I liked Garfield when I was a kid and my six year old found a bunch of my old Garfield books.

 

 

Wow, man. Sounds like a rough childhood.

 

I liked Garfield when I was a kid and my six year old found a bunch of my old Garfield books.

 

They don't exactly hold up.

 

But there's no way I'm going to turn my kid off of them.

 

This! Garfield is not written to be highly functional for the adult crowd. It's aimed at the younger crowd 100%, and therefore it's like comparing paint by number with Picasso. I think you can have both and still enjoy both for what they are.

 

Fair enough. So where do you rate Far Side and Bloom County in comparison?

Personally, I think comics hit a high point in the 50s and 80s. Since then, it's been an ugly road. So much mediocrity in print, so much pushback from staid publishers without a clue.

But the internet gave us XKCD and Cyanide and Happiness so there's that.

 

Cyanide and Happiness are good, I can't say I know Bloom County all that well.  I'd rank Far Side, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes as top three.

 

You're right when you say C + H lining up with our childhood was a part of it, but I've enjoyed that strip at every stage of my life and now re-enjoying it as a father of a son.  (Who, by the way, is named Calvin)

 

I don't think any other comic manages to be so profound, so whimsical, so philosophical, so heartfelt, so utterly in tune to the essence and spirit of childhood, and so creatively able to capture the human condition.  It's just so perfect.

 

Far Side is witty and philosophical and profound, but not whimsical or heartfelt.  Peanuts has many of the traits of Calvin and Hobbes but, for me, feels overtaken in every one of them.

Edited August 14, 201610 yr by TheLeviathan

 

This! Garfield is not written to be highly functional for the adult crowd. It's aimed at the younger crowd 100%, and therefore it's like comparing paint by number with Picasso. I think you can have both and still enjoy both for what they are.

 

I've never really understood who Garfield was aimed at.  I assumed Crazy Cat Lady types.

 

Even as a kid with the Garfield and Friends show...I never understood it.

 

Cyanide and Happiness are good, I can't say I know Bloom County all that well.  I'd rank Far Side, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes as top three.

 

You're right when you say C + H lining up with our childhood was a part of it, but I've enjoyed that strip at every stage of my life and now re-enjoying it as a father of a son.  (Who, by the way, is named Calvin)

 

I don't think any other comic manages to be so profound, so whimsical, so philosophical, so heartfelt, so utterly in tune to the essence and spirit of childhood, and so creatively able to capture the human condition.  It's just so perfect.

 

Far Side is witty and philosophical and profound, but not whimsical or heartfelt.  Peanuts has many of the traits of Calvin and Hobbes but, for me, feels overtaken in every one of them.

Bloom County is somewhat mired in the 80s if you read it today - unlike C&H, it dealt with issues of the day - but it's worth a read. Breathed is a master satirist and took Reagan's America to task on a regular basis. Given your political bent, I think you'll enjoy it even 30+ years after the fact.

If you haven't read Garfield Minus Garfield, do so immediately.

 

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/

 

Jon is a crazy person.

If you haven't read Garfield Minus Garfield, do so immediately.

 

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/

 

Jon is a crazy person.

Hadn't remembered to look at that one in a very long time. Deserves a couple of examples here in this thread. This recent one captures the absurdist spirit.

http://66.media.tumblr.com/af6d42acf78bab1ea60251b3cfab2f56/tumblr_oa7ztxbyFa1qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

While this one covers the frequent subtext that Jon is not so much crazy, as a severely depressed individual.

http://67.media.tumblr.com/4afdc203e167c637b08ce3f2571b62ed/tumblr_o6o7egoMv91qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

Someone needs to do a Crankshaft Minus Crankshaft. Hopefully, leaving an empty rectangle every day on the newspaper page.

 

Jon is not so much crazy, as a severely depressed individual.

 

Agreed.

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/8ce3298067ff66c58a1d80caef06d816/tumblr_o4x9iqtWFS1qz8z2ro1_500.png

Agreed.

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/8ce3298067ff66c58a1d80caef06d816/tumblr_o4x9iqtWFS1qz8z2ro1_500.png

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/113e4a603e4b0c549f070defcb082882/tumblr_obax89otBu1qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/c001b680a29d2163248ec83dc7016148/tumblr_o9i3899omn1qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://67.media.tumblr.com/800ad6ce92bafe47e7a660ca09cf9811/tumblr_o87tfecls31qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://67.media.tumblr.com/5b841bfb777959a0197adf2303051937/tumblr_o0ytxlb3tB1qz8z2ro1_500.png

I never understood the appeal of Garfield at all. Not one bit.

