In 1998, cartoonist James Kochalka bought a sketchbook and forced himself to keep a daily diary in the form of a four-panel comic strip. The Sketchbook Diaries, the first volume to collect the results, presents what may be the best daily comic strip since Peanuts. (The sad irony being that it doesn't appear daily anywhere but James' sketchbook - the material, while often very cute, is ultimately too personal and blatantly honest for a daily paper.)

David Lasky