Great Comic Strips

I love comic strips. I wholeheartedly believe that the downfall of comic strips are the reason print newspapers are failing. And yet, like so many other things, 90% of them are crap. Ziggy, The Born Loser, F Minus, Bo Nanas, Rubes, Doonesbury, anything about superheros or soap operas... how did Ripley's Believe It or Not get a comic strip!? It's astonishing that anyone reads comics anymore with some of the crap out there.

But there are some diamonds in the sewage out there, some truly great reads. I'm sure I haven't found everything good out there, but I read a lot of comics and these are the ones I'll always remember. Hrm... how about alphabetical?

• Bloom County - It's about a Nancy-boy liberal and his conservative newspaper writer best friend (they're both in elementary school). And his pet penguin, Opus. And the lech of a chain-smoking trial lawyer, the wheelchair-bound Trekkie, a fanatically Republican rabbit, nuclear war, dandelions, rock 'n' roll, Tammy Fae Faye Baker clones, and all the insanity of life, politics, and artist Berkeley Breathed. It's like snorting a line off a nuclear warhead to the sound of a Reagan speech: there's nothing else quite like it.
• Calvin & Hobbes - Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes have crazy childhood adventures and philosophize about things that are way too grown up for them. It's flatly beautiful, ironically silly, and, at times, deeply moving. Bill Watterson is a genius. The Best Comic Strip Ever. By far.
• Dilbert - The first openly nerdy comic, I think, and the breakout star of the technology age. The cast includes Dilbert, Dogbert, Catbert, Ratbert, Dilmom, Wally, Alice, the PHB, Ted the Generic Guy, Asok the Intern, and Phil The Prince of Insufficient Light who darns people to heck for minor sins. No comic strip has killed as many characters off as Dilbert, and when you meet the dysfunctional cast you'll cheer it on. The art sucks, but the sense of humor is golden.
• The Far Side - Single-panel surrealist weirdness, courtesy of creator Gary Larson. Includes such timeless classics as God at His Computer, finger hovering over the "Smite" button. Or cows yelling at people who aren't smart enough to answer. Not really available online; go buy the collections.
• Peanuts - The soft-spoken classic and origin of Snoopy, the best character in anything ever. Every cartoonist calls Charles Schulz a major inspiration, and reading the early years of Peanuts proves why.
• Rose is Rose - Rose is a calm, quiet, typical housewife. And sometimes a little kid. And sometimes a tattooed, motorcycle-riding rebel. Other characters include her husband, her son, and his guardian angel (both in cherub and archangel modes). It's sweet and cute and wistful and better drawn than virtually everything else out there. Creator Pat Brady was fantastic, but has turned over the strip to the capable Don Wimmer. I miss Pat, though.
• Sherman's Lagoon - The undersea adventures of talking aquatic life, including a fat, lazy shark, his controlling wife, a nerdy turtle, and a scheming hermit crab with a beer can for a shell. Creator Jim Toomey is a very creative guy.

Some honorable mentions include The Boondocks, Cul de Sac, Foxtrot, Get Fuzzy, Mallard Fillmore, and Sheldon. Bill Watterson (of Calvin & Hobbes) recommends Krazy Kat, which I've always wanted to read haven't ever had the chance.