Obscurity of the Day: Balderdash

Wayne Stayskal is a leading light among editorial cartoonists, but he's also kept his hand in on the comics page over the years. He's had three syndicated features, and Balderdash was the one in the middle between Trim's Arena and Ralph. Balderdash is by far the weakest entry of the three.

The star of the show, a dog named Balderdash, has a penchant for tired one-liners that gets old real quick. Other characters are his dog pal, Oscar, the neighborhood bully dog, Floyd, and Balderdash's owner, George.In an impressive exercise of self-aggrandizement, the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate's sales literature for the strip likened Balderdash to Offissa Pupp of Krazy Kat, Little Orphan Annie's Sandy and Peanuts' Snoopy. Um ... no.

Balderdash was offered from 1983 to 1984 but I have no exact dates. Anyone?