Wither the funnies of Sunday

Most of the time, I favor the present and future over the past. I think that, overall, we are making things better for ourselves and for the next generations. You can call me naïve, but I won't answer. We've eradicated diseases, brought freedom to more people in more places, and even reduced the amount of violence in the world. In spite of what you might hear from political campaigns or from the pulpit, life is getting much better for many more.

So, why, for all of our great wisdom and talent, have the Sunday funny pages become a cruel mockery of past glories?

Here's what you get now:

[caption id="attachment_3368" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Boston Sunday Globe - 1 Apr 2012 (click to enbiggen)"][/caption]

Here's what you got in April 1970 (via Whirled of Kelly - Play Ball!)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="220" caption="Pogo full-page Sunday comic - 5 Apr 1970 (click to enbiggen)"][/caption]

It wasn't just Walt Kelly's great talent for writing and drawing that made these strips so stunning. The newspapers published them, giving over a whole page to a single comic. The papers had to pay good money to do this. The papers of old made money by believing that the public were worthy of this rich nectar. The papers of new are surprised that modern readers don't savor comics made of high-fructose corn syrup.