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RSS FeedYOUR Vote Here: What Should Replace "Opus"?
Opus has packed his bags. Now is your time to yopp.
Who will inherit Opus's dandelion-filled real estate? (WPWG)
For those of you who remember your Seuss, you instantly recognize the reference to "Horton Hears a Who." Well, like the not-so-mute Whoville, it's your moment to be heard -- to holler, to shout, to sound a barbaric yopp (or yawp) -- about one matter of immediate and high-level importance:
What should replace "Opus" in The Post's Sunday funnies after Nov. 2?
Rarely does such prime real estate open up like this. The Post's comics editor is already casting about for replacements. So now, indeed, is the time to offer your suggestions.
In earlier polling about daily funnies, some Riffs readers have suggested such strips as "9 Chickweed Lane" and "Rose Is Rose" and "The Knight Life," among numerous others. Now, in terms of Sundays, there's a real cause-and-effect: Come Nov. 9, something has got to fill that space. Might as well be something you've made a push for.
Or, as Horton famously said:
"You've got to prove that you really are there!
So call a big meeting. Get everyone out.
Make every Who holler! Make every Who shout!
Make every Who scream! If you don't, every Who
Is going to end up ...
With 'Ziggy.' "
Okay, yes, we made up that last line. But be forewarned: It could happen.
SIDE LINES...
Speaking of "Opus": If you'd like to hear Berkeley Breathed explain his decision to retire -- in which he says of Opus, "This time there is no way of going back home" -- he spoke on NPR this week.
UPDATE: And to see the rules of Breathed's $10,000 "Where Will Opus's Final Paradise Be?" reader contest -- as featured in Sunday's strip -- go to berkeleybreathed.com.
And speaking of Dr. Seuss: Having studied and reviewed Ted Geisel's political cartoons while myself living in the land of Seuss (literarily and literally, in his Cali neighborhood), I recommend checking out this Seuss video today by The Post's Kevin Merida and Ben de la Cruz.
By Michael Cavna |
October 10, 2008; 11:00 AM ET
| Category:
General
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Posted by: Arlington Gay | October 10, 2008 11:17 AM
One vote for Luann.
One vote for "Classic" Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by: Paul | October 10, 2008 11:36 AM
Ink Pen
Bring back Tom the Dancing Bug!
Posted by: J. Meahan | October 10, 2008 11:49 AM
I never read the Sunday paper-- it's too expensive.
Do they have Foxtrot? It's Sunday-only now, too, and pretty good.
Chickweed is good, but only makes sense if you get the dailies, too.
Posted by: Tad | October 10, 2008 12:17 PM
classic calvin and hobbes would be wonderful...
Posted by: classic | October 10, 2008 12:27 PM
Why not include one of the funniest weekday comics- Pooch Cafe?
Posted by: Nathan | October 10, 2008 12:49 PM
No "classic" anything!!! Buy the books if you want to re-read old stuff. Anything new & fresh would be a pleasure.
Posted by: kbockl | October 10, 2008 12:50 PM
How about Frazz? It's almost as if Calvin grew up to be a janitor. Plus, it's on comics.com and the online edition already has a subscription there.
Posted by: cwoo | October 10, 2008 1:11 PM
Luann is my choice.
Posted by: Richard Carson | October 10, 2008 1:58 PM
I REALLY miss For Better or For Worse, but I want it everyday, not just Sundays. So I would love to see Tom the Dancing Bug!!
Posted by: Andrea Schewe | October 10, 2008 2:01 PM
I REALLY miss For Better or For Worse, but I want it everyday, not just Sundays. So I would love to see Tom the Dancing Bug!!
Posted by: Andrea Schewe | October 10, 2008 2:04 PM
"9 Chickweed Lane" is beautifully drawn but very yuppie.
"Rudy Park" looks promising and has the same kind of political edge as "Opus."
Posted by: Horsefeathers | October 10, 2008 2:15 PM
Chickweed would not be a good Sunday choice. Often, the artist sort of takes a word day off. He draws pictures of the cat or of the women (or both) in poses I would describe as slinky. Think of the "I'm just gonna draw Brandy today" cartoons that Lib Mead used to do sometimes, all grown up.
Less often, he has the weird old guy doing something that could be a daily if he'd just shorten it a tad.
I'll wait until Mon, after I take a look at some of the Sun strips to say something more positive.
Oh, yeah, I love Chickweed. The latest line is fantastic. I'd say it's my current favourite except I'm really loving the Candorville line too.
Posted by: f2 | October 10, 2008 2:47 PM
Arlo and Janis. It is always good and often great!
