Bloom County belongs in there somewhere in 3-5 … I’m just not sure where. I think Berkeley Breathed was a genius but for some reason he quit.
In some ways Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes are a tie for me. They are both so good and they seem so completely different. It’s really hard to tell whether Gary Larson or Bill Waterson is the bigger genius.
Mark,
Yeah, I didn’t really get Boondocks until I moved to Brooklyn. Not that I fully get it now, but I can at least see that it’s very smart and funny. And yeah, Non Sequiter is good.
Bloom County isn’t bad but there’s no WAY it beats The Far Side.
I’m still waiting for D to tell us that the classic comics like Peanuts, BC and Archie are the funniest.
No love for Garfield? As a kid I used to love that strip. I owned all the books and I even wrote Jim Davis (and even got a response). Now I can’t even look at it it’s so terrible.
Comment by Supergenius — November 7, 2006 @ 12:31 pm
I remember the rip-and-play record. I believe the song was titled “You Really Stink”
I think Calvin and Hobbes and the Far Side are pretty much timeless in their appeal. That’s why they are at the top.
Bloom County comes after them because so many of the cartoons are tied to the politics and events of its time. But laying that caveat aside, Bloom County was awesome.
Oh yeah, Life in Hell was awesome. I don’t know “get your war on”, but Tom the Dancing Bug is good stuff. Pogo really was good stuff (As was 60’s-70’s era Peanuts).
Um, I like Boondocks. And I am a white dude in suburban Utah. So…there’s that.
If you read the old B.C. or Charlie Brown from way back in the 50’s and 60’s they were pretty funny. Much better than Boondocks. I kind of dig the occasional Foxtrot too. But Bloom County definitely has to be in the top 5.
Dilbert I really, really like, but am not sure it’s top 5.
1) The Far Side
2) Calvin and Hobbes
3) Bloom County
4) B C
5) Foxtrot
Susan, YOU LOSE! At least with regards to the Far Side, which was genius and hilarious but never was able to capture real sentiment the way those other two did.
Comment by Supergenius — November 7, 2006 @ 3:45 pm
It captured other things, though.
BTW, if anyone wants to see some Life in Hell strips, I scanned and posted some old favorites here:
The tear-out record in Billy and the Boingers was titled, if memory doesn’t fail, “U Stink, But I Love You.”
I agree with the above lists if we only go back to the mid-’80s.
If we include the really golden years of the newspaper comics, though, Herriman’s Krazy Kat must, MUST be included in the top five. Watterson specifically mentions it as one of his greatest inspirations. I’m guessing that Schultz and Breathed would also cite it as essential.
1. Calvin and Hobbs
2. Life in Hell
3. The Far Side
4. Not actually a daily strip, but comics by Roz Chast (often found in The New Yorker and in compilation books)
5. Dilbert
And yes, Peanuts is genius.
Also, from the New Yorker, but the old Charles Addams comics - if you can find them - are highly amusing.
And I didn’t comment on the what-are-you-a-sucker-for post, but I was going to say I’m a sucker for any top 5 or 10 lists. Total sucker.
I encountered the “Get your war on” guy’s work first in Syria (of all places) when he did the same thing, trying to spoof office life (the collection was entitled “My filing technique is unstoppable”). It is funny if you like crazy non-sequitors, random things happening randoming, and profuse profanity. Also, if you are in Syria with very little else to read.
1. Calvin and Hobbes
2. Peanuts (Pre-1970)
3. Bloom County
4. The Far Side
5. Dilbert
Peanuts was revolutionary. Go back and read the early strips (which were recently republished in hardback bound editions). They are surprisingly edgy and droll.
Bloom County was hilarious and was my favorite strip through middle school and high school. Neither Outland nor Opus comes close to capturing the greatness of Bloom County.
The Far Side and Dilbert were both pretty revolutionary and created their own genres.
Calvin and Hobbes will always be my favorite. Watterson got out before the concept could get stale. My kids love it as much as I did. Despite the fact that it’s a story about a boy and his stuffed tiger, there’s some pretty deep stuff in there, if you read between the lines. And the best snowmen ever.
Also, best online comic running today is, without a doubt, Achewood. It’s not for everyone, and the humor is somewhat oblique, but I’ve laughed as much or more at Achewood as I have at any comic other than a few of the ones in my list above.
Bloom County, The Far Side, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes are definite top 5 material. Pearls Before Swine, Get Fuzzy, Zits, and Cleats were my favorites in my Sunday paper in North Carolina. Pearls Before Swine has top ten potential.
Agreed on all but # 4. Boondocks I just don’t get.
How about Non Sequiter? I think that one is pretty funny.
Comment by Mark IV — November 7, 2006 @ 10:01 am
Going old school, Bloom County? Pogo?
Comment by HP — November 7, 2006 @ 10:48 am
Not a Dilbert fan. How about Foxtrot?
Comment by Tim J — November 7, 2006 @ 10:51 am
Get Fuzzy, anyone?
