Newspaper Comics: Difference between revisions

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#REDIRECT [[:Category:Newspaper Comics]]
{{trope}}
Before the Internet and [[Web Comics]], the only place to find daily, serialized comic strips was (and for many people, still is) the back page of your local mainstream or alternative newspaper.

Comic strips can cover a wide range of formats, topics, characters and artistic styles. ''[[The Far Side (Comic Strip)|The Far Side]]'' and ''[[The Family Circus (Comic Strip)|The Family Circus]]'' are one-panel gag strips. ''[[Bloom County (Comic Strip)|Bloom County]]'' and ''[[Pogo (Comic Strip)|Pogo]]'', while light-hearted on the surface, were thick with [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]] and [[Strawman Political|political commentary]]. Other strips, like ''[[Peanuts (Comic Strip)|Peanuts]]'' and ''[[Calvin and Hobbes (Comic Strip)|Calvin and Hobbes]]'', delightfully portray the experiences of childhood, and thus have broad, long-term appeal. There have been countless serialized adventure strips like ''[[The Phantom (Comic Strip)|The Phantom]],'' ''[[Flash Gordon (Comic Strip)|Flash Gordon]],'' ''[[Prince Valiant (Comic Strip)|Prince Valiant]]'' and ''[[Dick Tracy (Comic Strip)|Dick Tracy]]''; soap opera/slice-of-life strips like ''[[Comic Strip/Gasoline Alley|Gasoline Alley]]'' and ''Rex Morgan M.D.'', and strips that fall in between, like ''[[Little Orphan Annie (Comic Strip)|Little Orphan Annie]]''.

Compared to other media, newspaper comics can have incredibly [[Long Runners|long tenures]]. New ''[[Peanuts (Comic Strip)|Peanuts]]'' strips appeared daily for over 49 years. ''[[Doonesbury (Comic Strip)|Doonesbury]]'' has been running for 40 years and ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'' has been coming out for over 30 years. Neither show any signs of stopping. Even more impressively, ''[[Blondie (Comic Strip)|Blondie]]'' has run for well over 75 years, ''[[Comic Strip/Gasoline Alley|Gasoline Alley]]'' has run over 90 years, and most impressively of all ''[[Comic Strip/The Katzenjammer Kids|The Katzenjammer Kids]]'' has been running since 1897! A 10-year run is considered tremendous for a television show, but when ''[[Calvin and Hobbes (Comic Strip)|Calvin and Hobbes]]'', ''[[The Far Side (Comic Strip)|The Far Side]]'' and ''[[Bloom County (Comic Strip)|Bloom County]]'' each ended production after a decade, it seemed far too soon.

On the flip side, one of the reasons why [[Web Comics]] are 5-10 years ahead of Web-based indie music distribution (and 15-20 years ahead of non-corporate Web movies) is that "making it big" in sequential art has been traditionally defined as "being able to support a middle-class lifestyle without a day job". Only about 10 people in the whole 20th century got seriously stinking rich drawing [[Newspaper Comics]], and of those only two or three achieved actual ''stardom''.

The downside is that many newspaper comics have a reputation for [[Jump the Shark|not being funny anymore]] and the [[Long Runners]] often derisively described as "zombie strips". This is because, as far as a newspaper is concerned, comic strips are just advertising: they're there to lure in readers and make them more willing to fork over some subscription money. They're [[Fan Service]], basically. And the last thing you want to do with fanservice is serve up something that doesn't actually please the fans. As such, [[Darker and Edgier]] humor, political- and/or current-events-based humor must be handled carefully, lest they cost the newspaper (or the ''artist''!) more subscriptions than they gain. Even worse, newspaper strips are written anywhere from six weeks to ten ''months'' in advance of print date, which doesn't help topical humor. Newspapers have also been cutting down on the amount of space that comic strip artists are given in which to practice their visual, art-based medium, resulting in [[Bowdlerized]] art and abbreviated storytelling.<ref>As Bill Watterson of ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' fame [http://ignatz.brinkster.net/ccomicsjournal.html said] of the space restrictions way back in 1989: "A beautiful strip like [[Pogo (Comic Strip)|Pogo]] would be impossible to read at today's sizes." Of course it only got worse, and ultimately this was one of the factors that led to Watterson's decision to stop doing the strip. Along with a lot of the other stuff mentioned here.</ref> And the newspaper itself has become a victim of the Information Age; not only can consumers get the news online, they can get ''comics'' online too. So newspapers have to play it safe, and they do so by angling for broad, non-offensive humor with a wide appeal, often by recycling tired jokes and premises that sitcoms put to pasture years ago.

