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In Father Steve's Boom or Pop thread in Q&A, oftroy mentions : Now ask me about Brenda Starr (the girl reporter with stars in her eyes!) That got me to wondering what the favorite comic strips are for the AWADers. My Grandfather was a fan of Tarzan and read it to me every Sunday when I visited. My favorites were all strong women, now that I consider it : Brenda Starr; Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; and - best of all - Prince Valiant because it featured Princess Aleta. She was a ruler in her own country and a wise and good one, to boot! Some of the drawing really embedded into memory. I still remmeber the drawing of Aleta emerging from a pond with a pond lily on her head. Hal Foster - who authored and drew the series - was an amazing artist IMHO. Another drawing was a full page and was a fight between the Prince ad a Bad Guy at a waterfall. Amazing! I met Hal Foster once at an ANPA convention in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria. A lovely man and very nice to a young fan. He said his secret of writing Prince Valiant was to become immersed in the era and then weave tales about that time. Good advice I've found. So, what is/was your favorite(s) comic strip(s), dear AWADers. For a bio and some samples of Foster's drawings : http://www.bpib.com/illustra2/foster.htmThe Prince Valiant stuf is just about half way down in the piece. Or you can Google "Hal Foster+ Prince Valiant" for lots of links.
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So, what is/was your favorite(s) comic strip(s), dear AWADers.It'd have to be the characters of Coconino County: Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse, Offissa Pup, et al. Although I am found of Archy and Mehitabel, too. http://www.krazy.com/coconino.htmhttp://www.krazy.com/archy.htmThese days I like Dilbert, Get Fuzzy, and Boondocks.
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Calvin and Hobbes, alas, alas. Interestingly enough, jheem, Krazy Kat was one of Bill Watterson's favorite comics.
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Interestingly enough [...] Krazy Kat was one of Bill Watterson's favorite comics.
I meant to mention Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side.
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Ha!
Smokey Stover comes to mind. I liked Li'l Abner when I was a child, but it hasn't aged well. But, no question, my all time favorite was, and in re-reading still is, Pogo. I allus related to Churchy the most.
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For heaven's sake, Anna--I completely missed that, though I read the strip yesterday. Thank you!
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But, no question, my all time favorite was, and in re-reading still is, Pogo.
Ach, for shame. How could I leave Pogo & al. off'n my list. I must look into Smokey Stover: sounds like my kinda toon. One comic I never unnerstood was Garfield which I see they've made into a movie.
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For heaven's sake, Anna--I completely missed that, though I read the strip yesterday.I did. too.  Yon Faldage had to point it out to me.
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I like Boondocks, Get Fuzzy and Baby Blues. I bet I'd like Non Sequitur, too, if I ever understood it.
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For me (at least as a child) it was always and forever Lee Falk's classic hero The Phantom. Also known as The Ghost Who Walks and hence, 'Mr Walker' when he puts on 'normal' garb.
I was such a fan I tracked down a lending library near my grandparents' place where I spent my precious pocket money not just on Phantom comics, but also on the occasional Phantom novel (yes, they were so popular that Lee Falk had 'novelised' them).
Second on the list, of course, was Lee Falk's other great creation, Mandrake the Magician.
For some reason I don't quite enjoy 'comment' comics as much (Doonesbury et al). Perhaps I just remained the sort of boy who's holding out for a hero who's gotta be fast and he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fresh from the fight sort of thing. (Hmmmm... that sounded a touch homoerotic there for a second, until I realised that I wanted to be that hero, not to know him.)
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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My youth was filled with "Peanuts", "Dick Tracy" and "Andy Capp".
Now it's "Calvin and Hobbs", "The Far Side", "The Wizard if Id" and especially "Zippy the Pinhead".
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The Phantom! Damn, for a Spurs fan you have good taste. As a child, a highlight of my week was when my Dad would bring me the new issue. I'm kind of embarrassed now to think about the money that represented over a few years for a single Dad raising 3 kids, but I really enjoyed The Phantom. Sadly, though, shanks, you can never be The Phantom. I've got dibs on it.
Another comic strip I really enjoyed was one that I suspect only Pfranz will remember. Stanley. An underappreciated gem from a prominent NZ caroonist, imo.
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Pooh-Bah
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Yeah, you're right. I remember it, although I preferred Footrot Flats meownself. Stanley was too obviously a ripoff (conceptually) from BC, which is still my all-time favouritest strip ... 
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> Stanley was too obviously a ripoff (conceptually) from BC, which is still my all-time favouritest strip ...
Even as a kid, I could tell that, and I guess because I was a kid, it didn't bother me. BC was one of my favourites at the time, and I enjoyed them both.
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i loved teh comics, when i was very young (early school years) we bought 2 sunday papers, the daily news and the journal american.
I like Dondi (the little orphaned italian boy who was brought to live in america) and Potsy (the fat fun cop--the creater of potsy son had his 15 minutes of fame with the 'fake' biography of
i liked blondie, and gasoline alley, and ripleys believe it or not.
brenda starr and mandrake too, --but not till i got older--same with orphan annie.
i loved the katzenjammer kids, and toonerville trolley, and mut and jeff.
when i was older i liked more comics, but i still liked the old ones. i alwasy thought *dotty and archie were stupid.(was it dotty? there was a comic book dottie, and casper, and there was a comic about a girl very like dotty (a dumb blonde --even though she wasn't blonde) I liked betty boop cartoons, but i never much liked betty boop comics.
i guess my all time favorite were the Far Sides--
i bought collections of comics for my kids, but they never were as excited about them as i was. but they too came to love the page a day far side calendars.
