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# Not Sparking Joy: Why Zits' Latest Treasury Misses the Mark in 2025
For decades, the comic strip *Zits* has been a comforting fixture on the funny pages, a daily dose of relatable teen angst and parental exasperation. Jeremy Duncan, the perpetually 15-year-old aspiring rock star, and his long-suffering parents, Walt and Connie, have navigated the everyday absurdities of adolescence and middle age with a gentle humor that resonated with millions. However, the announcement of a new treasury titled "Not Sparking Joy: A Zits Treasury" inadvertently highlights a growing sentiment among readers and critics alike: that in the rapidly evolving media landscape of 2025, even beloved, long-running comic strips can struggle to maintain their relevance and, indeed, their ability to "spark joy" when consumed in bulk.
This isn't a dismissal of *Zits*'s historical charm or its creators' talent; rather, it’s an informed critique of how a collection, by its very nature, can expose the inherent challenges and limitations of a formulaic, decades-long serialized narrative. While the daily strip once offered a fleeting moment of recognition, a treasury, especially one in the current cultural climate, risks amplifying its repetitive nature, dated humor, and missed opportunities for deeper engagement, ultimately leaving readers with a sense of déjà vu rather than delight.
The Echo Chamber of Repetition: When Comfort Becomes Stagnation
The core appeal of a syndicated comic strip often lies in its comforting predictability. We return to the characters because they are familiar, their predicaments universally understood. However, when these daily doses are amassed into a treasury, that comfort can quickly morph into stagnation, particularly for a strip like *Zits* that adheres strictly to its foundational premise.
The Peril of the Perpetual Teenager
Jeremy Duncan has been 15 years old since 1997. While this eternal adolescence is a cornerstone of *Zits*'s appeal – allowing new generations to find themselves in his struggles – a treasury spanning years or even decades throws this lack of character evolution into stark relief. In an era where narrative progression and character arcs are highly valued across all media, from prestige television to popular webtoons, Jeremy's unchanging age and unchanging problems can feel less like a charming conceit and more like a narrative cul-de-sac.
Consider the evolution seen in other long-running comics, even those with static characters. *Peanuts*, while never aging its cast, allowed for subtle shifts in dynamics and emotional depth over its run. Modern webcomics like *Lore Olympus* or *Heartstopper*, though not daily strips, captivate Gen Z audiences precisely because their characters grow, their relationships evolve, and their stories have clear trajectories. A *Zits* treasury, by contrast, presents hundreds of strips where Jeremy remains trapped in the same developmental stage, repeating the same rites of passage, which can feel jarring and unfulfilling for a 2025 audience accustomed to dynamic storytelling.
The Recycling of Relatability
Beyond character stasis, the humor itself, when consumed in bulk, reveals its own patterns of repetition. The core jokes of *Zits* – Jeremy's messy room, his band practice woes, his struggles with girls, Walt's midlife angst, and Connie's saintly patience – are revisited countless times. While each individual strip might land a chuckle, a treasury transforms these recurring gags into glaringly obvious tropes.
Flipping through pages of identical "Jeremy's room is a disaster" strips or "Walt tries to bond with Jeremy" scenarios highlights a comedic reliance on formula rather than fresh insight. In 2024-2025, online content creators on platforms like TikTok or Instagram are constantly innovating, finding new angles and ironic twists on everyday situations. Their humor thrives on rapid evolution and unexpected punchlines. A *Zits* treasury, with its comfortable but predictable humor, can feel like a relic from a different comedic era, where the slow burn of repetition was part of the charm, rather than a potential pitfall.
Dated Humor and the Shifting Sands of Youth Culture (2024-2025)
One of the greatest challenges for any long-running strip depicting contemporary life is staying current. *Zits*, focusing on a teenager, is particularly vulnerable to the rapid shifts in youth culture, technology, and social norms. A treasury, collecting strips from various periods, inadvertently becomes a time capsule that often feels more dusty than delightful.
From Dial-Up to Digital Divide: A Lag in Laughter
While *Zits* has attempted to incorporate modern technology, its efforts often feel a step behind the lightning-fast pace of digital evolution. Jokes about flip phones, early social media platforms, or even specific apps that peaked years ago can populate a treasury, making the humor feel instantly dated to a 2025 reader. The digital natives of Gen Z and Alpha are immersed in an ever-changing landscape of AI tools, new social apps (e.g., BeReal, Threads, niche Discord servers), and evolving online slang that changes almost weekly.