 

Peanuts always bored me, seemed like the same thing over and over.

 

Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest strip ever.

 

Far side is number 2 for me.

 

Dilbert and Bloom county were always go to for me back in the day, though Dilbert is too depressingly close to reality for me at times.

 

I haven't looked an comics in years and years.....

One of my favorites so far from Brock's recommendation, Gone with the Blastwave. 

http://www.blastwave-comic.com/comics/20060505.jpg

Relevant strip since we've been talking about long island ice teas and college drinking in the food and other such holidays thread... 

 

http://theinfinityplane.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/01-Calvin-and-Hobbes-Its-a-Magical-World-by-Bill-Watterson.jpg

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/113e4a603e4b0c549f070defcb082882/tumblr_obax89otBu1qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://65.media.tumblr.com/c001b680a29d2163248ec83dc7016148/tumblr_o9i3899omn1qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://67.media.tumblr.com/800ad6ce92bafe47e7a660ca09cf9811/tumblr_o87tfecls31qz8z2ro1_500.png

 

http://67.media.tumblr.com/5b841bfb777959a0197adf2303051937/tumblr_o0ytxlb3tB1qz8z2ro1_500.png

So THAT's where Hunter Pence finds his inspiration.

 

One of my favorites so far from Brock's recommendation, Gone with the Blastwave. 

 

When Brock shared Gone with the Blastwave, I probably read it two or three times in a row just to revel in its absolute perfectness. And then I couldn't stop harassing my friend about it. It's just so ... perfect.

 

I need to go read it again.

 

http://www.blastwave-comic.com/comics/045.jpg

Because mixing metaphors is a good mix.

 

Slightly off topic but we saw the Peanuts Movie that came out last year.  My kids loved it and thought it was actually pretty good.  I have trouble watching kid cartoon movies but the Peanuts one held my interest.  A very happy surprise.

 

As for ranking them, I think it would go Bloom County (by a mile), Peanuts, Doonesbury, C&H, Arlo and Janis (those four are close).

 

Slightly off topic but we saw the Peanuts Movie that came out last year.  My kids loved it and thought it was actually pretty good.  I have trouble watching kid cartoon movies but the Peanuts one held my interest.  A very happy surprise.

 

As for ranking them, I think it would go Bloom County (by a mile), Peanuts, Doonesbury, C&H, Arlo and Janis (those four are close).

Start posting some of your favorites from Bloom County! That's one I'm not familiar with. 

Huh, I also used to read Arlo and Janis back in the day. Forgot that one.

 

Start posting some of your favorites from Bloom County! That's one I'm not familiar with. 

A bunch are here - http://www.angelfire.com/vamp/shoopshoop/2ofakind.html

 

I loved the strip but it's also very much a moment of its time so I'm not sure how the comics would work individually without knowing the characters (and issues).  It was a very liberal strip in the Reagan 80s which made me pretty happy.  

 

 

Edited August 26, 201610 yr by gunnarthor

A touching story; the little red head girl of Charlie Brown's dreams.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/08/22/ive-had-a-good-life-donna-wold-the-ex-flame-who-inspired-the-little-red-haired-girl-in-peanuts-dies/?platform=hootsuite

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1E-yt9tF2eY/T_1OIiIlJsI/AAAAAAAADLc/juEeaXQ2Kz0/s1600/tfs5.gif

I don't know if Danklin is technically a 'comic,' but I sure am enjoying it. 

 

 

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/d7/ff/e1/d7ffe123a9f16d60eb3eb5d1d1b57d85.jpg

Why haven't i seen this thread?

 

1. Calvin & Hobbes

2. Peanuts (sorry Snoopy)

3. Everything else, led by Bloom County. I liked Tom Tomorrow in the early 2000s. I also kind of like For Better or Worse. New Yorker cartoons. Far Side was great but I preferred the multiple panels of the others.

We all don't like Garfield, right? Right, guys?

Putting chalk to chalkboard coming up with a solution on how to fix Byron Buxton....