Posted by: allenwoodhaven | October 10, 2008 2:48 PM
Obamaland - It'll be a comic about a Candyland-like place...
Posted by: MSchafer | October 10, 2008 3:15 PM
Nothing should replace it...it's like the Far Side; never should have stopped.
It's only once a week for goodness sake!
Posted by: Marcia Sherman | October 10, 2008 9:08 PM
I'm not so sure how today's A&J would play in the WaPo. :)
Posted by: f2 | October 10, 2008 9:12 PM
Arlo and Janis is The Smuttiest Strip In Print. Go for it.
Posted by: yellojkt | October 10, 2008 11:56 PM
Hi & Lois should return to the Washington Post. I miss reading it in this paper and it was one of my favorite strips. It should also join the daily paper in place of On the Fastrack or any other one of the weekday only strips.
Posted by: Mike P. | October 11, 2008 12:02 AM
You know some of us old farts immediately thought of Cummings, rather than Seuss...
Posted by: Larry | October 11, 2008 12:16 AM
How about POGO by Walt Kelley?
Posted by: Maxine Fricke | October 11, 2008 7:53 AM
Actually I hate to admit it but bring back APT 3g
Posted by: Anonymous | October 11, 2008 8:26 AM
Schlock Mercenary is an excellent web comic that really works well for Weekend slots. Time to branch out and cross pollinate with Web 2.0
Posted by: Miklos | October 11, 2008 8:40 AM
I think you should add Snuffy Smith to the Washington Post Sunday section. I read it every day on the Post online, but it would be great to see the strip in the Washington Post newspaper on Sundays.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 11, 2008 9:25 AM
We'll never have anything so bold & insightful as Opus again, but Over the Hedge is a step that direction
Posted by: Sean Carter | October 11, 2008 9:45 AM
Pooch Cafe!
Posted by: dre7861 | October 11, 2008 12:15 PM
9 Chickweed Lane both Daily & Sunday, barring that, add Frazz to the Sunday line up. But whatever you do, NO MORE talking animals!
Posted by: Marty Gear | October 11, 2008 2:26 PM
Do you need to be female to find 9 Chickweed Lane interesting (as its title implies)? Or do you need to be young, or superficial, or what? Whatever you need to be, I don't qualify, because I find it almost as boring as Mary Worth.
I say give the Opus-vacated space to a new Dixie Julep spin-off strip (pun unavoidable).
Posted by: seismic-2 | October 11, 2008 2:38 PM
Is there a Sunday version of Zippy the Pinhead? That would get my vote. Otherwise, I'm behind everyone who supports adding Pooch Cafe to the Sunday funnies.
Posted by: Mr Toad | October 11, 2008 2:51 PM
i want to the pajama diaries in the sunday funnies
Posted by: Dara | October 11, 2008 2:57 PM
Crankshaft(the takeoff from Funky Winkerbean 0
Posted by: Al Cee | October 11, 2008 5:51 PM
Um, Frazz is in the Sunday comics.
Well, first, I'd suggest moving up Baby Blues, as it's one of the best, but sort of hidden toward the back of the Sunday comics.
Second, I'd add Bizarro, as it's a very funny, Far Side-y sort of comic, that could work really well one day a week.
Posted by: Mike | October 12, 2008 12:59 AM
There is NO REPLACEMENT for Opus!!!
Just as there was no replacement for Calvin and Hobbes, we should just let it go, and remember them both with a smile and a tear.
Posted by: George | October 12, 2008 2:32 AM
tom the dancing bug
Posted by: susan Rothchild | October 12, 2008 9:03 AM
I miss For Better or for Worse. Please bring back its reruns.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 12, 2008 9:36 AM
Classic Calvin and Hobbes!!!!!!
Posted by: janietiptoe | October 12, 2008 9:59 AM
Curtis. It's run daily but not on Sunday.
Posted by: nycguy16 | October 12, 2008 11:33 AM
No classic anything, that's the death of comics.
Tom the Dancing Bug or the Knight Life, both better than Opus ever was.
Posted by: buggit | October 12, 2008 12:18 PM
I'm sad...My good friends of more than 20 years have moved away, and I can't invite Ellie, John, Elizabeth, April and Michael over for breakfast anymore. Please bring back For Better or For Worse! You run old "classic" Peanuts. Why can't you also fun old FBOFW? Please!....
Posted by: Kathy K | October 12, 2008 12:53 PM
LARRY.....
and of course with barbaric yawp, cavna was going back to even an 'older fart' of literature--the great walt whitman.....
Posted by: leaves of grass | October 12, 2008 1:20 PM
every sunday i read comics in the toledo blade, then later jump on the web for washington post comics.
after that, i look always check out at least two web comics - Loose Parts and Red Meat. Red Meat is weekly, so Loose Parts would have my vote.
