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I’m an old man, so I remember the Golden Age of newspaper comic strips, back in the mid-80s to mid-90s when you could look forward to Gary Larson’s The Far Side and Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes every morning. Those days are long-since past, and while many artists have tried to replicate Larson’s and Watterson’s success (sometimes by outright copying their shtick or their style–unsuccessfully, I’m happy to say) few cartoonists have managed to do so. And with newspaper strips being eclipsed with independent webcomics–like Ben & Winslow and about a bazillion others–few cartoonists will really have the same opportunity.

The single panel in the middle here isn’t trying to copy the Far Side so much as one of its imitators. Also, truffles are ridiculous. Seriously, they look like scaly black lumps. How is anyone who’s never seen one before supposed to identify one?

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Andrew Kaye (known in some circles as AK) is the creator of Ben & Winslow and other questionable comics, many of which can be found in his deviantART gallery and his Tumblr. He’s also the editor-in-chief of this magazine. Duh.