My Favorite Strips
Karl Wagenfuehr
>On the subject of Garfield, does anyone know if Davis
>has hired a new gag writer, or has even started doing his
>own jokes again? The strip has really improves in quality
>lately.
I have to agree. For a long time I just ignored Garfield, thinking it
was just a thing I had back in the 5th grade, and that the jokes had gotten
old and tired (remember Opus reading "Garfield Grows Old"?). But then
I have noticed that even though it is not politically correct to like
Garfield anymore, the Sunday strips have taken on such a surreal quality
that I can't help but laugh. I don't know about the dailies, but the
Sundays have steadily been climbing up on my list of favorite strip.
The whole thing seems like they're just having a lot of fun; "Jim Davis"
or whoever does 'em is just having a good old time.
I think Nancy (horrors! another politically uncorrect cartoon!) has
that same quality ever since Jerry Scott took over. But Garfield
has it more consitantly lately, and Nancy's been slacking off.
Maybe there's hope for The Family Circus and Cathy!
--
' ", *
Karl Wagenfuehr , "Weisst du, wieviel Sternlein stehen an dem
wage...@huey.udel.edu , ' blauen Himmelszelt?" --Deutsches Volkslied
'
Douglas Fowler
In a previous article, wage...@huey.udel.edu (Karl Wagenfuehr) says:
>In article <1992Mar22.1...@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu> acadams@aplcen (Adams arthur c.) writes:
>>On the subject of Garfield, does anyone know if Davis
>>has hired a new gag writer, or has even started doing his
>>own jokes again? The strip has really improves in quality
>>lately.
>
>I have to agree. For a long time I just ignored Garfield, thinking it
>was just a thing I had back in the 5th grade, and that the jokes had gotten
>old and tired (remember Opus reading "Garfield Grows Old"?). But then
>I have noticed that even though it is not politically correct to like
>Garfield anymore, the Sunday strips have taken on such a surreal quality
>that I can't help but laugh. I don't know about the dailies, but the
>Sundays have steadily been climbing up on my list of favorite strip.
>The whole thing seems like they're just having a lot of fun; "Jim Davis"
>or whoever does 'em is just having a good old time.
>
I tend to agree - I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Garfield way back
when - actually, what brought it back to my attention was watching Garfield
on Saturday morning a few weeks ago over break w/my 9 and 5 year old cousins.
It was pretty good. I've only noticed a slight improvement in the daily
quality, but perhaps Jim Davis or whomever does the comedy has reached the
point where he's better at longer, skit-type humor, either of the 8-minute
cartoon variety or of the more-than-3-panels variety.
>Maybe there's hope for The Family Circus and Cathy!
>
I think when you have kids or really enjoy them like I do (misc.kids is
my favorite newsgroup) Family Circus is funnier; even then I think "cute" is
a better word. Maybe people like me just see "cute" as being funnier than
others; I love to read the posts on cute things kids do on misc.kids, and often
laugh at them. Also, as one person pointed out, Bil Keane may be trying to
send messages more than be funny.
I don't like Cathy, either.
>--
> ' ", *
>Karl Wagenfuehr , "Weisst du, wieviel Sternlein stehen an dem
>wage...@huey.udel.edu , ' blauen Himmelszelt?" --Deutsches Volkslied
> '
>
--
Doug Fowler: dx...@po.CWRU.edu : "Every baby born into the world is
Real home: Canton, Ohio : finer than the last."--Charles Dickens
Trying to follow in the path of our : "A baby is an inestimable
Lord;anything close will be a success: blessing and bother."--Mark Twain
Art Velasquez
Douglas Fowler writes...
>In a previous article, wage...@huey.udel.edu (Karl Wagenfuehr) says:
>
>>Maybe there's hope for The Family Circus and Cathy!
>>
> I think when you have kids or really enjoy them like I do (misc.kids is
>my favorite newsgroup) Family Circus is funnier; even then I think "cute" is
>a better word. Maybe people like me just see "cute" as being funnier than
>others; I love to read the posts on cute things kids do on misc.kids, and often
>laugh at them. Also, as one person pointed out, Bil Keane may be trying to
>send messages more than be funny.
I used to read Family Circus religiously, but now the strip has
become so preachy (sorry, bad pun :-)) that I just can't enjoy it anymore.
It isn't even cute these days; Keane seems to be relying overly on those
annoying "Not me" gags, and strips drawn by Billy.
Nor can I identify with the family in the strip the way I once did.
I don't think it's just that I've grown out of childhood; the kids in
"For Better or for Worse" and (to a lesser extent) "Rose is Rose" still
strike me as familiar, for example.
> I don't like Cathy, either.
Heck, I don't even know any *women* like Cathy... :-)
# Art Velasquez a0v...@rigel.tamu.edu #
# Nuclear Engineering Department Texas A&M University #
#----------------------------------------------------------------------#
# A&M wouldn't *want* these opinions! #
Douglas Fowler
In a previous article, a0v...@summa.tamu.edu (Art Velasquez) says:
>
> Douglas Fowler writes...
>
>>In a previous article, wage...@huey.udel.edu (Karl Wagenfuehr) says:
>>
>>>Maybe there's hope for The Family Circus and Cathy!
>>>
>> I think when you have kids or really enjoy them like I do (misc.kids is
>>my favorite newsgroup) Family Circus is funnier; even then I think "cute" is
>>a better word. Maybe people like me just see "cute" as being funnier than
>>others; I love to read the posts on cute things kids do on misc.kids, and often
>>laugh at them. Also, as one person pointed out, Bil Keane may be trying to
>>send messages more than be funny.
