Has the comic strip inkwell run dry?
by Aaron Paquette
When astute readers pick up the morning newspaper, it's quite clear where they go for insightful social commentary and valuable lessons on life. No, it's not the editorial page. No, it isn't those windbag columnists. Nah, it ain't even Ann Landers; who wants to follow the example of a woman who called the Pope a Polack? Instead, the true source for keen opinions is the comics page and, unfortunately, that arena is beginning to hit a lull.
Recently we have seen three
of perhaps the funniest mass-media strips ever die, as their creators have
decided to throw in the towel. The loss of "Outland" (the Sundays-only
successor to "Bloom County"), "The Far Side" and, most recently, "Calvin &
Hobbes," has left huge gaps in funny pages across the country. All of the
strips were topical and cleverly written, well drawn--the type of comic
strips readers would clip for their offices or refrigerators and show other
people. "Outland" brought us Opus
the Penguin and other "Bloom County" holdovers who would poke fun at
politics and deliver some zingers in the Battle of the Sexes. "The Far
Side" was a humorous, off-the-wall look at "being human," with cows, bears
and other animals sometimes "being human" along with the chubby matrons and
dimwitted children. And "Calvin & Hobbes," of course, gave us those great
title characters of an imaginative little boy and his sage companion the
tiger, ruminating on man's place in the world while throwing snowballs at
little Susie.All three of these strips
(combining "Outland" with "Bloom County") were born during the 1980s, and
none made it far past that decade. "Bloom County" creator Berkeley Breathed
and "Calvin & Hobbes" artist Bill Watterson got sick of squeezing their
beloved characters into postage stamp-sized spaces, while Gary Larson (who
worked with a single large panel) found his well of wit beginning to run
dry and decided to hang it up while his strip was still in its prime. What do we have in their
place? Unfortunately, there is very little to carry the mantle. When was
the last time you laughed out loud at "Peanuts"? The other oldies, such as
Mort Walker's "Beetle Bailey" and Young and Drake's "Blondie," still have
their moments, but they also rely on tired gags. "Garfield" and "Drabble"
haven't been as funny of late as they used to be. And the new stuff, like
"Citizen Dog," "Against the Grain" and "Mutts," is a pretty sorry
bunch.However, there are a few
bright spots remaining. The best mainstream comic strip today is still
"Doonesbury." After 25 years of drawing the strip, Garry Trudeau continues
to deliver more knockout punches than any of his colleagues. Perhaps the
quality has something to do with the variety of the strip; its cast of
characters is of almost soap-opera proportions, and some plotlines involve
no regular characters at all (such as last fall's hilarious look at O.J.'s
search for the "real killers"). Although Trudeau has a blatantly leftist
slant--witness the mild treatment Trudeau has given Clinton after
lambasting Nixon, Reagan and Bush--it's such a clever slant that he can get
away with it. Some of the newer strips
also have some potential, too. "Baby Blues" is a realistic look at the
everyday minutiae of raising young kids; what's impressive is that the kids
actually age in the strip, unlike the eternally-frozen urchins of "Family
Circus." "Jump Start" is consistently amusing and notable for having a
black creator and black lead characters, giving it a fresh perspective. And
"9 Chickweed Lane" tackles such issues as divorce, the coming of age,
middle-aged dating and familial relations with rare wit and intelligence.
These strips are still
several years away from anchoring a funny page, however. Once Trudeau
decides to make one of his periodic sabbaticals a permanent retirement, the
"main attraction" of the comics will be yet another look at Garfield
booting Odie off the table or the General leering at Miss Buxley. No comic
strip has really captured the nation's imagination since "Calvin & Hobbes,"
and it will be a long time before college students wear Joe Cobb T-shirts
or little children ask for Sally Forth dolls. So what's the problem? Are
today's artists less talented? Are readers losing interest in cartoons?
It's more likely that business practices have put a clamp on the comics
industry. As Bill Watterson writes in his excellent "Calvin & Hobbes Tenth
Anniversary Book," there are several factors at play. Newspapers are dying,
which means less competition for papers to have great cartoons to hook
readers. Syndicates have realized that comic strips are gold mines, so they
tend to favor strips which imitate past successes and "play it safe" in the
marketplace. And, to cut costs, newspapers have reduced the space allotted
to cartoons and shrunk panel sizes. None of these issues can be
reconciled easily, but at least there's some hope that the forced
retirement of a master craftsman such as Watterson will make the industry
re-evaluate its practices. Maybe when the quality drought leads to a
financial drought, the syndicates and newspapers will be more receptive to
offbeat ideas and larger panel sizes. And maybe some of the tykes raised on
"The Far Side" and "Calvin & Hobbes" will be inspired to pursue cartooning
as a profession, bringing in some fresh ideas and unique artwork. Until that rebirth happens,
at least we have treasuries of "Bloom County" and the current misadventures
of Uncle Duke to keep us company. Heck, the good Uncle even proves that a
picture is worth a thousand words; what better way is there to damn Newt
Gingrich than to show a scheming drunk open "Nothin' But Orphans" as the
pilot for Newt's hypothetical program to assist poor children? Once again,
the cartoonists have it over the editorial writers ... those who can't
draw, write. Aaron Paquette, a sophomore majoring in business administration, can't draw.