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For modern strips my faves are Non Sequitur (I usually *do get it), For Better or for Worse (for pure soap opera appeal), La Cucaracha, Doonesbury, and Boondocks (for political content). Smokey Stover was pure goofiness and the source of that immortal phrase 'Notary Sojac.' http://www.smokey-stover.com/
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I like it sometimes, but the occasional religious themes bother me.
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Shows how long it's been since I read BC - I did not know that the author had started preaching in it. It must be 20 years since I last followed the strip. Most of my recollections of it are based on anthologies my Dad owned, probably older strips.
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My favorites are "Herman", "The Far Side", "Opus (not Outland)", "Peanuts", "Calvin and Hobbs" and "Dilbert." I also really enjoy, and have read every Asterix - though not strickly a "strip" it is comics.
I also like BC but I do agree with ASp. The preachy religious ones bother me.
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Goodness gracious ! What a trip down memory lane. I was a fan of Mandrake, too. I loved that he could be in two places at once. A trick I wished I could emulate when my sons were youths.
I was concentrating on my early comic reading days and completely forgot Calvin and Hobbs which always gives me a chuckle.
Thanks for all the contributions. Fun wot?
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I guess I'll show my age by mentioning that in my youth, my favorites were "Bringing up Father" (featuring Jiggs and Maggie) and "Our Boarding House" (featuring the inimitable Major Hoople [Fap!]). These (especially BUF) ran for ages -- BUF began running, I think, about 1920 and finally disappeared in sometime in the '70s. It never changed. Jiggs and Maggie started out as middle aged and stayed that way for 70 years.
On the other hand, in Gasoline Alley (running since the '20s), the characters age. Walt Wallet is now pictured as about 100, recently widowed, and I presume will finally shuffle off this mortal coil sometime in the next few years. Skeezix, who was a baby in the original strip, is now retired and in his 70s.
Another oldie which as been subjected to PC treatment is "Snuffie Smith". He was originally a minor character in "Barney Google" [with the Goog-goog-googely eyes] and about 40 or 50 years ago morphed took over the strip with very rare appearances by Barney. He was a shif'less good-fer-nuthin moonshining varmint who was kept alive by Loweezy, his long-suffering wife. But several years ago, he reformed -- gave up moonshining and chicken stealing, treats "Maw" like a human being and being a father to his infant and nephew. Still stuck in time, however; Tater, the infant, has been an infant for at least a generation.
Interesting how some long-running strips evolve, others are stuck in time. Doonesbury (my not-to-be-missed favorite) has kept up with time. All the characters have aged with the exception of Zonker, who is a world unto himself.
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I'm a bit late to the party, and most of my favorites have already been well-represented:Calvin & Hobbes - so empowering to a youngster with a good imagination. The Far Side - introduced me into the more subtle side of humor (the Midvale School for the Gifted always comes to mind). Non Sequitur - very intelligent. Dilbert - love the cynicism and the cat. But a couple of the best have not been mentioned:Robotman - could be hit-or-miss, but when it hit, it was always a home run. Life In Hell - the strip that got Matt Groening the chance to do The Simpsons, best satire ever. There are also some great webcomics out there, for those that have never experienced them:Scary Go Round - by a Brit (but it is still good  ). Has an element of the old-style serial adventure comic, but also very funny. http://www.scarygoround.com/Questionable Content - perhaps aimed at a younger crowd than AWADtalk, but very well polished in both art and humor. If you have time, check through the archives -- you can really see the author's skills improve over the run of the strip. http://www.questionablecontent.netDiesel Sweeties - unique pixelated art, equally unique characters and stories. http://www.dieselsweeties.comDinosaur Comics - very unconventional strip that features the exact same art every day, with different text (read a few, you'll understand). http://www.qwantz.comWhite Ninja Comics - quirky art and concept. Can be very Non Sequitur-esque. http://www.whiteninjacomics.comPathetic, Inc. - bizarre Photoshop-illustrated strip that could be called "Dilbert on speed and/or acid". Satan is a recurring character, if that tells you anything. If you check out today's, the back story is that these two office drones are trying to strike it rich with a homebrewed beer called Krep, and they have taken it to a contest in Germany. http://www.colintheriot.com/patheticinc
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Thanks, Flatlander, that one's now on my list. Maybe the ASp should check it out, with it's heroine being a relocated Georgian.
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I always enjoyed the following strips:
Older -- Maggie & Jiggs, Peanuts, Pogo
Deck us all with Boston Charlie, Walla Walla, Wash, and Kalamazoo!
Nora's freezin' on the trolley, Swaller dollar cauliflower Alleygaroo!
Don't we know archaic barrel, Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou.
Trolley Molly don't love Harold, Boola Boola Pensacoola Hullabaloo!
Newer --
Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, The Far Side, Mutts
As far as "comic books" go --
I was an avid fan of Superman and Action comics, as well as an occasional reader of Spiderman and World's Finest.
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