It was never one of my favorites either, but I wouldn't be that down on it. For one thing, I enjoyed the "Kitty Corner" panel that appeared in every Sunday edition and featured a true cat story mailed in by a reader.
Having said that, there are any number of strips (syndicated and online) that in my opinion are better than Heathcliff. Even Garfield is better. I enjoyed Garfield the first several years it ran, but after a while it got to be the same thing over and over, which it has been for at least the last ten years. Some of you may disagree with me, but in recent months, I don't think Kevin and Kell has been as good as it was earlier on. It was sometime after the Y2K threads that it began to slip. Even on an off day, it is one of the better strips I know of. A lot of strips are that way - they're good for a while but eventually they lose their luster, and inertia is the only reason they survive. Gary Larson (The Far Side) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) were smart enough to see when that was approaching and retire their strips before they slid too much. And one cannot help but admire Charles M. Schulz for keeping Peanuts as fresh and enjoyable as he did for a run of nearly 50 years.
It was never one of my favorites either, but I wouldn't be that down on it. For one thing, I enjoyed the "Kitty Corner" panel that appeared in every Sunday edition and featured a true cat story mailed in by a reader.
Having said that, there are any number of strips (syndicated and online) that in my opinion are better than Heathcliff. Even Garfield is better. I enjoyed Garfield the first several years it ran, but after a while it got to be the same thing over and over, which it has been for at least the last ten years. Some of you may disagree with me, but in recent months, I don't think Kevin and Kell has been as good as it was earlier on. It was sometime after the Y2K threads that it began to slip. Even on an off day, it is one of the better strips I know of. A lot of strips are that way - they're good for a while but eventually they lose their luster, and inertia is the only reason they survive. Gary Larson (The Far Side) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) were smart enough to see when that was approaching and retire their strips before they slid too much. And one cannot help but admire Charles M. Schulz for keeping Peanuts as fresh and enjoyable as he did for a run of nearly 50 years.
Mwalimu