The City by John Backderf for May 21, 2014

Say it ain’t so…

What? I’ts done? Nooooo!

It would appear so. Always loved this comic.

If this is the end I am going to miss this strip. I almost never agreed with your politics but you are an outstanding entertainer. Thank you for sharing your wit, sarcasm, and wonderfully insightful and hilarious talent.And a great exit strip, also. Good luck in whatever you do next.

…Good luck…

So long, John. It’s been fun.

We read Derf’s The City in Lexington’s Ace Magazine over 20 years ago—it’s still as great as ever. Goodbye and Good Luck, I shall really miss it and your wit.

Looks like Derf is doing well and decided to dedicate his time to graphic novels. Here’s a post, worth a read:

http://derfcity.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-end-of-city.html

What are ’morans?"

Morons misspelled.

Gonna miss this strip.

A sad day for you ‘The City’ fans but great good luck in your future endeavors.

Nooooooooo!

Thanks for everything, you were awesome!

I miss you already. Best of luck in future endeavors.

Will definitely miss your work.

I truly hope that this isn’t the end. Or, at least, that this is only a temporary stoppage. I have the “True Story” strip that I sent in the suggestion for as a screensaver.

Thanks, everyone. It’s no joke. After 24 years, I’m done. No more new City strips. Only graphic novels from here on. It’s all good. I simply don’t have time anymore to do a weekly strip. However… Gocomics has asked me to post my archive here, starting when the strip debuted in 1990. It’s true! The City is now officially a “corpse strip.” Thanks for reading. Adios, amigos.

Good luck for the future, Derf. This from an old Clevelander…

If this is the end, John, then thank you for the strip. I’ve enjoyed your work since ‘My Friend Dahmer’ as both a wanna-be artist and a fellow Ohioan. (One question though… You’re gonna go out on the Carol Burnett song? Really?)

Hey! Carol rules!

Thanks, man.

I’ve enjoyed this strip, especially the artwork. I’ll have to look for the graphic novels.

+1 to ubermick. Thanks for the many years, and hope to have you back in this format someday.

Your strip is relevant and so well drawn for these times. Thanks for capturing the excess of our times. Happy trails.

Derf’s strip was one of the 3 best socio-political strips in the country, including Loyd Dangle’s strip (and insert your own 3rd here). It wasn’t just funny and almost always politically spot-on, but it also had SOUL—something almost entirely absent in this country now. It was in an affordable form. Many of us were financially destroyed in 2008 are no longer in the middle-class and cannot afford graphic novels. Good luck Derf, in your future endeavors. You will be truly missed from what appears to be a very American and very dying art form.

Understand your need to move on, but my Sunday’s will be one smile shy from here on and smiles are hard to come by nowadays. Great good luck!

Good luck, going to miss the strip

Thanks for all the laughs. While I respect your decision to move on, I’ll miss “The City” strips. Best wishes, and hope to see some reruns online at some point.

VERY bummed to see the last “The City” panels. Loved it, and it had a real punch. Looking forward to future creations from a truly great artist. Cheers to you, sir.

I’m SO hating this news! The City has been my favorite comic strip for quite a few years.

I’m just finding out, as I would usually allow several weeks to accumulate then to increase the enjoyment… What are we going to do now?

I wish Derf would read these comments to see how much he’s going to be missed but I don’t have a lot of hope about it. He’s almost impossible to reach, has no comment space in his blog nor an e-mail to write to.

Couldn’t he just at least draw a The City strip every now and then just for the fun of it? That would be so great…