| Author |
|
Ryan Maxwell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 12959
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 1:10am | IP Logged | 1
|
post reply
|
|
Bloom County. Ack! Thbbft!
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
Kevin Brown
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 31 May 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 9000
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 2:25am | IP Logged | 2
|
post reply
|
|
Calvin & Hobbes.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Joseph Vecchio
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 26 October 2024
Posts: 7
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 3:56am | IP Logged | 3
|
post reply
|
|
I'll go with Calvin & Hobbes over Peanuts as personal favorites, even though Peanuts was much more influential, because in my opinion Watterson had the good sense to let go of the strip while it was still on top, Schulz felt you had to keep on working, long after Peanuts had gotten stale.
I'm also a fan of Doonesbury, have been since the eighties. He only does Sunday strips now. Bloom County was also a favorite. I missed out on a lot of Milton Caniff's work, as well as Alex Raymond, Hal Foster and the great E. C. Segar.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
Matt Reed
Byrne Robotics Security
Robotmod
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 36060
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 5:36am | IP Logged | 4
|
post reply
|
|
I have the Fantagraphics collection of PEANUTS strips from the beginning until 1996. Just four volumes short! This after I had already bought all those small paperback collection of strips they used to sell in the 70s. They are, in a word, magical. For about 30 years, the Peanuts captured something I don’t think any other characters in any medium were able to do. I thought it was a great strip in the early 70s when I became a fan, but it had already been going for 20 odd years before my time. We in Minnesota took it as a point of pride that Schulz started in Minnesota with Lil’ Folks (the precursor to Peanuts) appearing first in The St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1947 and, hey, Schulz is a Minnesotan. As a child of the late 60s, born just a little over a year after A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS first aired on CBS, Peanuts is ingrained in me. Love many of the other strips mentioned here, but none come close for my money and many owe a huge debt to Schulz.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12759
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | 5
|
post reply
|
|
The Fantagraphics collections are... fantastic! I think Schulz was extraordinary for more than a decade from the strip's debut. Less so, gradually, from the mid-60s and on. But even toward the end of his remarkable run, he could produce a day's work that would hit it out of the park.
If I may recommend two books: [1] Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography, by David Michaelis, and [2] Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings, which include the entirety of his "Li'l Folks by Sparky" series.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Dave Kopperman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 December 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3444
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 3:48pm | IP Logged | 6
|
post reply
|
|
Following up on JB's post, Kliban is absolutely among the greatest humor cartoonists of all time. Just non-stop absurdist genius that's almost purely cerebral but manages to land every time. My favorite panel of his:
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
|
| |
James Best
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 02 March 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 895
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 4:50pm | IP Logged | 7
|
post reply
|
|
Tough call for me as my comic strip reading went through some large peaks and valleys over the last four decades.
During my college years it was a toss up but I would give THE FAR SIDE the edge over BLOOM COUNTY.
Then there was a long gap while I wore an Army uniform and moved around a lot so that I didn't get the chance to read a daily newspaper.
I didn't discover CALVIN & HOBBES until long after it had finished its run and I had retired from the military. But I quickly made up for lost time.
Nowadays I enjoy catching up with both old and new strips from NON SEQUITUR by Wiley Miller.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Brian ONeill
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2024
Posts: 46
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 10:18pm | IP Logged | 8
|
post reply
|
|
The David Michaelis biography of Schulz is excellent. It forever changed how I looked at the Lucy-Schroder strips.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Matt Reed
Byrne Robotics Security
Robotmod
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 36060
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 10:53pm | IP Logged | 9
|
post reply
|
|
Michael Penn wrote:
| If I may recommend two books: [1] Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography, by David Michaelis, and [2] Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings, which include the entirety of his "Li'l Folks by Sparky" series. |
|
|
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve got the Michaelis book sitting on my shelf but have yet to read it. The second book appears to be out-of-print as the only copy I could find is $150 on Amazon. Just searched eBay and it recently sold for $96. As much as I love Schulz, that’s too rich for my blood!
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 31268
|
| Posted: 10 November 2024 at 11:15pm | IP Logged | 10
|
post reply
|
|
Thanks for that Michaels recommendation. I’ll be ordering it shortly.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12759
|
| Posted: 11 November 2024 at 3:22am | IP Logged | 11
|
post reply
|
|
You can buy the L'il Folks collection directly from the Charles M. Schulz Museum for $30. :)
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Andrew Davey
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1446
|
| Posted: 12 November 2024 at 3:44pm | IP Logged | 12
|
post reply
|
|
Bloom County with Calvin and Hobbs a close second.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