Posted by: kevin b | October 12, 2008 2:57 PM
The Sunday comic of "On the Fast Track". You already have the daily, you should have the Sunday comic als.
Posted by: Kevin | October 12, 2008 7:21 PM
One Big Happy
Posted by: Steve | October 12, 2008 7:55 PM
On the Fast Track
Posted by: Allan | October 12, 2008 7:56 PM
they really should re-run old bloom county strips so that the next comic strip to take Opus' place doesn't look terrible. nothing can compare to the high standard of comics that Breathed has provided for us. do us all a favor and re-run Bloom County; if not for us, then for the sake of true art itself.
Posted by: dweezildude | October 12, 2008 8:02 PM
One Big Happy should come back, Foxtrot or Curtis.
Posted by: shorty | October 13, 2008 12:22 AM
Add Snuffy Smith.
Posted by: Karen | October 13, 2008 8:55 AM
How about something new instead of all the reruns. Lose the old Peanuts too. We've read those.
Posted by: A. Nony Mouse | October 13, 2008 9:54 AM
How could anyone ask for Luann? It's horrible. It used to be tolerable, but it's daily where I live and ugh, I keep forgetting to skip over it. Such dumb storylines, with the firefighter calendar, etc.
Posted by: 80906 | October 13, 2008 4:28 PM
The Knight Life by Keith Knight. I was disappointed that the strip didn't remain in the paper after it was first tested, especially after he participated in an online interview.
Posted by: Speed | October 14, 2008 12:51 AM
the knight life!
Posted by: kaffy | October 14, 2008 5:24 AM
Keith Knight's The Knight Life! Hopefully, I can finally see that strip in print.
Posted by: Charles Brubaker | October 14, 2008 8:47 AM
Chance in heck
Arlo & Janis by Jimmy Johnson
Intelligently written slice of life strip that is very in tune with its readers.
No chance in heck
Either Toby, Robot Satan or Barkeater Lake, both by Corey Pandolf. Its young, its hip, he currently doesn't do Sunday strips, but for the right amount of money I'm sure he will.
Posted by: Thom | October 14, 2008 9:49 AM
"Heart Of The City" would be a fine addition to your comic selection.
Posted by: scooter | October 14, 2008 12:40 PM
Knight Life or Tom the Dancing Bug. Or both.
Just for god's sake no reruns.
Posted by: rt | October 14, 2008 1:01 PM
Please no reruns... The Knight Life is one of the best new strips out there. It would be a great addition.
Posted by: Motte | October 14, 2008 1:44 PM
I second the "9CW" votes, but reluctantly agree that it works better as a daily than a Sunday-only. Thus, another vote for "Heart of the City." Now, if only Baltimore's Sun ran an entirely different comics lineup, instead of mostly duplicating the WaPo's (notable exceptions: it has "Luann" and "One Big Happy." And "Cathy," which I stopped caring for a while back.)
Posted by: Alexander | October 14, 2008 9:07 PM
I vote for the Knight Life!
Posted by: Jeremy B. | October 15, 2008 9:02 AM
Put in "Knight Life" for sure. Gimme one more comic besides Lio that would make me laugh.
Posted by: Sammysneeze | October 16, 2008 10:22 AM
Another vote for "Knight Life"! A breath of fresh air on the comics pages.
Posted by: B. Giddy | October 16, 2008 11:50 AM
Give me "Knight Life!"!
Posted by: LB | October 16, 2008 2:15 PM
I vote for "The Knight Life".
Posted by: meowmix | October 16, 2008 7:26 PM
9CWL for sure.
Posted by: Jon | October 17, 2008 4:05 AM
I go out of town for a few days and almost miss this...
I love Jump Start. I'd rather it be daily, but I'd take Sunday.
I also like the idea of sticking in Tom the Dancing Bug, and I hadn't noticed Pooch Cafe's absence on Sundays, but if it isn't there it should be.
Oh, and I miss FBOFW too, but I'm thinking that ship has sailed.
Posted by: Julia | October 17, 2008 1:25 PM
I'd love to see The Knight Life waiting for me on the door step each Sunday!
Posted by: Tony | October 17, 2008 3:03 PM
I would love to see Keith Knights "The Knight Life" back in print on the Washington Post's comics pages.
Posted by: Meagan | October 17, 2008 9:43 PM
Knight Life, PLEASE!
Posted by: Beth | October 17, 2008 11:29 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Since the prime space is only opening up in the Sunday edition, how about just making some of the comics bigger so those of us over 40 can read the print!