Best Comic Strips

In these days of shrinking newspaper budgets  - and shrinking space for art  - it's tough to find truly interesting comics. Some of them date back to the 20s and 30s and rely on story points and characters that were relevant during the Depression. Others are just joke-a-day three panel affairs that get you from one day to the next. The best comics are the ones that are SO creative their creators tend to burn out within a few years - take Gary Larson and "The Far Side," for instance. Others try their best to marry something truly unique with off-kilter humor that - for me, at least - proves to be a winner. Here are a few of what I think are the best comic strips out there today:

*Get Fuzzy: I used to recoil at the antics of Bucky Katt, his slacker owner Rob and naive canine pal, Satchel. Now I marvel at how creator Darby Conley has been able to use Bucky as a cipher for all of our collective anger at, well, nearly everything.

*Opus: "Bloom County" may be gone, but at least creator Berkeley Breathed still gives us this, a full-color Sunday-only strip featuring the philosopher penguin of the title. Recent events in the strip suggest it isn't long for this world, but I hope Breathed stays the course, if only to give us a weekly lesson in why a comic strip can truly become art when one ignores the stuffy conventions of the genre.

*Curtis: I can hear the raised eyebrows out there, and, yes, I agree, "Curtis" relies on old gags as much as anyone. But for a really interesting look at a lower-middle-class African American family in the U.S. today, this strip is the most realistic out there, at least in my view. Other strips look at different cultures, but only "Curtis" seems as if creator Ray Billingsley lives it every day

*Doonesbury: Garry Trudeau can be hit or miss, but when he's on - as in a recent series about a female GI who was sexually abused during her time in Iraq - he's not to be missed. Depth of character and smart storylines continue to make this old favorite a must read.

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