The Far Side Coming Back?

[nwhoopfan]

Just out of curiosity I took a peek at the latest Sunday comics. For Better or Worse, Garfield, Family Circus, Wizard of Id, Blondie, Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Bailey, Doonesbury are all still in print. Some of those were probably fairly new when I was a kid, but I bet my parents grew up on some of them. You have to run out of ideas at some point. I used to love Dilbert but it got stale quite a while ago IMO. It's still going as well.

 

[dbmill]

Just out of curiosity I took a peek at the latest Sunday comics. For Better or Worse, Garfield, Family Circus, Wizard of Id, Blondie, Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Bailey, Doonesbury are all still in print. Some of those were probably fairly new when I was a kid, but I bet my parents grew up on some of them. You have to run out of ideas at some point. I used to love Dilbert but it got stale quite a while ago IMO. It's still going as well.

Even worse, the original artist dies or stops doing the strip, and someone else takes over. At least the Sunday Doonesbury is still by the original guy, however, the Doonesbury strips during the week are reruns. But Wizard of Id, Beatle Bailey, Hi and Lois, B.C., and some others are basically strips that just get passed on to other people to do. To me that stifles newcomers with brand new ideas. Of the "passed on" strips, the only one that I really still like is Blondie.

 

[eebmg]

Dilbert. For us working drones.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Even worse, the original artist dies or stops doing the strip, and someone else takes over.

I wondered about that. Some of those must date back to the 50s or 60s. That would be a long time for one artist/author to keep doing the same thing.

 

[dbmill]

I wondered about that. Some of those must date back to the 50s or 60s. That would be a long time for one artist/author to keep doing the same thing.

In the case of Blondie (1930) and Prince Valiant (in the Sunday Hartford Courant), they both started at least a couple of decades before that. By the way, Prince Valiant I also look forward to reading, but it isn't as good as it used to be.

 

[nwhoopfan]

In the case of Blondie (1930)

Wow, Dagwood has been raiding the fridge to make those big sandwiches for almost a century? He hasn't aged a day...

 

[dbmill]

Wow, Dagwood has been raiding the fridge to make those big sandwiches for almost a century? He hasn't aged a day...

Yes. And Blondie was popular enough that a long series of "B" movies were made based on the strip starting in 1938.

Blondie (comic strip) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When I was a kid growing up in the late 1960's into the 1970's, these Blondie movies were shown regularly on New York City television stations.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Wow, Dagwood has been raiding the fridge to make those big sandwiches for almost a century? He hasn't aged a day...

(overheard at the grands) gramms: 'make sure you find some tongue, pickling cukes, and sourdough at the store, they're coming on the weekend.' gramps: 'that boy sure makes some odd dagwoods.' weekend comes. me: 'hey folks, what's new? gramps; 'sorry son, I forgot to get that thousand island stuff you put on your dagwoods, why can't you eat normal?'
(noticed a copy of the recent aarp zine featuring cannabis on a table there, picked it up.
gramps; 'does that stuff make you eat funny?' man, we laughed. a lot. me; 'gramp, go back to your katzenjammer kids thinking, and while your at it, explain to me again what's a Dondi?' lol.)

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Yes. And Blondie was popular enough that a long series of "B" movies were made based on the strip starting in 1938.

Blondie (comic strip) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When I was a kid growing up in the late 1960's into the 1970's, these Blondie movies were shown regularly on New York City television stations.

they're still on the tube. a highly rec'd and worthwhile watch.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Dilbert. For us working drones.