Once upon a time, the characters and storylines of comic strips in the daily newspaper were as familiar a part of our culture as major entertainment figures and athletes are today. Everyone knew who Dagwood and Blondie, Li’l Abner, and Mutt and Jeff were, and people followed their antics in the daily press whether they read the news or not. The dramatic adventures of Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Rex Morgan, M.D., and Mary Worth (remember Mary Worth?) kept us in suspense as they unfolded at the rate of four frames a day.

I still get a daily paper, and I usually look at the front page and often leaf through the local section, but not much else. I used to at least follow Doonesbury, but these days I never even look at the comics any more. They seem like a relic of an era long past, and this is coming from someone who wears the label “retro” with stubborn pride.

Do you still read the comic strips in the paper? Do you know anyone who does?

Topics: comics, newspapers, comic srtrips, print media, old fogeys