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Comment by RodericDay | Hacker News Reader

I love Calvin & Hobbes but I dislike how casually it's touted as the best comic strip of all time.

It's pretty unfair given that most people haven't really exhausted the genre. I think (Mafalda)[http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2010/07/dwyck-the-dreams-of-chi...] is at least just as good.

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C&H has a special place in my childhood, but I agree that in terms of quality, Mafalda is just as good, or better.

That said, it's a strongly political strip, which no doubt alienates some people, and of course, it requires a good translation for anyone who can't read Spanish.

I love Calvin & Hobbes as well, but I'd list Pogo as pretty serious competition, and there are a number of other great, historically important strips (e.g., Krazy Kat).

Funny that you mention these two, as Bill Watterson cited both Pogo and Krazy Kat as major influences on Calvin and Hobbes in the Tenth Anniversary Book.

BTW, if you are a fan and for some reason have not read the Tenth Anniversary Book, I strongly recommend it. Watterson's commentary throughout is awesome and really highlights the brilliance of the strip.

http://www.amazon.com/Calvin-Hobbes-Tenth-Anniversary-Book/d...

Calvin & Hobbes and Pogo are two of my favorites also. But for sheer volume of jokes and puns packed into each strip, it's hard to top Get Fuzzy. Its basic premise is similar to Garfield (man living with cat and dog, both of whom can talk), but it's written by a cartoonist who hasn't been coming up with the same jokes for 30 years straight.

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