun
The Norm; interesting view of things, and his friend obsessive fandom of star wars rocks.
The Boondocks; cruel, tateless, sharp, and very very funny...this comic has no line it will not cross, no subject is too sensative, no person is safe from ridicule...they actually moved it to the dear fix-my-life because i have no clue page, due to huge volume of complaints received about the "offensive" nature of this comic...i salute the dmn for refusing to bow to the pressure directed their way to pull the comic from the paper.
if you made it this far, thanks, and i would love to know your list of favs, and your opinions, if any of mine
Posted by Angstman at July 22, 2003 07:36 PM | TrackBack