Successful newspaper comics usually find their way into [[Animated Shows|other]] [[Comic Books|media]], but are most fondly remembered as simple pen-and-ink drawings on cheap newsprint.

Sometimes you'll hear the term [[Underground Comics|"Underground Comix"]]; in the USA, at least, this term refers to pen-and-ink comics not distributed by a syndicate and normally published in "alternative" papers, 'zines, etc. [[Web Comics]] and the consolidation of the [[In Name Only|supposedly "Alternative"]] newsweekly industry have put a dint in their circulation, but ''[[Cerebus (Comic Book)|Cerebus]]'' and ''[[American Elf (Webcomic)|American Elf]]'' among others started out this way, and the latter still appears in alternative weeklies, or at least the one in the author's hometown.

Also, these have a very high chance of [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]], but ''only'' when they do a very common "[[Aside Glance|look at the reader at some other person's comedy or comedy failure]]".

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=== Newspaper Comics that have wiki pages: ===
{{sidemenu}}
* [[Born in The Funny Papers]] <br />- tropes inspired by newspaper comics
* [[Military and Warfare Comics]]
{{sidemenuend}}

* ''[[Nine Chickweed Lane (Comic Strip)|Nine Chickweed Lane]]''
* ''[[The Adventures of Jeremiah (Comic Strip)|The Adventures of Jeremiah]]''
* ''[[Alex (Comic Strip)|Alex]]''
* ''[[Alley Oop (Comic Strip)|Alley Oop]]''
* ''[[Andy Capp (Comic Strip)|Andy Capp]]''
* ''[[Arnold (Comic Strip)|Arnold]]''
* ''[[Baby Blues (Comic Strip)|Baby Blues]]''
* ''[[Baldo (Comic Strip)|Baldo]]''
* ''[[Barnaby (Comic Strip)|Barnaby]]''
* ''[[Barney and Clyde (Comic Strip)|Barney and Clyde]]''
* ''[[BC (Comic Strip)|BC]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Beau Peep|Beau Peep]]''
* ''[[Beetle Bailey (Comic Strip)|Beetle Bailey]]''
* ''[[Between the Lines (Comic Strip)|Between the Lines]]''
* ''[[Bizarro (Comic Strip)|Bizarro]]''
* ''[[Blondie (Comic Strip)|Blondie]]''
* ''[[Bloom County (Comic Strip)|Bloom County]]''
* ''[[The Boondocks (Comic Strip)|The Boondocks]]''
* ''[[Brewster Rockit Space Guy (Comic Strip)|Brewster Rockit Space Guy]]''
* ''[[Bringing Up Father (Comic Strip)|Bringing Up Father]]''
* ''[[Buckles (Comic Strip)|Buckles]]''
* ''[[Buck Rogers (Comic Strip)|Buck Rogers]]''
* ''[[Bus Stop (Comic Strip)|Bus Stop]]''
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes (Comic Strip)|Calvin and Hobbes]]''
* ''[[Candorville (Comic Strip)|Candorville]]''
* ''[[Carl Giles (Comic Strip)|Carl Giles]]''
* ''[[Cathy (Comic Strip)|Cathy]]''
* ''[[Chelsea Boys (Comic Strip)|Chelsea Boys]]''
* ''[[Crankshaft (Comic Strip)|Crankshaft]]''
* ''[[Cul De Sac (Comic Strip)|Cul De Sac]]''
* ''[[The Cursing Hedgehog (Comic Strip)|The Cursing Hedgehog]]''
* ''[[Curtis (Comic Strip)|Curtis]]''
* ''[[Deflocked (Comic Strip)|Deflocked]]''
* ''[[Dennis the Menace US (Comic Strip)|Dennis the Menace US]]''
* ''[[Dick Tracy (Comic Strip)|Dick Tracy]]''
* ''[[Dilbert (Comic Strip)|Dilbert]]''
* ''[[Doonesbury (Comic Strip)|Doonesbury]]''
