5. Get Fuzzy

When Bill Watterson said goodbye to Calvin & Hobbes about 15 years ago, the critic Charles Solomon wrote it had "left behind a hole in the comics page that no strip has been able to fill." Damn straight. C&H was the most brilliant comic strip ever written. But the methods and style Watterson used had been impressed upon some younger writers, and over the past several years a few strips have become successful in their own rights, though the spirit of Calvin resonates throughout. The best of these syndicated strips is Get Fuzzy.

Rob is an everyday guy who works for an ad agency, likes sports and music (and the occasional dash of nerdery), and shares his place with his cat and dog. Bucky, the cat, is aggressive, destructive, cynical, and completely egocentric. Satchel, on the other hand, is generous and sweet, though also completely dense. Due to Bucky's irrationality/hostility and Satchel's well-intended idiocy, Rob finds himself constantly playing referee. Frustration, and thus hilarity, ensues.

The strip is sharply drawn and cleverly written, touching on current events as well as general daily life. Also, it's loaded with puns! Most local and national newspapers run the strip, and it can also be read daily online. Eight collections and four treasuries (each treasury consists of two collections, natch) have been published, as well as numerous calendars and other merchandise. If you like a good chuckle in the morning, see what the guys are up to. Surely it will be some sort of trouble.