Newspaper Comic Strips

 I haven't read an actual newspaper in a long time. When I was a kid, my parents and grandparents had subscriptions to the local weekly paper and the Sunday papers from the Twin Cities. I always made a beeline to the comics section and then worked my way backward.

Newspaper comic strips still exist, but they aren't nearly as popular or prominent as they used to be. I fondly remember poring over the Sunday comics pull-out sections. I'd read all of the comic strips and try to figure out some of the puzzles and mazes that were included. Some comic strips I cut out to study or even try to draw on my own.

Some of the comic strips that left lasting impressions on me were Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, the Far Side, Garfield, Dennis the Menace, the Family Circus, Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, For Better or For Worse, Zits, Pearls Before Swine, Heathcliff, the Wizard of ID, B.C., Prince Valiant, Nancy, Broom Hilda, Snuffy Smith, and the Marvel comic strips. I remember reading the Spider-Man strip in the St. Cloud Times and the Minneapolis Tribune and the short-lived Incredible Hulk strip in the Pioneer Press. I also remember being quite upset after seeing that the Star Wars comic strip that I'd read faithfully for years was replaced by something called Bloom County when I was 10 or 11 years old. Over time, I grew to appreciate Berkely Breathed's unique sense of humor, but at the time I was outraged since I couldn't find out how the Star Wars stories continued.

I now have all of the classic Star Wars newspaper strips collected in 3 hardcover books. I also have the complete Calvin and Hobbes, along with numerous Peanuts, Dennis the Menace, Fox Trot, Family Circus and other newspaper comic strip book collections. I pick them up at used bookstores and library book sales when I can. They're great for recreational reading, and moments where I just need to disconnect from reality and think back to simpler times for a while.

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.