Cathy comic strip ends on Sunday

I have previously mentioned my love for the comics page. The basic set-up and punchline routine that comedy has hinged on is perfectly illustrated in each strip. The fact that the writer could come up with something new each day would boggle my mind. I find it hard enough to come up with ideas for a blog, I can't imagine having a nationally syndicated strip. While some comics become pop culture icons (the well deserving Peanuts), others crash and burn under their own weight (For Better for Worse got hit with Boy Meets World Syndrome. What started out as a fun sitcom becomes over bloated with characters and their individual problems.)

Towards the end of its run the only funny character was the brother.

Cathy, which has been around since 1976, is a comic that is comfortable with its mediocrity. Like Dilbert, it panders to its limited audience, leaving the greater sum of the readers scratching their heads wondering what's so funny. While Dilbert's niche audience is cubicle workers and Drew Carey, Cathy finds itself speaking to self-conscious women everywhere. Why those women are seeking for answers on the comics page I have no idea. What I do know is, as I grew up and ate my Cinnamon Toast Crunch over the page I would always skip Cathy.

Best. Cereal. Ever.

Cathy was not fun to read. Cathy was desk decoration for secretaries. Maybe I'm too harsh on Cathy. A comic strip that has validated women all over America can't be so bad. I just can't believe it has run for this long. With women becoming more dominant and gender roles being blurred, Cathy just panders to the old world of womanhood. Cathy should of evolved as women all over the world did. Instead she just spent her time wearing sweatpants and debating whether to eat ice cream. After the millionth joke about eating ice cream you almost want her to quit whining and get as fat as Gilbert Grape's mom. At least then it will be interesting.

Such a sad movie.

With the final strip on Sunday, Oct. 3, is there a reason for anyone to care? This isn't Peanuts we're talking here. When Peanuts ended it was legitimately sad, never mind the fact that the last Peanuts strip was printed the day after Charles Schulz's death. Cathy has no such resonance. And newspapers are probably just going to run old Cathy strips in lieu of new strips. Cathy is going to be in syndication like Seinfeld and the fact that she has not matured at all in the past 34 years means you can just run a randomly chosen Cathy strip and none will be the wiser.

Sorry Cathy.