Comic strip books appeal to range of senses of humor

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.