The greatest era of comic strips inspired a modern generation who carried on the tradition of ingenuity and surprise behind the art form. With familiar names like Charles Schultz and Bill Watterson on the list of great modern writers, it’s no wonder that many readers daily open the pages of their paper to the comic strip section.

1. “Peanuts” with Charles Schultz

   Perhaps the greatest modern cartoonist, Charles Schultz will be remembered for generations, thanks to the likes of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Lucy. With his keen perception of human nature and a surprisingly philosophical bent, Peanuts delivered a daily dose of hope and humor with a sympathetic eye for the hopeless, troubled, and generally downtrodden members of the masses. With characters ranging from self-confident Lucy to woefully self-defeated Charlie Brown, everyone has a “Peanut” with whom he or she can readily identify.

2. “Calvin and Hobbes” with Bill Watterson

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   Despite its relative short life in the history of great comics, Calvin and Hobbes is unforgettable for its fans, who keep the strip’s memory alive through websites, book sales, and ever-circulating emailed strips. Bill Watterson’s witty, clever stories are surpassed only by his incredible artistic detail, with soaring landscapes and subtle colors that elevate his strips to new artistic heights. Although his battle with the industry regarding the shrinking space for comics would help drive him into early retirement, his collected works offer additional stories which escape the boundaries of the simple comic strip panes.

3. “The Far Side” with Gary Larson

   For a single panel, the world of The Far Side packed a serious measure of dark humor and wry scenarios into a small square tucked in the corner of the comic strip page. With an impressive cult following despite years of retirement, Gary Larson’s work has become infused with modern pop culture through a series of strange cows, irate chickens, unidentifiable aliens, and other unforgettable characters who defied the limits of the single panel.

4. “Dilbert” with Scott Adams

   When a computer guy married business and humor into a comic strip designed for the downtrodden white collars of the world, he unleashed a powerful force from the grass-roots world of comic strips. Dilbert progressed from an anomaly in the newspaper pages to a cartoon beloved even to blue collar workers, who embrace its shrewd perception of the work world in general and humans especially. With characters whose artwork is a few steps above stick figures, Scott Adams crafts surprisingly involved expressions betraying the level of sympathy, surprise, and sometimes twisted fiendishness lurking behind his characters, while others (like Dogbert, for instance) need nothing more than a wagging tail and clever remark to carry out a world domination plan.

5. “Pearls Before Swine” with Stephan Pastis

   Ranging from the clever to cliche in humor, the characters of “Pearls Before Swine” are transformed from simple vehicles into platforms for satire. Rat’s dark broodings and “Angry Bob” stories are a glimpse into the ironies of human despair; simple-minded Pig, who always sees the sunny side, experiences moments of the profound. In between it all is a range of irresistible stories and scenarios, bound in books with laugh-out-loud titles like “Sgt. Piggy’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “The Saturday Evening Pearls” — complete with a Rockwellesque cover.

6. “B.C.” with Johnny Hart

   As if articulate cave-dwelling characters from prehistoric times aren’t enough potential for humor, “B.C.” managed to squeeze in corny jokes, clever one-liners, and a series of much-beloved side characters (ranging from a family of ants to an anteater). With a touch of the profound and even a few reverent moments, Johnny Hart’s B.C. is a piece of the human experience balanced with a light touch of eye-rolling humor.

With many of these cartoons slowly fading from the papers (and many of these cartoonists having passed on), readers await a new generation to fill the vacancies. As new writers master the art and philosophy behind this newspaper tradition, their work will play host to characters every bit as unforgettable as Snoopy, Ratbert, Hobbes, and Pig.