More Serial Strips

Hi all, it's Eric, back with some more serial strips. Before I get started, I've got a blog about dogs and dog training over there. Take a peek and leave a comment.

Rex Morgan M.D. is a long running soap opera strip, so it's just like most Marvel and DC superhero comics — except somehow it's managed to survive since 1948 with any Zeroed Hours, Secreted Wars, Multiplied Crises or Ill-advised Onslaughts. The strip has taken on some very serious issues, like HIV, sexual harassment, and diabetes over the year, but without creating a cloud of doom and death.

Right now June Morgan, Rex's former nurse-now-wife has gotten herself into trouble (again.) One of the more refreshing aspects of the strip is that Rex will probably not blaze in and save the day. He's busy stirring up trouble for the next storyline and she'll need to sort it out herself.

In 2000 one of my favorite Batman pencilers, Graham Nolan, started on the strip. He did Sunday Phantoms for a while, but it looks like Paul Ryan is doing all seven days now. Check out how Nolan arranged those panels. Not very common in these old school strips.

Buz (One 'z', unlike the wrestler) Sawyer is only available in reruns. He's a WWII flying ace now turned "adventurer." I really enjoy this strip's fun atmosphere.

Buz's "overnight" trip to the Yukon will probably take about a month and will result in both his girlfriend and his boss getting really mad at him. On the bright side, a woman from the Yukon will fall head-over-heels in love with him while he's there.

Fantagraphics will be reprinting Buz in hardcover books starting this year. I have already pre-ordered the first volume.

Mary Worth is another long-lived serial strip. It's about a woman who just can't keep her nose out of other people's business. For the past week or so Mary was poking her nose into some poor guy's love life. She ran into him as the previous horrifically drawn out plot was finally wrapping up and then started haranguing him for not having a girlfriend. On Saturday however, this nosy woman starting going through her client's accounts and started telling us how one of her customers uses credit cards irresponsibly. I think she's one of Mary's Sith apprentices.

I don't even know if Mary is available in reruns. I'm pretty sure I don't care.

It's evident at this point that Jane's World will be deviating a bit from the original script of the Last Starfighter.

This is just funny. If you like Pearls Before Swine, you'll probably like Lio.

The authors of both strips seem to have some sort of twisted relationship.