LogFAQs > #951379257

I've been working on a submission for Mezzacotta's iToons webcomic. It's going to be a sequel to #100, which was a comic alphabet where each letter of the alphabet was represented by a different comic. However, unlike #100, I will be using just American newspaper comic strips - no webcomics, foreign-language strips, or manga.

Most of the decisions for which newspaper comic strip to use for which letter have been easy - Garfield is obviously G, Peanuts is obviously P, etc. But some letters have been more difficult to decide which strip best represents a letter.

I've written about it in more detail here: https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/draakslair/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=12316
But the short version is that I'm trying to pick the strip that's the most definitive/iconic/well-known/popular/long-lived, that sort of thing (definitive isn't the best descriptor, but I can't think of a better one). I've been trying to consider multiple factors, so that a strip that didn't run for as long but was more popular can be roughly equal to a long-running strip. I also don't want to discount strips that started and ended well before the majority of people who will see the completed submission were even born.

I previously ran a poll on this board for the letter F, with options such as The Far Side, The Family Circus, Foxtrot, Flash Gordon, Frank & Ernest, and For Better or For Worse. The results of the poll did not necessarily guarantee I'd use the winner in the completed submission, but they helped inform my decision.

Now I've come to another difficult decision: the letter S. Which comic strip do you think would be best to represent the letter S? Gut instincts and informed decisions are equally welcome.

Some info about the options:

• Sally Forth, created by Greg Howard, currently by Francesco Marciuliano and Jim Keefe - still running, in publication for 39 years, appears in ~700 newspapers globally
• Sam and Silo, created by Mort Walker and Jerry Dumas - ended, in publication for 39 years, was unable to find out its peak circulation numbers
• Sherman's Lagoon, created by Jim Toomey - currently running, in publication for 30 years, appears in ~250 newspapers in America, and an unknown number globally (across 30 countries)
• Shoe, created by Jeff MacNelly, currently by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly - currently running, in publication for 44 years, won the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award in 1979, was unable to find out its circulation numbers
• Side Glances, created by George Clark, later by William Galbraith Crawford - ended, in publication for 56 years, was unable to find out its peak circulation numbers
• Six Chix, a collaboration between six women cartoonists - currently running, in publication for 21 years, appears in ~120 newspapers
• Skippy, created by Percy Crosby - ended, in publication for 22 years. I'd never heard of it, but apparently it was really big stuff, spawning a radio show, a novel, multiple movies, and a brand of peanut butter. At one point the strip was earning the cartoonist more than the U.S. President made. It's cited as a big influence on Peanuts. Read the Wikipedia article, it's interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skippy_(comic_strip)
• Smitty, created by Walter Berndt - ended, in publication for 52 years, won the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award in 1969, was unable to find out its peak circulation numbers
• Slylock Fox & Comics For Kids, created by Bob Weber, Jr. - currently running, in publication for 34 years, appears in ~400 newspapers
• Stone Soup, created by Jan Eliot - ended, in publication for 25 years, appeared in ~250 newspapers worldwide

There are no wrong answers. Let me know what you think with a comment in addition to a vote, and if you know any other worthy contenders for the letter that I overlooked, please inform me.

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Formerly The_Mighty_KELP. Finally got around to having my name changed!
My comics: https://tinyurl.com/sromgkelp | https://tinyurl.com/itoonskelp