I’ve looked out for Bristow since the mid-1970s when I was a fresh-faced articled clerk in a firm of accountants in Birmingham. Mr Bristow, buying clerk (19th in line for Chief Buyer), was a kindred spirit. Running since 1961, the Frank Dickens-created strip was a fixture in the Birmingham Mail at the time. Though I lost track of Bristow in later life and Dickens died in 2016, happily Facebook still remembers him with a daily insert.

Surely the master of the one-paner, Gary Larson. His offbeat takes on somehow familiar situations ran for 15 years. There was a hiatus from 1995 when it appeared the great man had done with cartooning, happily to re-emerge with new work in early 2020.

Probably the British favourite during the 1960s, the stereotype of a British (un)working man has been running since 1957. Reg Smythe was the creator, the flame carried by others since Smyth’s death in 1998.

Dilbert, created by Scott Adams in 1989, is very much an American product taking aim at the absurdities of corporate life. I love it but it never seems to appear or have gained traction this side of the Pond.

Peanuts, very much a product of American culture yet instantly recognisable here in GB. Charles M Schulz wrote and illustrated the strip from 1950 to his death in 2000 and it’s remarkable for not only its longevity but its continued popularity and striking of chords.

So what’s your favourite? Have I outraged you by missing an obvious strip out (like I am by the continuing absence of Rory Gallagher from any list of great guitarists when he’s in the top few)? Has the day of the comic strip gone, overtaken by new and more cutting edge humour? What say you?