History Main / NewspaperComics

* ComicBook/SouthernFriedFugitives (actually appeared in Nickeldoeon Magazine)

The downside is that many newspaper comics have a reputation for [[JumpTheShark not being funny anymore]] and the LongRunners 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 {{Fanservice}}, basically. And the last thing you want to do with fanservice is serve up something that doesn't actually please the fans. As such, DarkerAndEdgier 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.[[note]]As Bill Watterson of ''CalvinAndHobbes'' fame [[http://ignatz.brinkster.net/ccomicsjournal.html said]] of the space restrictions way back in 1989: "A beautiful strip like ComicStrip/{{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.[[/note]]. Compare and contrast the InfiniteCanvas and complete lack of censorship offered by WebComics as a medium. 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, though ValuesDissonance is slowly getting them [[DeaderThanDisco down the flush]].

* ComicStrip/PietPienterEnBertBibber

* ComicStrip/{{Jommeke}}

* Comicbook/{{SuskeEnWiske}}

* ComicStrip/{{Urbanus}}

Compared to other media, newspaper comics can have incredibly [[LongRunners long tenures]]. New ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' strips appeared daily for over 49 years. ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' has been running for 42 years and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' has been coming out for 34 years. Neither show any signs of stopping. Even more impressively, ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie}}'' has run for well over 80 years, ''ComicStrip/GasolineAlley'' has run over 90 years, and most impressively of all ''ComicStrip/TheKatzenjammerKids'' has been running since 1897! A 10-year run is considered tremendous for a television show, but when ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' and ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' each ended production after a decade, it seemed far too soon.

* {{Nero}}

Comic strips can cover a wide range of formats, topics, characters and artistic styles. ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' and ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'' are one-panel gag strips. ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Pogo}}'', while light-hearted on the surface, were thick with {{Story Arc}}s and [[StrawmanPolitical political commentary]]. Other strips, like ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' and ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', delightfully portray the experiences of childhood, and thus have broad, long-term appeal. There have been countless serialized adventure strips like ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom,'' ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon,'' ''ComicStrip/PrinceValiant'' and ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''; soap opera/slice-of-life strips like ''ComicStrip/GasolineAlley'' and ''Rex Morgan M.D.'', and strips that fall in between, like ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie''.

* ComicStrip/{{Spider-Man}}

The medium has also inspired many works that critcize it, including ''Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon'' and ''Website/ThePunchline''.

* ComicStrip/SouthernFriedFugitives (actually appeared in Nickeldoeon Magazine)