Stephen McCranie created the comic strip Mal and Chad as a feature for his college newspaper. It's about a boy and his pet dog (there's a robot in there somewhere, too, so be still mah heart!) and if the premise looks familiar to you, you're not alone.

A lot of people have compared Mal and Chad to its archetypal predecessors (if you will): Calvin and Hobbes, Tintin and Snowy, Charlie Brown and Snoopy - and I think they're on the right track. Fifteen years after Bill Watterson retired and ended Calvin and Hobbes, the world desperately needs a replacement.

I, for one, am cheering Stephen McCranie and his super-fun creation on, and you should too. Check out Mal and Chad here: Link

P.S. Stephen is also kind enough to do a feature on Neatorama's Art Blog here.

P.P.S. Stephen also drew us this fantastic fan art (Thanks Stephen!)