Lower Slobbovia (was "Silicon" (geog.))

[Baker, John]

        Slobbovia was intended as a parody of the Soviet Union.  The name
may have been influenced by Slovenia.

        L'l Abner started in the mid-1930s, so perhaps it should be judged
by the standards of the pre-WWII strips.  (Online resources give dates from
1934 to 1936; I'm at my office, so can't immediately check a more reliable
source.)  The preeminent status of Peanuts and Doonesbury, in that order,
among postwar strips is well-established.  Third place is not as clear, but
Pogo and Calvin & Hobbes are probably the best contenders.  Note that most
strips have a period of no more than a few years when they are at the top of
their game.  The later years of L'il Abner, Peanuts, and Pogo are a far cry
from those strips at their best.

        Although Dilbert does not rank among the great strips, it clearly
struck a chord in evoking the modern workplace.


John Baker