A strip from 2010 about Jeremy texting on a basic smartphone, while once relatable, now feels quaint. The humor derived from such scenarios often relies on a shared, current understanding of technology, which rapidly evaporates. Compare this to the immediate, hyper-current humor found in memes or viral videos, which directly reflect the zeitgeist. *Zits*'s attempts to bridge the digital divide in a treasury format often highlight the gap rather than closing it, leading to a "not sparking joy" experience for those seeking contemporary relevance.
Stereotypes vs. Nuance: The Generational Chasm
*Zits* often relies on broad generational stereotypes: the tech-obsessed, angst-ridden teen; the clueless, midlife-crisis-prone boomer dad; the exasperated but loving Gen X mom. While these can provide a shorthand for humor, when presented in bulk, they can feel reductive and less nuanced than what contemporary media offers. The "teenager glued to their phone" gag, for instance, while rooted in truth, often lacks the deeper understanding of how digital connection fosters communities, creativity, and learning for today's youth.
Modern storytelling, particularly in content aimed at younger demographics, strives for greater authenticity and a more nuanced portrayal of characters, avoiding simplistic archetypes. A treasury that repeatedly leans on these broad strokes can feel out of touch, failing to capture the complex realities of modern family dynamics and adolescent life. While some might argue these are timeless tropes, the execution in a treasury can make them feel like tired clichés rather than enduring truths, especially when juxtaposed against more insightful contemporary narratives.
The Missed Opportunity: More Than Just a Chronological Dump
A treasury, by definition, implies a collection of valuable items. Yet, many comic strip treasuries, including what "Not Sparking Joy" implies, often miss the opportunity to truly elevate the material beyond a simple chronological dump of strips.
The Art of the Anthology: What a Treasury *Could* Be
A truly joyful treasury wouldn't just be a compilation; it would be a celebration. It would offer context, analysis, and a deeper dive into the strip's creation and impact. Imagine a *Zits* treasury with behind-the-scenes sketches, interviews with creators Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman discussing the evolution of characters, thematic collections (e.g., "The Best of Jeremy's Bands," "Walt's Worst Midlife Crises"), or essays exploring the strip's place in popular culture.
Treasuries like *The Complete Peanuts* series, with its detailed introductions and historical context, or the meticulously curated *Calvin and Hobbes* collections, offer readers an enriching experience that goes beyond the daily laughs. The very title "Not Sparking Joy" suggests a lack of this added value, implying a straightforward, unadorned collection that fails to provide the rich contextual layers that could truly make it a valuable artifact rather than just a large book of comics.
The Aesthetic and Experiential Letdown
Beyond content, the physical presentation of a treasury plays a crucial role in its perceived value and enjoyment. Poor paper quality, small panel reproductions, or a lack of thoughtful design can significantly diminish the reading experience. In an era where graphic novels are often produced with high-quality printing and luxurious finishes, a basic, uninspired treasury can feel like a budget-conscious afterthought. If the physical object itself doesn't "spark joy" through its craftsmanship and presentation, the content, no matter how beloved, struggles to shine.
Counterarguments and Responses: Reconsidering the Comfort Zone
Some might argue that *Zits*'s unchanging nature is precisely its charm, offering a consistent, lighthearted escape. They might contend that not every comic needs to evolve or be hyper-current; its purpose is simply to provide a daily chuckle. Furthermore, for many, *Zits* evokes powerful nostalgia, a connection to simpler times or their own adolescence.
However, while these points hold true for daily consumption, a treasury amplifies the experience, often to its detriment. The very constancy that offers comfort in small doses can, when aggregated, feel like stagnation. Nostalgia, while potent, can also be a double-edged sword. A comprehensive collection can inadvertently expose how much culture has moved on, making the humor feel outmoded rather than timeless, thereby breaking the nostalgic spell rather than reinforcing it. True nostalgia often thrives on curated highlights, not an exhaustive, repetitive archive. The challenge for a treasury is to transcend mere collection and offer something more – a curated, insightful experience that justifies its bulk.
Conclusion: A Gentle Farewell to a Fading Era
The "Not Sparking Joy: A Zits Treasury" inadvertently serves as a poignant commentary on the state of traditional syndicated comic strips in 2025. While *Zits* holds a cherished place in comic history and has brought smiles to countless faces, a bulk collection in the current media landscape struggles to resonate with the dynamism and narrative expectations of modern audiences.
It highlights the inherent limitations of perpetual stasis, the rapid obsolescence of topical humor, and the missed opportunities for deeper engagement that a treasury format could and should offer. Perhaps it's a gentle nudge for the comic strip medium itself to evolve, to explore new narrative formats, character developments, and interactive experiences that truly "spark joy" in a new generation. For now, this particular *Zits* treasury, rather than being a vibrant celebration, feels more like a wistful reminder of an era that, while fondly remembered, might finally be fading into the archives.