>
> I used to read Family Circus religiously, but now the strip has
>become so preachy (sorry, bad pun :-)) that I just can't enjoy it anymore.
>It isn't even cute these days; Keane seems to be relying overly on those
>annoying "Not me" gags, and strips drawn by Billy.
> Nor can I identify with the family in the strip the way I once did.
>I don't think it's just that I've grown out of childhood; the kids in
>"For Better or for Worse" and (to a lesser extent) "Rose is Rose" still
>strike me as familiar, for example.
>
We don't get "Rose is Rose"in The Plain Dealer, so I can't comment on it,
but the kids in Family Circus are much younger than the ones in For Better or
for Worse (w/the exception of the baby in For Better or for Worse). Perhaps
that part of your childhood is further in the past, and hence you just can't
recall it as well. Also, it's rarer to have stay-at-home parents these days.
Here's one thing I'll admit: the kids aren't ornery like most kids.
they're more like I was when little nowadays, whereas there were things like
writing on the walls, etc., back when they were kids and Bil Keane had
*ideas* to work from, rather than his own imagination. (Remember, though, they
were still very sweet and loving.) Maybe he wants to show too good a world
nowadays.
So, partly to ask how much of his own kids' lives he used in his strip
and also to offer some of the funny/cute things my cousins (and the misc.kids -
I can post the address there for parents to send ideas) have done if he
needs/wants any ideas, I called our paper, got the name of the syndicator,
and wrote a fan letter in care of the syndicator. I agree, he could use some
fresh material. I also told him that, looking back over his strips from 15
years ago or so, when his kids were probably young yet, his strip still seemed
like it was sending good messages, even when he wasn't trying. I offered a
number of examples, and I won't go into detail here (though I'll post a copy
of the letter if anyone wants - it's 5 pages, though, as part deals with my
understanding as a kid, which is too complicated to get into; best if I just
post the letter if anyone wants to see it), but suffice to say that he may
improve yet. Hopefully he'll get the idea that he can revert to previous
levels of funniness/cuteness and still maintain fans in this age of
political correctness, when he may be trying to please everyone (look how
much more of a menace Dennis was a couple decades ago.) I wouldn't bet
against it.
Art Velasquez
In reply to my reply, dx...@po.CWRU.Edu (Douglas Fowler) writes...
d>In a previous article, a0v...@summa.tamu.edu (Art Velasquez) says:
[some criticism of Family Circus by both of us deleted]
>> Nor can I identify with the family in the strip the way I once did.
>>I don't think it's just that I've grown out of childhood; the kids in
>>"For Better or for Worse" and (to a lesser extent) "Rose is Rose" still
>>strike me as familiar, for example.
>>
[Note: I've moved around (but NOT changed!) the included text so my
newsreader won't chew it up ;-). Hope you don't mind, Douglas.]
d> We don't get "Rose is Rose"in The Plain Dealer, so I can't comment on
d>it, but the kids in Family Circus are much younger than the ones in For
d>Better or for Worse (w/the exception of the baby in For Better or for
d>Worse). Perhaps that part of your childhood is further in the past, and
d>hence you just can't recall it as well. Also, it's rarer to have
d>stay-at-home parents these days.
d> Here's one thing I'll admit: the kids aren't ornery like most kids.
d>they're more like I was when little nowadays, whereas there were things like
d>writing on the walls, etc., back when they were kids and Bil Keane had
d>*ideas* to work from, rather than his own imagination. (Remember, though,
d>they were still very sweet and loving.) Maybe he wants to show too good a
d>world nowadays.
I hadn't thought of the bit about stay-at-homes. OTOH, I do have ten
nephews and nieces, aged 3 through 19, through three sisters. Only one
sister can be called a "full-time mother," but at this stage, I can't
trace any differeces between her kids and the others to that fact alone.
Either way, the Family Circus kids today only remotely resemble my sisters'.
As for myself, I identified so strongly with the FC kids precisely
*because* I wasn't too ornery as a child. (That may make me an exception,
though, rather than the rule.) But you're right: the FC kids were always
good at heart.
d> So, partly to ask how much of his own kids' lives he used in his strip
d>and also to offer some of the funny/cute things my cousins (and the
d>misc.kids - I can post the address there for parents to send ideas) have
d>done if he needs/wants any ideas, I called our paper, got the name of the
d>syndicator,and wrote a fan letter in care of the syndicator. I agree, he
d>could use some fresh material. I also told him that, looking back over his
d>strips from 15 years ago or so, when his kids were probably young yet, his
d>strip still seemed like it was sending good messages, even when he wasn't
d>trying. I offered a number of examples, and I won't go into detail here
d>(though I'll post a copy of the letter if anyone wants - it's 5 pages,
d>though, as part deals with my understanding as a kid, which is too
d>complicated to get into; best if I justpost the letter if anyone wants to
d>see it), but suffice to say that he may improve yet. Hopefully he'll get
d>the idea that he can revert to previous levels of funniness/cuteness
d>and still maintain fans in this age of political correctness, when he may be
d>trying to please everyone (look how much more of a menace Dennis was a couple
d>decades ago.) I wouldn't bet against it.
>--
By all means, please do post the letter (or e-mail me if you prefer).
And let's hope Bil Keane can come back.
# Art Velasquez a0v...@rigel.tamu.edu #
# Nuclear Engineering Department Texas A&M University #
#----------------------------------------------------------------------#
# These aren't the opinions A&M wants from me. #