The Funny Pages

I have read the newspaper for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid it was belly down on the living room floor, flipping through every section except sports and classifieds. When I moved out of the my parents' home I began subscribing to my own paper. No matter how broke I was, I always managed to scrounge up enough money to subscribe to the local rag. I don't flop on the floor anymore, but I still flip through all the sections except sports and classifieds. I actually read a whole lot more than I did in grade school. As has been my tradition since childhood, I start with the front page and work my way through to desert -- the funny pages.

The funny pages are the real reason I read the newspaper. I have no desire to ever subscribe to the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. Neither has a comics section, what good are they?

I read the funnies in a very exact order, starting with the comics I don't like and saving my favorites for last. Except for Prince Valiant. I loved Prince Valiant as a kid, but haven't been able to read it since moving to Utah and finding it in the Sunday paper. Everything else I read, though.

Some I really don't like, so I give them my own names like "Stupid Pirates", "Sucky Cow" and "Stupid Pigs", but I read them anyway. I think it's because every once in a while they surprise a snort of laughter out of me. I even read Mallard Fillmore which ticks me off big time.

When Charles Schultz died, I mourned him almost as much as I mourned Jim Henson and Isaac Asimov; it felt like there was a little less light in the world. A few of my favorite strips have been retired, but their creators are still around, so I hold out hope that perhaps, one day, they will return to the funny pages. Rumor has it that Lynn Johnston, creator of For Better or For Worse, my all time favorite strip, is planning to retire soon too. That will be a truly sad day.

The Internet has kept me reading some of my favorites which the local paper doesn't carry, and some that are reruns. Here are a few links to brighten anyone's day

Raising Duncan
Calvin & Hobbes
Foxtrot
Frazz
Zits
For Better or For Worse