28 replies to this topic

[J.H.]

I adore Bloom County no end, but Doonesbury still holds that special place in my heart. hose 2 along with Peanuts, early Funky Winkerbean before it became the world's most depressing comic strip. I was lucky when Liberty Meadows was running in the Detroit Free Press up here. These days Get Fuzzy is the only one I read with any regularity anymore. I REALLY miss Foxtrot!

James

[Blazing Dragon]

J.H., on May 1 2012, 10:14 PM, said:

I adore Bloom County no end, but Doonesbury still holds that special place in my heart. hose 2 along with Peanuts, early Funky Winkerbean before it became the world's most depressing comic strip. I was lucky when Liberty Meadows was running in the Detroit Free Press up here. These days Get Fuzzy is the only one I read with any regularity anymore. I REALLY miss Foxtrot!

James

I have no clue what is up with Funky Winkerbean. I used to read it as a kid back in the 70's and early 80's before the paper here dropped it. Then I found out it was still around a few years ago only because I am a fan of comic book artist and writer John Byrne, who is friends with Tom Batiuk and even filled in doing the strip for a week once. (There was a thread about the strip at Byrne's forum once) Then I read up on the strip and found out about the characters aging and all the depressing crap that has happened in the strip since I last read it. Something must have happened in Batiuk's real life that he let affect the strip way too much. He's even did crap like that in his other strip, Crankshaft, which I do read in the newspaper. Then again, Batiuk did end one of his other comic strips, John Darling, by having the main character murdered....

To me turning a humor comic into a drama is a baaaaad idea, unless its failing badly as a humor strip and hasn't been around long.

I miss Foxtrot, too, by the way.

[Lacelle]

From my youth, I always dug Andy Capp. Nowadays I don't read the conventional newspaper but the free "alternative" newspapers around town. In The Georgia Straight they reprint one I tend to get a kick out of when I pass by it is called Red Meat

[J.H.]

Blazing Dragon, on May 2 2012, 03:49 PM, said:

I have no clue what is up with Funky Winkerbean. I used to read it as a kid back in the 70's and early 80's before the paper here dropped it. Then I found out it was still around a few years ago only because I am a fan of comic book artist and writer John Byrne, who is friends with Tom Batiuk and even filled in doing the strip for a week once. (There was a thread about the strip at Byrne's forum once) Then I read up on the strip and found out about the characters aging and all the depressing crap that has happened in the strip since I last read it. Something must have happened in Batiuk's real life that he let affect the strip way too much. He's even did crap like that in his other strip, Crankshaft, which I do read in the newspaper. Then again, Batiuk did end one of his other comic strips, John Darling, by having the main character murdered....

To me turning a humor comic into a drama is a baaaaad idea, unless its failing badly as a humor strip and hasn't been around long.

I miss Foxtrot, too, by the way.

I  you want a good analysis of how depressing Funky Winkerbean got check cout the monthly "Funky Watch" at Chris' Invincible Super Blog. Chris Sims does summations of the month's stories and how utterly hopeless they all seem!

James

[Hoardak]

Sprecherscrow, on May 1 2012, 01:31 PM, said:

There is Calvin and Hobbes, and then there's the rest of them.  Dilbert, Peanuts,Dykes to Watch Out For, and many others have all entertained me, but it's a race for second place.

I used to love Calvin and Hobbes, but the older and more cynical I get, the more irritated I get by Watterson's anti-commercialism and general apathy towards the rest of the comics industry for "selling out" and pumping millions of Garfield, Snoopy, and Opus stuffed dolls into the marketplace.

It's funny when you look at the "old generation" of cartoonists: Bil Keane, Jim Davis, Lynn Johnston, Charles Schultz, Tom Batiuk, etc.  There's a real sense of "family" among them, and on the rare occasions when they've been interviewed, they do show a sense of irritation towards the cartoonists who've shown a willingness to criticize them for being stale or outdated: Berke Breathed creating Bill the Cat to mock Garfield, Watterson's cranky old man routine towards every other cartoonist, Lio's creator, the Pearls Before Swine guy for mocking Funky Winkerbean, etc.

I remember when Charles Schultz died, Lynn Johnston took several digs at Breathed and Watterson, noting in interviews that neither was invited to Schultz's funeral.

[tomk]

Doug Drexler who did the visual effects for the Dick Tracy Movie has put up a big chunk of the first run of the Dick Tracy in  Outerspace strips and they are awesome:

http://drexfiles.wor...ck-tracy/page/4

Semi inspired to try plagarizing the Sawdust strip

[Hoardak]

When was the last time Get Fuzzy actually had an extended story line that took place outside of the apartment?  I'd probably enjoy the comic more if every storyline didn't basically boil down to:

A)  Bucky declares that he's going to pull off some sort of scheme, usually involving a never-before seen friend or relative who has a bizarre job like "cat psychic" or "cat engineer."

B) Rob rolls his eyes while Satchel makes a naive comment.

C)  The friend with the bizarre job shows up and several days of storyline follow as Bucky and the friend actually execute the scheme...all while never leaving the apartment.

D) Something goes wrong with the scheme and Bucky is humiliated while the friend leaves.

E)  Rob makes a few "I told you so" comments while Satchel struggles to understand what went wrong.

F) At no point does any character attempt to leave the apartment, even though Bucky's scheme would, in real life, usually require actually leaving home and going somewhere to pull off said scheme.

G)  Three or four days of filler strips, usually featuring Bucky mocking Rob for being a fan of Rugby, ensue.

***

I mean, seriously, why even mention the strip is set in Boston if they aren't going to have the group visit local landmarks?

[Pete]

:)

[odessasteps]

The Team Cul de Sac charity auction is currently going on.

http://comics.ha.com...ic=catalog_home

(no one bid me up on the Lanridge or Kesel pieces)