Saturday, May 20, 2006

For some time, but particularly during the past two months, the "Garfield" comic strip has been simply bland. In the 1980s I was a firm "Garfield" fan, but the strip descended into uninteresting during the 1990s.

Most recently I find myself irked by Jim Davis's overworking the bit about Jon not being able to get a date. My husband noted that Davis seems to be saving on drawing as the characters barely seem to move from the same positions week after week.

In the grand spectrum, booting or keeping a strip on your paper's comics pages will not solve our woes related to Iraq, immigration or oil. All the same, I believe that fresh voices in the simpler world of comics deserve a chance. Ultimately, humor may be the push we need to see new solutions in the gritty "real" world.

I understand the desire to stay with the known and comfortable. "Peanuts" runs today, even though Charles Schulz has left us for the Happy Cartoon Land in the Sky. It still has some humor to it. I feel the need for stability should be balanced with a need to adapt. "Garfield" has ceased to adapt. The formula doesn't resonate anymore.

-- Jennifer Mullan Fondak

Ranson, W.Va.