Not to take anything away from Calvin and Hobbes, but the Peanuts is the Godfather of the modern comic strip.

Agreed on Calvin. But I'd have to say that Pogo seems a bit more influential than Peanuts to modern comics to me. Just an opinion, though. :)

Being the godfather of something doesn't make it better, just older. Calvin and hobbes is a great comic that has a lot of subtle meaning to it. Peanuts is about a depressed kid and his pretentious dog.

Godfather it may be (which is probably debatable), but its children have far surpassed it.

Ultima Online is the godfather of MMOs. Doesn't mean it's the most popular :)

"Not to take anything away from Calvin and Hobbes, but the Peanuts is the Godfather of the modern comic strip."

I'm having a mental image of Charlie Brown having a Horse's head put in the bed of a rival comic...

I fully agree that Calvin & Hobbes was the greatest comic strip ever. Every time I read it, I'm amazed at how many levels it's brilliant on.

Peanuts is definitely on the list of best comics ever, along with Pogo and Bloom County.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/26271055

Glad to see Bloom County mentioned!

But I have to vote with the Peanuts crowd.

http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cpeanuts01.html

"Being the godfather of something doesn't make it better, just older. Calvin and hobbes is a great comic that has a lot of subtle meaning to it. Peanuts is about a depressed kid and his pretentious dog."

Being the godfather of something is about being the necessary predecessor or inspiration of something, which Calvin and Hobbes' creator acknowledges. I wouldn't discount the the Peanuts on the basis of thinking that that great comic doesn't also have it's own subtle levels. For starters, there's the monotony of the new suburbia, cold war malaise, the triumph of commercial values, the emergence of psychology into pop culture, and explorations of grief in, of all places, a four-panel comic strip. Take Calvin & Hobbes off their Ritalin and Zoloft for a week and -- BAM -- you're right back to the world of the Peanuts *sigh* Now please go do the Snoopy dance.