During this past weekend’s joint family effort of cleaning our playroom, the kids discovered my book of Calvin & Hobbes comic strips. Before long there were peals of laughter ringing out around the home, followed by insistent requests that I find my “other” (nonexistent) Calvin & Hobbes books. Soon my collection of Bloom County comics joined C&H, along with a Dilbert book I own. To my delight and amusement, my kids got the humor instantly.

This was all such a happy scene that it was sad that I felt compelled to explain how the comics page of the newspaper used to be worth reading. I would say the 70s and the 80s were the high point for comic strips. We had Peanuts (fresh, not recycled), Ziggy, The Far Side, Bloom County, Doonesbury, Calvin & Hobbes, and Shoe. I was also a fan of the late North Carolina cartoonist Doug Marlette and his strip, Kudzu. As for Shoe, I believe I already told the story of how I once stalked cartoonist Jeff MacNelly as he shopped in the hardware store where I worked. He was a good sport, though, and humored me with an autograph that I treasured.

I know I’m old and frequently chase kids off my lawn, but I just don’t think today’s comics measure up. Still, I’m happy that my kids can enjoy the same comics that kept me entertained as a kid. That’s how you know something is a classic.