Comment by samdb — November 7, 2006 @ 11:01 am
Life in Hell. (Matt Groening)
Comment by Susan M — November 7, 2006 @ 11:17 am
Bloom County belongs in there somewhere in 3-5 … I’m just not sure where. I think Berkeley Breathed was a genius but for some reason he quit.
In some ways Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes are a tie for me. They are both so good and they seem so completely different. It’s really hard to tell whether Gary Larson or Bill Waterson is the bigger genius.
Comment by danithew — November 7, 2006 @ 11:22 am
er, I think it’s Watterson.
Comment by danithew — November 7, 2006 @ 11:23 am
The first two are neck and neck…
1.) Calvin and Hobbes
2.) Bloom County
After these two, it drops off several degrees, though the rest of these are all high quality…
3.) The Far Side
4.) Dilbert
5.) Opus (aka “Bloom County 2″… not nearly as good as the original, but still better than all other comic strip dreck.)
Comment by Matt Thurston — November 7, 2006 @ 11:42 am
Mark,
Yeah, I didn’t really get Boondocks until I moved to Brooklyn. Not that I fully get it now, but I can at least see that it’s very smart and funny. And yeah, Non Sequiter is good.
Bloom County isn’t bad but there’s no WAY it beats The Far Side.
I’m still waiting for D to tell us that the classic comics like Peanuts, BC and Archie are the funniest.
No love for Garfield? As a kid I used to love that strip. I owned all the books and I even wrote Jim Davis (and even got a response). Now I can’t even look at it it’s so terrible.
Comment by Rusty — November 7, 2006 @ 11:55 am
One of the Bloom County books, Billy and the Boingers, came with a record that you rip out and play. Good memories.
Bloom County was truely classic, but I would rank them:
Far Side
Dilbert
Calvin and Hobbes
Bloom County
…and no number 5. There isn’t anything that is even close to the hilarity mustered by these four.
Comment by J. Stapley — November 7, 2006 @ 12:06 pm
What Susan said. Akbar & Jeff forever!
Comment by Supergenius — November 7, 2006 @ 12:31 pm
I remember the rip-and-play record. I believe the song was titled “You Really Stink”
I think Calvin and Hobbes and the Far Side are pretty much timeless in their appeal. That’s why they are at the top.
Bloom County comes after them because so many of the cartoons are tied to the politics and events of its time. But laying that caveat aside, Bloom County was awesome.
Comment by danithew — November 7, 2006 @ 12:32 pm
Oh yeah, Life in Hell was awesome. I don’t know “get your war on”, but Tom the Dancing Bug is good stuff. Pogo really was good stuff (As was 60’s-70’s era Peanuts).
Um, I like Boondocks. And I am a white dude in suburban Utah. So…there’s that.
Comment by HP — November 7, 2006 @ 2:16 pm
I have that Billy & the Boingers record! (Ack!)
Binkley’s nightmare closet inspired me to work in a library.
Hairy fishnuts? T’aint Corn, It’s dope. Steve Dallas, perennial frat boy lawyer.
My top 5
The Far Side (How Nature says “Do Not Touch”)
Bloom County
Love in Hell
Calvin and Hobbes
Dilbert
Honorable mention:
Unshelved http://www.overduemedia.com/archive.aspx
Yes, too specific for a top 5 list, but still dang funny.
example:
http://www.overduemedia.com/store.aspx?cat=prints&strip=20050206
Comment by Jennifer — November 7, 2006 @ 2:45 pm
Ooops, I think that I meant “This Modern World” when I said Tom the Dancing Bug
Comment by HP — November 7, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
If you read the old B.C. or Charlie Brown from way back in the 50’s and 60’s they were pretty funny. Much better than Boondocks. I kind of dig the occasional Foxtrot too. But Bloom County definitely has to be in the top 5.
Dilbert I really, really like, but am not sure it’s top 5.
1) The Far Side
2) Calvin and Hobbes
3) Bloom County
4) B C
5) Foxtrot
Comment by Clark Goble — November 7, 2006 @ 3:14 pm
Tom Tomorrow - This Modern World: can’t believe I forgot about that one!
Comment by Jennifer — November 7, 2006 @ 3:21 pm
Maybe it’s not the funniest, but it’s the best: Peanuts. The single greatest comic strip ever drawn, ever. Defy me — I dare you!
Comment by Supergenius — November 7, 2006 @ 3:27 pm
I defy you. Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side are tied.
Comment by Susan M — November 7, 2006 @ 3:36 pm
Peanuts is special. No doubt about it. If the question had been about the 5 most important comics, Peanuts would be at the top.
Sounds weird to put the words “most important comics” together.
I think Peanuts is Elvis Presley to Gary Larson’s Rolling Stones and Bill Watterson’s Beatles.
Comment by danithew — November 7, 2006 @ 3:44 pm
Susan, YOU LOSE! At least with regards to the Far Side, which was genius and hilarious but never was able to capture real sentiment the way those other two did.
Comment by Supergenius — November 7, 2006 @ 3:45 pm
It captured other things, though.
BTW, if anyone wants to see some Life in Hell strips, I scanned and posted some old favorites here:
http://qsysue.tagplazen.org/images/groening/
Comment by Susan M — November 7, 2006 @ 3:53 pm
Clark, you have persuaded me. Foxtrot at #5.
