The Funnies

The other day I posted a clip from the now defunct Square Lake that got me waxing nostalgic for Small Wonder and all its Eighties cheesiness, but it also got me thinking how funny some comic strips are. I am appalled by the lame representation of cartoons in the papers these days and have barely given traditional cartoon strips a second thought. Have you taken a look lately? Garfield is sadly more predictable than the Family Circus and I have never welcomed any of the lame rip-offs that came along to cannibalize Far Side's fan base once it respectfully retired. Low and behold, the internet offers up some really great satire in the form of traditional three and four panel cartoon strips and salvages the funnies.
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My new favorite strip is a beautifully illustrated and wickedly satirical strip called The Perry Bible Fellowship. Nicholas Gurewitch first published the PBF in Syracuse University's Daily Orange in 2003 and has since appeared in the The Portland Mercury, The Rochester Insider, The Birmingham Black and White, and The New York Press. Basically, an indie grass roots strip that doesn't get much love elsewhere but should.

Unicorn Power

The Kids Are Thirsty

One More Day

No One is Thirsty

Similarly dark (well actually a lot darker) is the Square Lake. Once again, some of the sharpest and wittiest humor to grace newsprint never saw more than a four paper circulation. All that I can gather is that Square Lake originated and ran in the University of Illinois campus and perished shortly after about 3 years from 2000 - 2001. Having enjoyed a similarly underappreciated strip "Jim" while in college, I instantly felt a strong connection with this little strip. Enjoy.