CSotD: Watch list
Skip to comments
Some places currently worth hanging out …
I've praised Scott Stantis several times for proving that a conservative can be funny, a point not convincingly made since Jeff MacNelly died. But if you haven't been paying attention to Prickly City, this would be a good time to tune in.
Kevin, the Lost Bunny of the Apocalypse, is interviewing to be Mitt Romney's running mate and, while there hasn't been a particular strip that knocked me out of my chair, it's been a consistently funny arc that promises to stretch for a while. Worth following, if for no other reason than that Stantis has a unique point of view.
And for those who can look under the sofa cushions, dredge up $19.99 and get a DailyInk subscription, there are a couple of vintage strips just starting new adventures. And I do feel that refusing to pay twenty bucks a year for a subscription has to be a matter of pride, not practicality. Support for artists aside, you're missing some cool stuff, like these strips (click on'em — the art is worth it!):
Though a private detective rather than a spy, Rip Kirby is something of a forerunner of James Bond in that he is a sharp dresser, well cultured and highly intelligent, but also a man of action. He's also fabulously drawn by Alex Raymond and the scripts are smart and well-paced.
I've got Rip at the top of my DailyInk page and DailyInk at the top of my "open all in tabs" daily routine, so this is the first thing I see in the morning and it's a great start to the day. The quality of the art and the genuine suspense built into the continuity are really worthwhile and this is not just a bit of nostalgia.
They don't make'em like this anymore, and that's a genuine pity. I have no idea where this new adventure is headed, but I'm aboard.
The Heart of Juliet Jones, by contrast, is pure soap opera, but it's certainly well done soap opera, and the art, by the immortal Stan Drake, is worth the visit all by itself. The stories are lightweight, but they're well written, and certainly a contrast to the mediocre work on the few remaining contemporary soapers.
And speaking of lightweight, I remember even as a wee lad knowing that Juliet's little sister, Eve, was a gorgeous airhead, but she's so affectionately drawn that you can't help but like the bubbly little bobbysoxer as she blunders enthusiastically from one misadventure to another. It looks like this new arc will be yet another chance for her to get in over her head and either stern Juliet (who could be played by Mary Tyler Moore if they made a movie of this) or perhaps their wise old pipe-puffing father will have to step in and rescue her.
(Other vintage strips at DailyInk are Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Big Ben Bolt, Brick Bradford, Bringing up Father, Buz Sawyer, Flash Gordon, Hi and Lois, Judge Parker, Katzenjammer Kids Sundays, Krazy Kat, Little Iodine Sundays, Mandrake the Magician, Office Hours, Phantom, Quincy, Radio Patrol and The Little King — classic versions in the case of current strips.)
Again, I'm a little baffled by people who like comics but don't join up on DailyInk or GoComics. I've got about 40 strips on my DailyInk page, which means I'm paying 50 cents per year for each of them, which means less than a dime a week. If you paused in front of a street musician on your way to work each morning and listened to a song, would you really feel that tossing a dime into his cup one day each week was overspending?
Comments 2
Comments are closed.