History SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism / NewspaperComics

* It's actually surprising, when you think about it, just how cynical ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'' can be, particularly in terms of the various ways that Charlie Brown kept getting screwed over and over (such as with kicking the football). It's also a universe where AllLoveIsUnrequited. However, all of the movies and TV specials based on the strip are heartfelt stories that make you feel good at the end.

** While the comic itself is in the middle,, Pig is very far on the idealistic side. Rat, on the other hand, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mGwe4a4-yE is so far on the cynical side]], he's pretty much a NietzscheWannabe.

* ''{{ComicStrip/Retail}}'' is planted firmly down on the cynicism end of the scale. The comic is about the trials and tribulations of minimum-wage retail workers, almost all of whom hate their jobs, their bosses, their customers, and everything else about their workplace.

* It's actually surprising, when you think about it, just how cynical ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'' can be, particularly in terms of the various ways that Charlie Brown kept getting screwed over and over (such as with kicking the football). It's also a universe where AllLoveIsUnrequited. However, every movie and tv special we have gotten based on the material has always been heartfelt story that made you feel good at the end.

* ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse leans somewhere in the middle. It discusses the hardships of life while also showing the heart and love of a family.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle (leaning on the idealist side, [[CerebusSyndrome even at the end]]; the world is full of wonders and often [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.)
* ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' is generally pretty cynical, particularly during the first few years of the strips run.
** While the comic itself is in the middle, leaning toward cynicism, Pig is very far on the idealistic side. Rat, on the other hand, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mGwe4a4-yE is so far on the cynical side]], he's pretty much a NietzscheWannabe.
* It's actually surprising, when you think about it, just how cynical ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'' is, particularly in terms of the various ways that Charlie Brown kept getting screwed over and over (such as with kicking the football). It's also a universe where AllLoveIsUnrequited.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle (leaning on the idealist side, [[CerebusSyndrome even at the end]]; the world is full of wonders and often [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.

* It's actually surprising, when you think about it, just how cynical ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'' is, particularly in terms of the various ways that Charlie Brown kept getting screwed over and over (such as with kicking the football). It's also a universe where AllLoveIsUnrequited.

* ''PearlsBeforeSwine'' is generally pretty cynical, particularly during the first few years of the strips run.

* ''{{Retail}}'' is planted firmly down on the cynicism end of the scale. The comic is about the trials and tribulations of minimum-wage retail workers, almost all of whom hate their jobs, their bosses, their customers, and everything else about their workplace.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle (leaning on the idealist side, [[CerebusSyndrome even at the end]]; the world is full of wonders and often [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.

* It's actually surprising, when you think about it, just how cynical ''{{Peanuts}}'' is, particularly in terms of the various ways that Charlie Brown kept getting screwed over and over (such as with kicking the football). It's also a universe where AllLoveIsUnrequited.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle (leaning on the idealist side, [[CerebusSyndrome even at the end]]; the world is full of wonders and often [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle; the world is full of wonders and often [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.

** While the comic itself is in the middle, leaning toward cynicism, Pig is very far on the idealistic side. Rat, on the other hand, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mGwe4a4-yE is so far on the cynical side]], he's pretty much a Nietzsche Wannabe.

* ''{{Dilbert}}'' is very far on the cynicism end. In fact, it's been suggested in the strip (mainly by Dogbert) that "cynicism" and "wisdom" are synonyms.

* ''PearlsBeforeSwine'' is generally pretty cynical, particularly during the first few years of the strips run.

* For a comic about [[ABoyAndHisX a boy having misadventures with his tiger friend]], CalvinAndHobbes stays ''remarkably'' close to the middle; the world is full of wonders and often [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]], but it's also full of unfairness, cruelty, and {{Tear Jerker}}s.