The Philadelphia Inquirer got something right this week: introducing, on the comics pages, classic “Calvin and Hobbes” strips.

But it says something, something a little sad, not about the Inquirer but about the comic-strip genre, that Bill Watterson’s what, fifteen-year-old pieces, far outclass every other attempt at humor and satire in the section.

Now, before you send me send me a nasty e-mail, let me tell you that I read and enjoy, among the strips carried by the Inquirer, my main source for such material, in alphabetical order, “The Boondocks” (Aaron McGruder), “Doonesbury” (Garry Trudeau), “Mutts” (Patrick McDonnell), “Non Sequitur” (Wiley Miller), and “Pearls Before Swine” (Stephan Pastis).

And I read, for various reasons, some logical and others not, and I don’t necessarily nor always enjoy, “B.C.” (Johnny Hart), “Peanuts” (Whoever These Days), “Rex Morgan, M.D.” (Woody Wilson and Graham Nolan), and “Sally Forth” (Francesco Marciuliano and Craig Macintosh).

I would have included “Cathy,” by Cathy Guisewite, in that list, but the Inquirer bumped that strip this week to make room for “Calvin and Hobbes.”

“Ack!”

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