Every morning, my 5-year-old wants to read Heart of the City and Family Circus in our morning newspaper. She likes the strips with characters close to her age who sort of talk like she does. So every day I read them to her, and she stares blankly and wants to know what makes them funny. Every day I can't answer the question.

She's right. These comics are terrible. (OK, Heart has its moments.) It's one of the mysteries of life why newspapers, which have been desperate for young readers for years, continue to print the most hackneyed, unfunny, often-nonsensical strips in the universe. I like Baby Blues and Dilbert and Retail, but while Dagwood's tall sandwiches have a certain undead charm, it's obvious certain writers have long since stopped trying.

I took a whack at this, oh, 11 years ago. But for those of you who enjoy mocking the comics as much as reading them, The Comics Curmudgeon is essential. Josh's remarks on the banal surreality of Gil Thorp get me every time.