Baldo by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos for October 16, 2010

Gracie nails it!

I like laughing a lot - & there’s so much out there trying to keep me from it that I have to really make my opportunities.

That’s one reason why, when I watch movies, I almost only watch comedies.

Oh, you can make a horror into a comedy - my best friend used to have me come over to watch scary movies with her because I could get her to laugh at the bad writing.

Yeah, when I read the news I always laugh because it’s better than crying.

LOL

Dissing their fellow cartoonists?

I read about 150 comics a day. It’s a good day if that makes me LOL 2-3 times. Generally I’m happy if I smile at a dozen of them.

Part of the problem, ironically, is that I read 150 comics a day. After a while, you can see how repetitious some strips are (goodbye, Cathy). You also get to realize how hard it is to come up with new jokes on cliched themes (desert island, psychiatrist’s couch, UFO landing, Grim Reaper, etc., etc.).

Coming up with a funny joke a day 5-7 times a week has to be a big strain on most cartoonists, and I stand in awe of the best of them who hit the mark so consistently. Too bad that too many of those great strips don’t make it (Citizen Dog, Bo Nanas, Big Top, The Humble Stumble, add your own favorites).

But soon I will improve my odds by dropping some of the old but unsatisfying standards from my subscriptions (Nancy, Beetle Bailey, Heathcliff, etc.) Even if I’m not lucky enough to find a few good replacements (recommendations are welcome), that should increase my laugh percentage. In any case, it’s still cheaper than Prozac.