For some people, reading their favorite comic in the newspaper is a daily routine. But if the daily dose grows into a full-blown appetite for laughs, these comic books, featuring favorite comic strips, may be able to produce a much-needed giggle.
"THE ARGYLE SWEATER" by Scott Hilburn, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 128 pages, $12.99
"The Argyle Sweater" debuted in December 2006, and its popularity boomed from Internet success. The comic appears in more than 130 newspapers nationwide.
Scott Hilburn writes witty, one-box comics that focus around animal humor, nursery rhymes and fairy tales. The well-done illustrations are funny and colorful, which fans may not know if they have only seen it on newsprint.
The jokes are clean enough for kids and will get laughs from adults who understand a dry wit.
Each page contains at least two comics, for a total of almost 300 comics.
The comics are also featured on recycled-paper greeting cards.
"STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES: A Mutt's Treasury" by Patrick McDonnell, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 207 pages, $16.99
The popular cartoon "Mutt" runs in more than 700 newspapers and 20 countries every day.
The characters of the comic strip, Mooch the cat and Earl the dog, travel through the span of one year together in "Stop and Smell the Roses." The book follows their simple adventures and teaches a few life lessons as the duo go through the seasons.
Each drawing is simple, with simple captioning. The strips are most often in black and white.
The jokes are sweet, honest truths and are appropriate for any age.
"IF YOU WEREN'T A HEDGEHOG … IF I WEREN'T A HEMOPHILIAC …" by Andrew Weldon, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 259 pages, $14.99
Dark humor is at its best in cartoonist Andrew Weldon's newest book.
The sometimes off-color and crude captions are teamed with simple, Simpson-esque drawings.
For example, "Staples — the poor man's piercing" features a male with tongue, nose and ear piercings. This illustrates the type of humor Weldon is known to use.
Subject matter includes unusual scenarios involving technology and aging.
The book contains more than 230 cartoons, all in black and white.
Weldon's cartoons are also used on Ink Group greeting cards.
"IGNORANCE, THY NAME IS BUCKY" by Darby Conley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 128 pages, $12.99
The cartoon "Get Fuzzy" gets its name from the idea that living with pets is not always a warm and fuzzy experience.
The cat, dog and owner from the cartoon star in the new book, "Ignorance, Thy Name is Bucky." They come together in this fun story that follows Bucky the cat's dream of making a movie.
The main story is broken up by short comic bits and then returns to the full-length story.
The clean, quirky comic has detailed drawings, some of them in full color.
"Get Fuzzy" appears in 650 newspapers worldwide.
"FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR PEOPLE FINDING OUT YOU'RE USELESS" by Scott Adams, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 127 pages, $12.99
The office antics of Dilbert have once again been put into a book.
The full-color pages are filled with laughs that build from each comic to the next.
Since 1989, Scott Adams has been doodling Dilbert for more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide. The popular comic is even translated into 23 languages.
"Freedom's Just Another Word for People Finding Out You're Useless" contains an introduction from the author that jokes about being worthless around the office. The theme resonates throughout the book, ensuring laughs and not-so-valuable comic insight.
"BREVITY 4" by Guy Endore-Kaiser and Rodd Perry, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 126 pages, $12.99
Making parodies and ironies into hilarious illustrations make "Brevity 4" a book for all ages.
The singe-frame comics usually contain humor on pop culture and everyday life.
The authors' sense of humor is summed up in the book's dedication. Endore-Kaiser dedicated the book to his brain, thanking it for helping him write the jokes. Perry dedicated it to the candy bar, Kit Kat, and wrote that the candy paid him a promotional fee.
The comic, "Brevity," is featured in 150 newspapers and gets its name from the idea that it is better to be brief.
E-mail: jnicholls@desnews.com