* ''[[Dykes to Watch Out For (Comic Strip)|Dykes to Watch Out For]]''
* ''[[The Family Circus (Comic Strip)|The Family Circus]]''
* ''[[The Family Upstairs (Comic Strip)|The Family Upstairs]]''
* ''[[The Far Side (Comic Strip)|The Far Side]]''
* ''[[Flash Gordon (Comic Strip)|Flash Gordon]]''
* ''[[Fleep (Comic Strip)|Fleep]]''
* ''[[Footrot Flats (Comic Strip)|Footrot Flats]]''
* ''[[For Better or For Worse (Comic Strip)|For Better or For Worse]]''
* ''[[FoxTrot (Comic Strip)|FoxTrot]]''
* ''[[Frank and Ernest (Comic Strip)|Frank and Ernest]]''
* ''[[Frazz (Comic Strip)|Frazz]]''
* ''[[Funky Winkerbean (Comic Strip)|Funky Winkerbean]]''
* ''[[Gallos Humor (Comic Strip)|Gallos Humor]]''
* ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Gasoline Alley|Gasoline Alley]]''
* ''[[Get Fuzzy (Comic Strip)|Get Fuzzy]]''
* ''[[Hagar the Horrible (Comic Strip)|Hagar the Horrible]]''
* ''[[Heart of the City (Comic Strip)|Heart of the City]]''
* ''[[Heathcliff (Comic Strip)|Heathcliff]]''
* ''[[Hi and Lois (Comic Strip)|Hi and Lois]]''
* ''[[If (Comic Strip)|If]]''
* ''[[Ink Pen (Comic Strip)|Ink Pen]]''
* ''[[Jommeke (Comic Strip)|Jommeke]]''
* ''[[Judge Parker (Comic Strip)|Judge Parker]]''
* ''[[Jump Start (Comic Strip)|Jump Start]]''
* ''[[Jungle Jim (Comic Strip)|Jungle Jim]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/The Katzenjammer Kids|The Katzenjammer Kids]]''
* ''[[De Kiekeboes (Comic Strip)|De Kiekeboes]]''
* ''[[Krazy Kat (Comic Strip)|Krazy Kat]]''
* ''[[Kudzu (Comic Strip)|Kudzu]]''
* ''[[Liberty Meadows (Comic Strip)|Liberty Meadows]]''
* ''[[Life in Hell (Comic Strip)|Life in Hell]]''
* ''[[Lil Abner (Comic Strip)|Lil Abner]]''
* ''[[Lio (Comic Strip)|Lio]]''
* ''[[Little Lulu (Comic Strip)|Little Lulu]]''
* ''[[Little Nemo (Comic Strip)|Little Nemo]]''
* ''[[Little Orphan Annie (Comic Strip)|Little Orphan Annie]]''
* ''[[The Lockhorns (Comic Strip)|The Lockhorns]]''
* ''[[Love Is (Comic Strip)|Love Is]]''
* ''[[Luann (Comic Strip)|Luann]]''
* ''[[Mafalda (Comic Strip)|Mafalda]], see also [[Quino (Comic Strip)|Quino]]''
* ''[[Mallard Fillmore (Comic Strip)|Mallard Fillmore]]''
* ''[[Mandrake the Magician (Comic Strip)|Mandrake the Magician]]''
* ''[[Mark Trail (Comic Strip)|Mark Trail]]''
* ''[[Marmaduke (Comic Strip)|Marmaduke]]''
* ''[[Marvin (Comic Strip)|Marvin]]''
* ''[[Mary Worth (Comic Strip)|Mary Worth]]''
* ''[[Minimum Security (Comic Strip)|Minimum Security]]''
* ''[[Modesty Blaise (Comic Strip)|Modesty Blaise]]''
* ''[[Mother Goose and Grimm (Comic Strip)|Mother Goose and Grimm]]''
* ''[[Mutts (Comic Strip)|Mutts]]''
* ''[[My Cage (Comic Strip)|My Cage]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Nero|Nero]]''
* ''[[Nemi (Comic Strip)|Nemi]]''
* ''[[Non Sequitur (Comic Strip)|Non Sequitur]]''
* ''[[Off the Mark (Comic Strip)|Off the Mark]]''
* ''[[One Big Happy (Comic Strip)|One Big Happy]]''
* ''[[On the Fastrack (Comic Strip)|On the Fastrack]]''
* ''[[The Optimist (Comic Strip)|The Optimist]]''
* ''[[The Outbursts of Everett True (Comic Strip)|The Outbursts of Everett True]]''
