I find that both Peanuts and Garfield have long ago expended their creators' fresh ideas. Hence, there are only reruns of reruns of variations on themes. I think Calvin & Hobbes' creator Bill Waterson stopped drawing it when he saw his own strip beginning to follow that pattern. Likewise Berkley Breathed stopped drawing Bloom County for the same reason, but has since revived it under the name of its most famous character, Opus.
After all, how many new ideas can he produce for a kid whose behavior is limited to tormenting the sitter, daydreaming about Spaceman Spiff in class, playing Calvinball, avoiding contact with bath water, and a few other things? Likewise, Garfield: eating ferns, squashing spiders, eating Jon's lunch, kicking Odie off the table, attacking the maiman. Peanuts: Lucy the psychiatrist, Lucy causing Charlie Brown to land on his back, because she pulled the football away when he ran to kick it, Linus cuddling his blanket and sucking his thumb, Schroder playing the piano, Snoopy as either a fighter pilot or Joe Cool. I think Dennis the Menace remains fresh because except Sundays, it is only a single frame, rather than a strip.
Waterson did the wise thing, his strips still remain fresh, many people mourned the end of them. The other artists, or their successors refuse to drive the stake into the hearts of these old , stale strips. To young people, though they may seem fresh, but to me I am 45, and long ago had enough of them.
