To say we live in uncertain times is an understatement:

• The U.S. economy is in a deep recession and the pillars of our economy, banks, are failing left and right.
• We’re in two wars and peace in the Middle East seems even further away than before.
• Global warming is making our weather wackier.

Even though we just inaugurated a new President who is calm, cool, and collected, it’s hard to chill out.  I think it’s human nature to worry, to see all the potential pitfalls when things are looking a little glum.  It doesn’t seem to matter that we’ve been through things like this before.  It always feels different and it’s human nature to expect the worst.

Comic strips, especially funny ones, have always been a great daily escape.  I got through the early 1990s  reading the daily funnies.   My enthusiasm of graduating from college was being severely tempered by a recession, a war in Iraq, and a Bush in the White House (sounds familiar, huh).  My daily read of the paper started with the funny pages: Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, and the newly started Dilbert got my day going right.

But what about today?  Newspapers are shedding comic strips left and right. Most strips online are difficult to read en masse: you have to go to their individual websites to see them.  Where can we get the same experience as a daily strip read online?   Fortunately, there are a few options but they have some limitations:

• Comics Curmudgeon – This blog compiles many of the popular comic strips today into one easily scannable read.  Even better, Josh Fruhlinger, the author, provides great color commentary on the comics.  While it’s a great compilation, it isn’t necessarily your compilation.  What Josh likes may not be what you like (and vice versa).  Still, if you need a way to get your fix, this might be it.
• iGoogle – Google’s do-it-yourself portal has a way to add any gadget under the sun, including comic strip ones.  Many popular comic strips are available to be added as an iGoogle gadget.  While this is definitely cool, you tend to be very limited with what strips can be added.  Most of the major syndicates have iGoogle gadgets so those are covered, but independent strips tend to not be there.  So, while you can get your fix, you still may be craving the strip you want.
• Zingerding (coming soon) -  Our goal is provide fans with some of the best tools to consume their comics online.  Also, all of our content will be completely independent and unique.  It’s comics the way you want them.   Sign up now to learn more.

Berekley Breathed, the gifted artist of Bloom County, Outland, and Opus, had a rare gift of combining timely topics along with humor and beautiful imagery. While there are certainly lots of topical comic strip artists (Gary Trudeau of Doonesbury), humorous ones (Gary Larson of Far Side), and masterfully drawn ones (Hal Foster of Prince Valiant), very rarely do you see anyone with all three talents. Berkeley Breathed, in the eyes of this author, seemed to have all three.

But in November 2008, Berkeley Breathed retired Opus leaving, for the third time in his career, a huge void in the comic strip world.

A question you might ask, Where is the next Berkeley Breathed? It’s probably impossible to compare one artist to another. Still, here are a few that artist mentioned are probably worth a look:

• Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) – Pearls Before Swine is the comic strip tale of two friends: a megalomaniacal Rat who thinks he knows it all and a slow-witted Pig who doesn’t know any better. This strip has a great chemistry quirkiness to it that is reminiscent of Berkeley Breethed’s Bloom County Opus and Bill the Cat. It also can be extremely timely/political as is the case of a recent comic discussing our national debt.
• Jerry Holkins (writer) Mike Krahulik (Penny Arcade) – Penny Arcade is a webcomic that (primarily) topical video gaming news comic, there is little plot or general continuity. While video game culture wasn’t covered by Berkeley Breathed, Penny Arcade’s appeal to geek culture aligns closely with Bloom County. For example, a famous Bloom County featured the gang running away from the AT&T globe logo of the 1980s, calling it “the Death Star!” noting its resemblance to the iconic Star Wars space station. If that isn’t geekdom, I don’t know what is!
• Aaron McGruder (Boondocks) – Boondocks is an episodic series about inner-city African-American kids who move the suburbs. Inspired by Bloom County, Aaron McGruder captures the language and the culture that usually not represeted in comic strips. McGruder has acknowledged with a few aspects of the strip bearing more than a passing resemblance to important Bloom County features. Additionally, episode of the animated series where Uncle Ruckus calls Breathed “Master Penguin Draw’er”.

While it is probably foolish to ask “Where is the next Berkeley Breathed,” a little digging into the modern comic strips reveal some gems. In many ways, modern comic strip artists somewhat owe their careers to Berkeley Breathed.  He has shown how you can create a long (and prosperous) career out of being a comic strip artist.  He was a model of his craft in his day like the folks mentioned here are trying to be ours.

Marilla and Hank continue their pitch to the syndicate. This is a challenging process — you never know exactly what the editor is looking for…

If you haven’t read the previous two strips, check out the first and second strips.

Wired Magazine’s blog recently posted a great post about cool tech comic strips for 2008.   Some of the subjects covered included:

1. Proposed Yahoo! purchase by Microsoft
2. Google’s dominance
3. Cell Phone bans in cars

It always amazes me how a simple picture can speak volumes.   In this world where snapping a photo (and sharing it) is as easy as answering the phone, a comic strip provides a perfect prism to see the world a little less than perfectly.

You know something has gone mainstream when it is featured on NPR!

Penny Arcade, the geeked out comic strip, was featured in a story earlier this week.

They comment on how it represents a resurgence in comic strips.  We at ZIngerding think so too.

Let us know what you think.