I'm sure the pairings can't be any worse than the always insipid writing of Bill Keane. You have great cartoonists like Bill Watterson, Berke Breathed, and Gary Larson hang it up prematurely, while hacks like Keane go on and on and on.

I prefer this version of Family Circus

the "cthulhu family circus" was actively pursued out of existence. Here. This is the only vestige I could find of it, too bad.

here are a few stupid remixes I did awhile back is a lone example

While I agree with Chris' opinions on certain comic strips, I would offer a reminder that children also read the comics. They think Garfield and Family Circus are funny. I'd hate to see a daily newspaper full of comics that my kids don't understand. What fun would that be?

There have been plenty of cartoons that kids like/liked that don't suck as completely as FC.

I can certainly see Beverly's point. I didn't mean to imply that all comic strips should be intelligent, adult oriented fare like Bloom County and Far Side. But I'm pretty sure I thought FC sucked even when I was a kid. I was able to recognize the whole sickeningly sweet unfunniness of it even when I was eight. Comics can still be suitable for children and well written at the same time. Peanuts and Garfield would be examples. Family Circus would not.

Well, I'd point to Calvin and Hobbes as an excellent cartoon that is great for kids and adults alike. I point to it with some trepidation, however, because, frankly, Bill Waterson was a freakin' genius who only comes around once in a generation or so.

I say ditto for Calvin and Hobbes. My son has spent years just absorbing the vocabulary words, not to mention the literary devices and cultural references.

I can't stop clicking on that Nietzsche link.

Thanks to Calvin and Hobbes, I read all the works of John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes by the age of 16. There's not enough Prozac in the world...

I miss Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. I have found one online strip I think is pretty good and that is Sinfest.