From time to time, you will see newspapers reshuffle their comics pages, taking one or two strips out and adding some new ones. It is said that these moves arouse more controversy than anything else newspapers do; people love their comics. Papers often invite reader input on this process. Well, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is going through this right now, and they have an online poll. One panel and one strip will be deleted, and later on some new material will be added.
The STL-PD gave readers 5 nominees in each category. Unfortunately, they picked the nominees. This was not a big problem in the panel category. Here are the nominees:
- Drabble
- Family Circus
- In the Bleachers
- Marmaduke
- Ziggy
None of the paper's panel comics are especially good, so I wouldn't miss any of these, but I have long though Family Circus and Marmaduke were obnoxious and unfunny. One reason I started liking Pearls Before Swine is that they rip on Family Circus from time to time. Marmaduke should be retitled, "Reasons Not to Own a Dog." I dislike Family Circus more, though, so I voted for that one.
It is the strip category, however, where a travesty is unfolding. Here are the nominees:
- Blondie
- For Better or Worse
- Garfield
- Hagar the Horrible
- Hi and Lois
Comics 1, 3, and 4 are classics that have no business being replaced. Dagwood's laziness, appetite, and tardiness never get old, nor do Hagar's military exploits or mother-in-law problems or Garfield's shenanigans. Comics 2 and 5 are OK, but they are much better than some other comics that the paper should have offered for removal. My nominees for comics to remove are:
- Mark Trail - serial comic about nature in which nothing ever happens
- 9 Chickweed Lane - serial comic in which woman remembers her sexual exploits from the 1940's in R-rated detail
- Duplex - exploits of a pathetic loser with a pet (who is, unlike Garfield's Jon, not lovable)
- Deflocked - exploits of an idiot sheep
Of my nominees, I would vote for Mark Trail. Of the actual nominees, I guess it will be For Better or Worse. Who would you vote for?
UGH I HATE Garfield! If you think Marmaduke offers reasons not to get a dog, Garfield is reason not to get a cat. They're lazy, not funny at all, and don't care about anything but themselves. Everyone hates mondays...get over it! Pookie is the best character in the strip, because he's cute and doesn't talk, no other character offers such wonderful traits.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could vote for 9 chickweed lane. I have no need for unfunny dirty comics in my life.
ReplyDeleteBut since that isn't an option, I will probably vote for Ziggy for Panel but I'm still undecided on strip.
I'm confused about the panel one because Drabble's a strip. Also, I think it's relatively OK. I'd vote off Marmaduke, because besides being one-note and disturbing, it's also just plain ugly. Family Circus is boring, but at least the drawings are nice and neat.
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for For Better or Worse in strips, hands down. At this point, she's just resubmitting old strips from the 70's, and unlike Peanuts reruns (which I am also against), they are not timeless. It's incredibly sexist in a way that, luckily, you don't really see anywhere else anymore. (Elly can't balance her checkbook, since she's a woman! Her husband tells her all she's good for is housework, which is true because she's a woman!)
I stopped reading 9 Chickweed Lane before it got onto the 40's sexual exploits storyline, but it was already terrible anyway. And I agree, Blondie is funnier than you'd assume.
Finally, it's false to say cats aren't funny. Garfield isn't funny (and why does he hate Mondays? He doesn't have a job!) but cats are funny. Just ask YouTube.
In our paper, Rachel, they shrink Drabble down and arrange it in a square so it is one-panel size.
ReplyDeleteI think Jon really carries Garfield. He's sooo nerdy, but he has a girlfriend now, so that makes him more interesting.
And I would say that y'all should go ahead and vote, even if you don't live here.
I went ahead and voted. I don't know if you're keeping up with the results or not, but it looks like In the Bleachers is leading for panels (I didn't say anything about it in my last already-long comment, but it's terrible, too) and Hagar in strips.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why would they shrink and smoosh Drabble? That seems so arbitrary.