Comment by J. Stapley — November 7, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
No love for The Family Circus?
Also surprised not to see Doonesbury mentioned. Seems like one of those toons we’re suppossed to like, but rarely do.
In the Bleachers occaisionally makes me smile.
I had a teacher in high school who was a Ziggy fanatic. Must have had 25 posters of various Ziggy cartoons in his classroom. It was a long semester.
Have you ever met a man who is a fan of Cathy? Actually, have you ever met a woman who is a fan of Cathy?
Herman sometimes amused me as well.
Comment by Matt Thurston — November 7, 2006 @ 5:46 pm
The tear-out record in Billy and the Boingers was titled, if memory doesn’t fail, “U Stink, But I Love You.”
I agree with the above lists if we only go back to the mid-’80s.
If we include the really golden years of the newspaper comics, though, Herriman’s Krazy Kat must, MUST be included in the top five. Watterson specifically mentions it as one of his greatest inspirations. I’m guessing that Schultz and Breathed would also cite it as essential.
Comment by Justin H — November 7, 2006 @ 6:19 pm
Supergenius, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Far Side is LOADED with sentiment. Terror, for instance.
Comment by danithew — November 7, 2006 @ 6:53 pm
Krazy Kat
Pogo
Peanuts
Far Side
Calvin and Hobbes
Honorable mentions: Mark Trail, Boondocks (R.I.P.), Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Foxtrot
Comment by Justin B. — November 7, 2006 @ 7:12 pm
1. Calvin and Hobbs
2. Life in Hell
3. The Far Side
4. Not actually a daily strip, but comics by Roz Chast (often found in The New Yorker and in compilation books)
5. Dilbert
And yes, Peanuts is genius.
Also, from the New Yorker, but the old Charles Addams comics - if you can find them - are highly amusing.
And I didn’t comment on the what-are-you-a-sucker-for post, but I was going to say I’m a sucker for any top 5 or 10 lists. Total sucker.
Comment by meems — November 7, 2006 @ 7:48 pm
Calvin and Hobbes.
Nothing else even comes close. And you’ve got to respect Watterson for never selling out and putting a Hobbes on every lunchbox in America.
Comment by tracy m — November 7, 2006 @ 9:32 pm
Get Your War On is funny?
I can’t believe I’m the first one to ask this question on this thread.
Comment by BTD Greg — November 7, 2006 @ 10:53 pm
I encountered the “Get your war on” guy’s work first in Syria (of all places) when he did the same thing, trying to spoof office life (the collection was entitled “My filing technique is unstoppable”). It is funny if you like crazy non-sequitors, random things happening randoming, and profuse profanity. Also, if you are in Syria with very little else to read.
Comment by HP — November 7, 2006 @ 11:16 pm
1. Garfield
2. Family Circus
3. Rex Morgan, MD
4. Marmaduke
5. Married to the Sea
Seriously, most of the comics page is a waste of ink. They should cut half of them and make the rest twice as big.
Comment by a random John — November 7, 2006 @ 11:29 pm
Very few times I agree with Supergenius: Peanuts is the best comic strip there ever was.
Comment by D. Fletcher — November 8, 2006 @ 8:36 am
Get Your War On is funny?
Yes. Not every strip is funny (like every other comic) but his angry hyperbole is fantastic and I love the fact that he uses the same clip-art over and over. Both My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable and My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable are awesome too (for the reasons HP mentions above).
ARJ,
Garfield? Funniest? Are you serious?
Comment by Rusty — November 8, 2006 @ 8:43 am
My list, FWIW:
1. Calvin and Hobbes
2. Peanuts (Pre-1970)
3. Bloom County
4. The Far Side
5. Dilbert
Peanuts was revolutionary. Go back and read the early strips (which were recently republished in hardback bound editions). They are surprisingly edgy and droll.
Bloom County was hilarious and was my favorite strip through middle school and high school. Neither Outland nor Opus comes close to capturing the greatness of Bloom County.
The Far Side and Dilbert were both pretty revolutionary and created their own genres.
Calvin and Hobbes will always be my favorite. Watterson got out before the concept could get stale. My kids love it as much as I did. Despite the fact that it’s a story about a boy and his stuffed tiger, there’s some pretty deep stuff in there, if you read between the lines. And the best snowmen ever.
Comment by BTD Greg — November 8, 2006 @ 9:00 am
Also, best online comic running today is, without a doubt, Achewood. It’s not for everyone, and the humor is somewhat oblique, but I’ve laughed as much or more at Achewood as I have at any comic other than a few of the ones in my list above.
Comment by BTD Greg — November 8, 2006 @ 9:03 am
Rusty,
You read my whole post, right?
Comment by a random John — November 8, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
No Red Meat fans? Zippy the Pinhead?
Bloom County, The Far Side, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes are definite top 5 material. Pearls Before Swine, Get Fuzzy, Zits, and Cleats were my favorites in my Sunday paper in North Carolina. Pearls Before Swine has top ten potential.
Comment by Bryce I — November 8, 2006 @ 11:05 pm