Thursday, January 06, 2005

A comic strip worth checking out.



With more and more newspapers folding (no pun intended) across the country and with less and less space alotted by the editors, it gets very difficult to find comic strips worth reading.

Now I know what you're thinking.(well, not really, but I'll take a guess) What about the web? How about the limitless possibilities that the internet can give the comic strip genre.

Well, don't hold your breath. Too many of the web comics aren't worth your time to surf and click to. The artwork for many of these are amateurish at best (and trust me... I'm being kind here) and as for the subject matter....
Wow, another web comic strip dealing with the relationships of disgruntled college students or twenty-somethings... *YAWN*

But believe it or not, you can get lucky (occasionally) and find a comic strip that's unique, different, and actually worth your time to bookmark.
Being the comic strip elitist/snob that I am, I'll let you know them when I find them.

One such strip goes by the name of 9 Chickweed Lane. It's not a web comic, I'm sure that some newspapers carry it since it's distributed by UFS, but my only exposure to this has been via the web.

What's it about? 9 Chickweed Lane is a comic strip about a single mom, her adolescent daughter and gritty grandma.

OK, that doesn't sound riviting, but what makes this strip stand out from the norm is the work of cartoonist Brooke McEldowney. His artwork, the way he utilizes the panel is amazing. He's never contstained by the space and isn't afraid of telling a quiet moment with little or no dialogue.





It's not a lame, gag-a-day strip. 9 Chickweed Lane takes the time to tell a story, often going weeks for one specific scene.

So if you're the type who likes to bookmark high quality comic strips on your browser, to tune in each day, give it a shot.

Though if you think a punch line of "I hate Mondays" to be the ultimate of humor --
you'd best give it a pass.

No comments: