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Comic Strips
![]() ![]() ![]() If you can't start Monday without at least one belly laugh, read on.The Internet holds a cornucopia of comics, some of which can only be found on-line.
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Log into Dilbert and you'll be instantly assured "that you are a little bit smarter and a little bit sexier than the people who are, for example, looking at the Smithsonian Web site." Not since CBS axed Connie Chung has a celebrity firing gotten so much press as when Dilbert creator Scott Adams was sacked. (Check out the site if you want to know why.) Adams, who runs the site, has put together a history of his rise to stardom (including his early rejection slips) as well as some early Dilbert. He describes reading this material as "simulating the excitement of being invited to somebody's house to look at their photo album (except this takes much longer and you have to supply your own beverage)." You can browse the last two weeks worth of strips here or subscribe to his newsletter and become a member of Dogbert's New Ruling Class. If you've ever worked in a corporate environment or had a boss you didn't like (you know who you are), you'll love this site.
Spectre Collie! started life as a daily strip in the University of Georgia's student newspaper, The Red and Black. But now that creator Chuck Jordan "is a man now," he's taken his one-panel weekly strip to the Web. This strip is The Far Side for twenty-somethings, and ranges from the mildly amusing to the outright hilarious. A helpful quiz will help you find out whether you're the target audience for these jokes. If you aspire to read comics that do not pander to the lowest common denominator, be sure to check out this comic.
Imagine The Far Side on hallucinogens and you've got a good idea of Doctor Fun. This daily one-panel color comic first gained cult status on the Internet before Dilbert creator Scott Adams brought it to the attention of United Media. Catch the bizarre, outrageous humor of David Farley here. Surprisingly, this is the one comic we saw that incorporates a fair amount of computer humor. In addition to every cartoon posted since its inception in 1993, you'll see a fairly extensive bio of Farley and a FAQ regarding the cartoon itself. Two out of five cartoons had us laughing out loud. Stuffed shirts need not apply.
Virtually Reality could quite possibly be the first of the next generation of single-panel comics. Using Autodesk's 3DStudio software, Eric Scroger creates visually stunning artwork with extremely amusing captions. While we were laughing at these jokes, such as "The Orca Winfrey Show" and "Denny's New Green Eggs And Ham Grand Slam," we couldn't help but notice that Scroger did an awful lot of work for a simple joke. But the comics sure beat B.C. when it comes to visual impact. Never before have we been compelled to print out so many comics at once.
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Reading a disclaimer that warns: "heartwarming cartoons drawn by Bil Keane, gone horribly awry," you know you're in for a treat. Take arguably the most innocent cartoon still in print and let people supply their own captions, and you've got the idea of The Dysfunctional Family Circus. Anyone can leave a caption, and if the moderator likes it enough, he'll keep it for the whole world to enjoy. But be warned: This is definitely not a site for the easily offended, as a lot of the humor is of a carnal nature.
Boil down twenty-something angst into a one-page comic and you've got Fried Society, a reasonably well-drawn comic by Chris "don't sue me" Kelly that focuses on the problems faced by Generation Xers. Kelly is occasionally witty, but unless you are tragically hip and under 30, you may find yourself scratching your head. Not as funny as other Web offerings, but amusing enough to merit a visit.
The Comic Strip, United Media's Web site, links you to 14 of its most popular strips, including Dilbert, Arlo & Janis, Robotman and Rose is Rose. You can view the current day's strips here as well as a two-week archive. A really good site if you enjoy these strips but can't get them in your paper.
If political humor is your bag, browse The Inkwell, which features panels from 10 of the country's most popular "political harpoonists," and check in weekly for new drawings. Don't miss the striking similarities between Ross Perot and Mickey Mouse
In celebration of its 45th anniversary, Peanuts has gone electric. You'll see a relatively exhaustive history of the strip here, dating back to October 1950. You can also read a brief bio of its creator, Charles Schulz, read character profiles, and enter the trivia contest with a chance of winning. . .well, Peanuts.
Perfect World comprises single-panel comics of caricatures such as Your Therapist and Your Last Girlfriend, using arrows to point out all their problems ("hair on legs just like pipe cleaners," for example). Often amusing and accurate in an exaggerated way, though at times not extremely clever.
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Copyright (c) 1995 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. Internet Life and the Internet Life logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. |
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