A history in panels: The Albany, N.Y., Times Union examines the allure of the newspaper comic strip, and traces the history of sequential art from prehistoric France through the creation of Superman to the online syndication of Dilbert:

"It seems a humble thing, really, the comic strip: 5 5/8 inches wide, 1 1/2 inches high in the daily paper (bigger and in color on Sundays). Over a few panels a joke is told, a prank executed, a story line slightly advanced by recurring characters, then it's over. Much of each day's comics section, admittedly, is pretty uninspired stuff -- worth a smile at most. The cumulative effect of regular morning encounters, however, can be powerful. The noted communications scholar Marshall McLuhan observed that comics, with characters that are both friends of and stand-ins for readers, 'provide a sort of magically recurrent daily ritual.'"