Newspaper enterprise association (NEA)

The adventures of Adam Newman: a family man who's left the rat race in search of the perfect work-life balance ... and the world's best coffee.

Alley Oop is the classic caveman comic strip revolving around the irrepressible Alley Oop, who travels from prehistoric Moo all the way to the 21st century in his friend Doc Wonmug's time machine.

From the ugly sofa that is the center of the "Arlo and Janis" universe, this shapeshifting comic strip has been just about everywhere, from unvarnished human drama and flights of unfettered comic fantasy to unabashed pathos and pithy observational wit.

Big Nate chronicles the humor and misadventures of 11-year-old Nate Wright: sixth-grade renaissance man, self-described genius, and the all-time record holder for most detentions in school history.

"The Born Loser" began in 1965 as a strip with no central characters that revolved around the loser theme. Gradually, it developed into the comic we see today, starring lovable loser Brutus Thornapple, his wife Gladys, mother-in-law Ramona Gargle, boss Rancid Veeblefester, dim-witted son Wilberforce, and the mischievous neighbor Hurricane Hattie O'Hara.

Brevity is amusingly idiosyncratic and often uproariously funny. The single-panel comic takes bizarre and unexpected detours through pop culture and modern society, delighting in witty wordplay and situations so absurd you have to laugh.

Welcome to the absurdly wonderful world of the Otterloops. Where world-renowned picky eating, manhole-cover dancing and driving the world's smallest street-legal car are all part of the day-to-day beauty of this transcendent comic strip.

DeFlocked stars four of the most incompatible characters to ever come together on the comics page. Like a modern day Seinfeld meets Animal Farm, DeFlocked takes on the familiar to the highly ridiculous in our everyday lives.