Well, i didn't get here very soon, was out of town . . .
Obviously, i greatly loved and now miss Pogo, and was delighted when Booman recognized my quote from that . . .
When i saw the title of Calvin and Hobbes, i cracked up before even reading the strip. John Calvin with his Institutes of the Christian Church and Thomas Hobbes with Leviathan formed the mind of the WASP (a redundancy, all anglo-saxons are white). I delighted in the strip--especially the simple silliness, as in Hobbes love of smooches in despite of Calvin's professed disgust with girls . . . I also often enjoy Foxtrot, and was delighted with that strip when, as Calvin & Hobbes returned from a hiatus, Foxtrot, in the Sunday strip, showed the kids fighting over the paper to read "Luther & Locke"--showed that the author of Foxtrot got the joke as well . . .
I've usually enjoyed Doonesbury, but sometimes Trudeau gets tedious. His brilliance, though, is undeniable--my all-time favorite was from Ted Kennedy's run for the Presidency, with three panels of rather bored looking reporters listening to his political drivel, and then one shouts out: "A verb, Senator, we need a verb . . . " -- classic stuff.
I must confess that only recently have I come to appreciate Calvin (my daughter has been a big fan since twelve, she steered my attention there).
Of course, I was a Pogo fan too. It had a gentleness which now seems from quite another age.
You know, BLatham, that's ironic--when Booman and i discussed that strip in another thread, "gentle political satire" is exactly the phrase which occurred to me . . .
I never liked Lil' Abner precisely because i thought it too harsh . . .
I found Capp that way as well, particularly as he became increasingly unsane.
The 'gentle' touch in satire is, to my mind, the quality which sets apart those to whom the term genius might be most temptingly applied.
Sometimes gentle satire can have the strongest underlying bite.. Remember the object of Pogo's affections, Miss Mamselle Hepzibah? ( I might be spelling it wrong.) She was a skunk. Hmmm....
Allright L'l abner fans, what holiday was the 17th of November?
s'funny... a number of people have mentioned the poetry of Don Marquis: Archy & Mehitabel, without mentioning the illustrator, George Herriman.
Go! Seek out Krazy Kat, I beseech you!
Sadie Hawkins day, an' i ain't no fan . . .
Pogo blows them all way. However, let's not forget the Katz N' Jammer Kidds, or "Out Our Way". For sweetness, I suppose Peanuts will be long remembered.
Walt Kelly often surprised me. Recall his characterizing of LBJ as a centaur (The Lone Arranger) and Spiro Agnew as a hyena. Then there was a time he did a takeoff on an Ezra Pound bit if verse. I can't recall Kelly's words, but they are reminiscent of Deck the Halls With Boston Charlie. The poem was the one beginning "Winter is icummin in -"
His son or somebody tried to carry it on, but is out of it I think.
Setana,
...The fact that you're not a fan, shows how far reaching LA was.
I'd not dispute that, Boss . . .
ALERT ALERT ALERT
Gary Trudeau is being interviewed by Koppel tonight and tomorrow night on Nightline.......first interview in 31 years.......
This could be very special
Wanna tape that for me, Boss? Thanks.
(That'll be way past my bedtime.)
Edgar B,I absolutely adored Calvin and Hobbes.
Have got every strip in book form.
The Far Side is where it´s really at though.Larson is a genious.
Funny that no one mentioned "Dilbert" by Scott Adams...
I have been a fan for several years, and always begin my day by checking the strip of the day. Sometimes I think that he works for my company as he has this uncanny ability of talking abt stuff which is happening in the bank I work for....
Gautam
I enjoy Dilbert also. Don't know why I forgot that one.
Non Sequitur is very funny, uptodate, and because of that, thought-provoking. Other than that, Calvin and Hobbes, constantly speaking the language of their name-givers!
I don't know that Alley Oop was thought provoking. However; when I became old enough to understand the strip I noted that Alley, Oscar Boom and Dr. Wonmug kept refering to a disasterous trip they took to Mars. For close to 50 yrs. I have been trying to track down that story line without success.
Another thought provoking strip was Dick Tracy. Silly as that one was, the two way wrist radios and other inventions had people thinking of technological advances for quite a few years.
Edgar, here is a url I came up where they are answering Alley Oop questions:
http://digitalwebbing.com/msg/susanim/index.cgi?read=137#Responses
Maybe you can get an answer there? Good luck!
