Funky Winkerbean

Over the past few months, thanks largely to Josh Fruhlinger at The Comics Curmudgeon, I've become increasingly obsessed with Tom Batiuk's "Funky Winkerbean." For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a newspaper comic strip that, since its debut in the early '70s as a high school comedy, has slowly transitioned into becoming a daily oasis of mind-boggling depression right next t

I've mentioned my growing obsession with Tom Batiuk's "Funky Winkerbean" newspaper strip before, specifically with the way it seems to exist as a bottomless well of tragedy and depression right there between "Dilbert " and the Junior Jumble...

With all the chatter about DC's "Brightest Day" and Marvel's "Heroic Age" coming up this spring, it's looking like mainstream super hero comics' comparatively darker days could be trending downward. But aside from Conan O'Brien's ending his "Tonight Show" run with remarks denouncing cynicism, where should creators and fans look for inspiration as they enter this new p