* ''[[Over the Hedge (Comic Strip)|Over the Hedge]]''
* ''[[Peanuts (Comic Strip)|Peanuts]]''
* ''[[Pearls Before Swine (Comic Strip)|Pearls Before Swine]]''
* ''[[The Perishers (Comic Strip)|The Perishers]]''
* ''[[The Perry Bible Fellowship (Comic Strip)|The Perry Bible Fellowship]]''
* ''[[The Phantom (Comic Strip)|The Phantom]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Piet Pienter En Bert Bibber|Piet Pienter En Bert Bibber]]''
* ''[[Pluggers (Comic Strip)|Pluggers]]''
* ''[[Pogo (Comic Strip)|Pogo]]''
* ''[[Pondus (Comic Strip)|Pondus]]''
* ''[[Pooch Cafe (Comic Strip)|Pooch Cafe]]''
* ''[[Popeye (Comic Strip)|Popeye]]''
* ''[[Prickly City (Comic Strip)|Prickly City]]''
* ''[[Prince Valiant (Comic Strip)|Prince Valiant]]''
* ''[[PVT Murphy's Law (Comic Strip)|PVT Murphy's Law]]''
* ''[[Quino (Comic Strip)|Quino]]''
* ''[[Rasmus Klump (Comic Strip)|Rasmus Klump]]''
* ''[[Retail (Comic Strip)|Retail]]''
* ''[[Rex Morgan MD (Comic Strip)|Rex Morgan MD]]''
* ''[[Rip Haywire (Webcomic)|Rip Haywire]]'' (Webcomic parody of a newspaper comic strip.)
* ''[[Rip Kirby (Comic Strip)|Rip Kirby]]''
* ''[[Robotman and Monty (Comic Strip)|Robotman and Monty]]''
* ''[[Rose Is Rose (Comic Strip)|Rose Is Rose]]''
* ''[[Rupert Bear (Comic Strip)|Rupert Bear]]''
* ''[[Safe Havens (Comic Strip)|Safe Havens]]''
* ''[[Sally Forth Howard (Comic Strip)|Sally Forth Howard]]''
* ''[[Sally Forth Wood (Comic Strip)|Sally Forth Wood]]''
* ''[[Sams Strip (Comic Strip)|Sams Strip]]''
* ''[[Scamp (Comic Strip)|Scamp]]''
* ''[[Shermans Lagoon (Comic Strip)|Shermans Lagoon]]''
* ''[[Shoe (Comic Strip)|Shoe]]''
* ''[[Slylock Fox (Comic Strip)|Slylock Fox]]''
* ''[[Snuffy Smith (Comic Strip)|Snuffy Smith]]''
* ''[[Sovisa (Comic Strip)|Sovisa]]''
* ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Strip)|Spider-Man]]''
* ''[[Stone Soup (Comic Strip)|Stone Soup]]''
* ''[[Suske En Wiske (Comic Book)|Suske En Wiske]]''
* ''[[Terry and The Pirates (Comic Strip)|Terry and The Pirates]]''
* ''[[This Modern World (Comic Strip)|This Modern World]]''
* ''[[Tom the Dancing Bug (Comic Strip)|Tom the Dancing Bug]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Tom Poes|Tom Poes]]''
* ''[[US Acres (Comic Strip)|US Acres]]''
* ''[[Urbanus (Comic Strip)|Urbanus]]''
* ''[[Comic Strip/Wash Tubbs|Wash Tubbs]]''
* ''[[What's New With Phil and Dixie (Comic Strip)|What's New With Phil and Dixie]]''
* ''[[What the Duck (Comic Strip)|What the Duck]]''
* ''[[The Wizard of Id (Comic Strip)|The Wizard of Id]]''
* ''[[The World of Lily Wong (Comic Strip)|The World of Lily Wong]]''
* ''[[Yenny (Comic Strip)|Yenny]]''
* ''[[Ziggy (Comic Strip)|Ziggy]]''
* ''[[Zippy the Pinhead (Comic Strip)|Zippy the Pinhead]]''
* ''[[Zits (Comic Strip)|Zits]]''

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Sequential Art]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Index Index/Sandbox]]
[[Category:Works]]
[[Category:Index Index]]
[[Category:index]]
[[Category:Newspaper Comics]]
[[Category:Trope]]

Latest revision as of 20:36, 2 August 2014

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