> The absolute worst comic - and I hope most of you haven't been subjected to it - is Baldo. It's trying very hard to be zits - except Hispanic! Anyway, Blado, the Jeremy character, is an absolute insult to teenagers. He doesn't know a single thing about anything that's not "pop culture". He doesn't CARE about anything that's not "pop culture". He's a stereotype through-and-through.
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Really? I don't get that impression from Baldo. I disagree that Baldo has an entirely pop culture focus---that strip focused briefly on Frida Kahlo, the artist, who could hardly be considered pop culture. Also, the characters tend to treat adults with respect, which is hardly a teenage stereotype. It also features parts of Hispanic life, a culture that has been pretty much ignored by the mainstream. And it does this in a very Cosby-esque way---the cast's race is incidental, not placed on a soap box.

What I can't stand are the comics which feature children who are ridiculously precocious, like "Monkey House." These kids talk about philosophy and use huge words. Yuk. Linus's philosophizing and Bible-quoting and sage advice did it much better the first time.

By the way, my newspaper just announced their new comics this week. They bumped one of favorites, Sylvia, for a new one (grr!). But today, they messed up and ran Sylvia under the headline for the replacement comic. Very satisfying.

---Luba "generally disgusted with the comics page" Luft