First Place 'For Better Or For Worse' Second Place 'Zits' Third Place 'Pickles'

Who knew?

In a medium most often -- if mistakenly -- associated with superheroes, mythical creatures and one-liners, it's the story of a normal, middle-class family that most often draws you to the daily comics page.

"For Better or For Worse," Lynn Johnston's always funny, often wry, occasionally poignant chronicle of the lives of the Patterson family, was voted the most popular comic in the Review-Journal comics poll. Out of a total of 2,483 ballots, "For Better or For Worse" received 1,175 votes as one of your five most-favorite comics.

But it may not be as strange as it sounds. Johnston's long-running strip routinely places at or near the top of reader surveys at just about every newspaper that carries it.

The second-place winner, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's "Zits," scored 975 most-favorite votes, while "Pickles," by Northern Nevada-based artist Brian Crane, garnered 861 votes.

Those top-three finishers were separated from the rest of the pack by more than 400 votes. "Blondie" placed fourth with 455 votes and "Mother Goose and Grimm" placed fifth with 415 votes.

A total of 475 of your votes came through the Review-Journal's Web site, and the survey included comics that now run daily in the Review-Journal, comics that formerly ran in the Las Vegas Sun -- that paper now runs three each day -- and a few comics that had run in either paper until recently.

In christening "For Better or For Worse" as Southern Nevada's favorite daily comic strip, readers invariably cited its real-life roots.

" 'For Better or For Worse' is truly a must-read," one reader wrote. "We have watched the family grow and we share their joys and sorrows."

Similarly, many readers saw reflections of their own lives in "Zits." That strip, one reader wrote, "reflects life and (its) smiles and tears. Jeremy in 'Zits' is so much like my now-30-year-old son."

We also asked you to tell us the names of your five least-favorite comics, and discovered a distinct distaste for politics. The left-leaning "Doonesbury" was the least-favorite comic, garnering 750 votes. But, with 713 votes, the right-leaning "Mallard Fillmore," was second. In fact, readers who named one of them as among their five least-favorites almost always named the other one, too.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" was voted third-least-favorite comic (705 votes), followed by the left-leaning "Opus" (589 votes) and the right-leaning "Prickly City" (465 votes).

In a related note, "B.C." took hits from several readers for what one called the strip's "religious proselytizing," and both "B.C." and "The Family Circus" were criticized by another reader for what that person called their "cheesy religious themes."

"Comics are supposed to be funny," a reader explained. "Keep the politics on the opinion page, the religion on the religion page and the totally inane on the bottom of the birdcage."

One reader, referring specifically to both "Doonesbury" and "Mallard Fillmore," wrote: "There is nothing funny about a political hack trying to use humor to make a point."

The R-J also offered a half-dozen new strips for sampling. With 48 votes, the highest-ranking was "Bliss," a wry take on modern life from Harry Bliss, a cartoonist whose work has been featured in The New Yorker. But it appeared many hesitated to vote for something new, fearing an old favorite would be sacrificed.

The survey results will be used during the next few weeks to evaluate the mix of comics the Review-Journal runs, said Editor Thomas Mitchell.

Mitchell said likely changes include: Adding more comics to the R-J's current daily mix; expanding the daily comics page beyond a single page; and anchoring the comics page in the same section of the paper each day, a move that may require not offering the paper's daily comics in color.

In your responses, some of you said you'd like to see the daily comics run a bit larger than they are now. A few other observations, based on your comments:

• You're really serious about both your favorite comics and your not-so-favorite comics. Take this comment from one reader: "Hate, hate, hate with every fiber of my being -- 'Family Circus.' " Meanwhile, fans of "Ziggy" came out in force, including the reader who simply sent us a postcard with a bold "We Love Ziggy" scrawled on it in heavy black marker.

• Comics tastes are intensely personal, even idiosyncratic. While some readers loved the old kid-and-animal classics, another expressed exasperation with "talking animals and kids that don't grow up."

• You don't like having to turn to the R-J's classified section to read "Doonesbury," "Mallard Fillmore," "Cathy" and "Marmaduke." It is, as one reader put it, "just wrong for comics to not be with the comics section."

• The list of comics you'd like us to consider includes "Andy Capp," "Dick Tracy," "The Wizard of Id," "Funky Winkerbean," "Prince Valiant," "Rose is Rose," "9 Chickweed Lane," and reruns of the now-ended "The Far Side," "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Li'l Abner."

And to those few of you who are wondering why all the fuss over a few pen-and-ink drawings, we think Las Vegas reader Barbara Givens explains it best.

"The comics are so refreshing after reading the doom and gloom of the daily news," she writes. "The comics are a great way to clear the mind and look forward to a marvelous new day."

THE FAVORITES