Which comics are worth reading years after years?

EdgarBlythe posted today: 1008a. Today, when I look at some favorite comics, mostly on Yahoo, I think the quality of comics has declined. But, I sit and ponder longer. Then I begin to recall that the main run of comics back then were as innocuous as the ones appearing today. In the forties and fifties, as now, mediocrity was the norm. Just a handful of truly brilliant strips were out there. Beetle Baily and Blondie were running the same gags we can see today. The ratio of good strips to bad is probably still the same.

For several years, the only comics I read are Non Sequitur and Zits. My Albuquerque newspaper can't afford to carry Doonesbury, so I read it on my computer.

Non Sequitur is a comic strip created by Wiley Miller (usually credited as just Wiley) in 1992 and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate to over 700 newspapers. The strip can be found online at gocomics.com, and it is also available via email and on mobile phones.

Translated from Latin as "it does not follow", Non Sequitur is often political and satirical, though other times, purely comedic.

The strip has undergone many changes through its history. Originally, the comic was a single panel gag cartoon, similar to Gary Larson's The Far Side. It grew more political (from a moderately liberal perspective) in tone during the 1990s, to the point where it often became a borderline editorial cartoon. Today, the comic has become more traditional, with a multi-panel format and recurring characters. The horizontal daily strip sometimes displays only a single panel.

Non Sequitur has been honored with four National Cartoonists Society Awards, including the Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1995, 1996 and 1998, and the Newspaper Panels Award for 2002. It is the only comic strip to win in its first year of syndication and the only title to ever win both the best comic strip and best comic panel categories.

The history of Non Sequitur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_Sequitur_%28comic_strip%29

Zits is a comic strip written by cartoonist Jerry Scott and illustrated by Jim Borgman about the life of Jeremy Duncan, a 16-year-old high school sophomore (previously a 15-year-old for the life of the comic). The comic debuted in July 1997 in over 200 newspapers and has since become popular worldwide and received multiple awards. As of 2010, it continues to be syndicated by King Features and is now included in 1,500 newspapers.[citation needed]

Set in central Ohio suburbia, the strip centers on Jeremy as he tries to balance his family life, social life, the academic demands of high school and his plans for the future, often with a heavy dose of surrealism, making it stand out from being just a typical teenager cartoon strip.

The history of Zits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zits

Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college student to a youthful senior citizen in the 40+ years of the strip's daily existence.

Frequently political in nature, Doonesbury features characters representing a range of affiliations, but the cartoon is noted for a liberal viewpoint. The name "Doonesbury" is a combination of the word doone (prep school slang for "someone who is out to lunch") and the surname of Charles Pillsbury, Trudeau's roommate at Yale University.

Doonesbury is written and pencilled by Garry Trudeau, then inked and lettered by his assistant Don Carlton.

The history of Doonesbury:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doonesbury