But What About the Funnies?

-- Publishers Weekly, 7/14/2008

Though self-referential humor—be it snarky live-blogging from the presidential conventions or YouTube video of your coworker napping on the job—may seem more de rigeur than the comic strips of yore, this fall, two publishers will toast a combined half-century of cartoon humor.

In October, Villard will publish Garfield: 30 Years of Laughs and Lasagna. "If anything, the public's appetite for all humor has grown... it's just that now people are consuming their humor differently; there are more outlets to feed their need," says Garfield creator Jim Davis. "There has been a tremendous proliferation of comics, most of them online, but the glory days of the newspaper comic may be behind us; we probably won't see another breakout success like Calvin & Hobbes, Peanuts, The Far Side or Garfield." Still, Garfield wants to be where the action is: "He's older and wider," says Davis. "He can do the same things he did when he was younger—it just takes twice the caffeine now."

Another aging comic strip favorite is Dilbert, who turns 20 this year. In October, Andrews McMeel will release more than 2,000 cartoons and extensive commentary from creator Scott Adams, Dilbert 2.0. "Cartoon humor is still a healthy business for us," says publisher Kirsty Melville, who notes that the company has sold more than 10 million Dilbert books over the years. And because Dilbert toils away at a tech company, many of his devotees are happy to find him online "He has a very active Web site and blog," says Melville. "Fans of these cartoons look for them wherever they can find them." —S.J.R.