The discussion was lost during Comicgeddon, but I assume we’re mostly agreed that Calvin and Hobbes and Far Side had the all-time best final comics…
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In part, though, that’s because there’s a lack of significant competition. Prior to C+H, no popular strip that I can think of ended with the retirement of its original creator. The closest example would be Krazy Kat, but Herriman produced that right up until his death so he never had a chance to offer a conclusion.
I don’t remember if there was a special final strip from Cul-de-Sac. Richard Thompson’s illness may have ended new strips prior to his death.
(Checking Wikipedia..) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cul_de_Sac_(comic_strip)
” On August 17, 2012, Thompson announced that due to health issues he would be ending his work as a comic-strip creator, with his final Cul de Sac being published on September 23, 2012.[5][6].
While Thompson had originally planned to draw a final strip for the comic himself, one day before its previously announced publishing date he posted a message online, stating, “Spoiler alert – i couldn’t draw a new Sunday so tomorrow’s is a repeat too. Sorry! I’ll do better next time.”[7] That strip was a rerun originally published on February 18, 2007, which had also appeared on the back cover of the first book collection, Cul De Sac: This Exit in 2008. In it, Petey explains to Alice how comic strips are “a mighty, yet dying art form.”
“
I liked how Edge City finished its run. Knight Life’s finish wasn’t bad, either.
I liked PreTeena’s finale, with its slightly loopy predictions of the characters’ POSSIBLE futures.
Does anybody know whether Steve Canyon had a proper send-off? It’s a shame Caniff wasn’t able to give one to Terry.
I didn’t like PreTeena’s finale because I never sensed any chemistry between Teena and Gordo, and I always bristle when a girl’s highest aspiration seems to be marriage and motherhood.
Sorry about the repeat, but this comment belongs here:
For the best comic strip finale, my nomination would be the first run of “Bloom County“, especially the “mashup” incidents in which the characters look for work in other strips. Don’t expect every strip to be a perfect winner, but the overall effect was very, very good.
Are the finales of Edge City and Knight Life online anywhere? I found the final E.C., in which its character Patty, a therapist, talks to a couple who are ending their comic strip, at jewishexponent dot com/2016/01/08/for-countless-disappointed-fans-there-will-be-no-more-living-on-the-edge/ .
@ Bill – “Steve Canyon” was a King Features strip, so the archives are not openly available. Wikipedia says that Caniff “…produced the strip until his death in 1988. The strip was published for a couple of months after he died, but was ended in June 1988, due to Caniff’s decision that no one else would continue the feature“, and describes the final strip: “The last syndicated Steve Canyon strip was a tribute to Caniff in two panels, one drawn by cartoonist Bill Mauldin, the other containing the signatures of 78 fellow cartoonists.“
Ah, thanks, I do vaguely remember those last Steve Canyon panels now.
I’d have been shocked if he’d allowed the strip to continue without him: Canyon existed in the first place because he hadn’t had full control over Terry.
I nominate the final Peanuts strip, for the pure synchronicity of running the day after Schulz’ death, and it probably would have still made me cry if it hadn’t happened that way. https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2000/02/13/
Treesong, Edge City was King Features, so it’s not available without subscription. Its finale was spread over a least a couple of weeks with hints of the ending.
As for Knight Life, there was a following Sunday strip that I don’t count, but the real end was here:
Comics I Don't Understand 
In part, though, that’s because there’s a lack of significant competition. Prior to C+H, no popular strip that I can think of ended with the retirement of its original creator. The closest example would be Krazy Kat, but Herriman produced that right up until his death so he never had a chance to offer a conclusion.
I think Calvin and Hobbes. Bloom County had a nice one (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/b4/04/cfb404fc9f047503eb3104b568b5767c.jpg). But not as good as C&H, and it turned out to be a hiatus, not an ending.
I don’t remember if there was a special final strip from Cul-de-Sac. Richard Thompson’s illness may have ended new strips prior to his death.
(Checking Wikipedia..) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cul_de_Sac_(comic_strip)
” On August 17, 2012, Thompson announced that due to health issues he would be ending his work as a comic-strip creator, with his final Cul de Sac being published on September 23, 2012.[5][6].
While Thompson had originally planned to draw a final strip for the comic himself, one day before its previously announced publishing date he posted a message online, stating, “Spoiler alert – i couldn’t draw a new Sunday so tomorrow’s is a repeat too. Sorry! I’ll do better next time.”[7] That strip was a rerun originally published on February 18, 2007, which had also appeared on the back cover of the first book collection, Cul De Sac: This Exit in 2008. In it, Petey explains to Alice how comic strips are “a mighty, yet dying art form.”
“
I liked how Edge City finished its run. Knight Life’s finish wasn’t bad, either.
I liked PreTeena’s finale, with its slightly loopy predictions of the characters’ POSSIBLE futures.
Does anybody know whether Steve Canyon had a proper send-off? It’s a shame Caniff wasn’t able to give one to Terry.
I didn’t like PreTeena’s finale because I never sensed any chemistry between Teena and Gordo, and I always bristle when a girl’s highest aspiration seems to be marriage and motherhood.
Sorry about the repeat, but this comment belongs here:
For the best comic strip finale, my nomination would be the first run of “Bloom County“, especially the “mashup” incidents in which the characters look for work in other strips. Don’t expect every strip to be a perfect winner, but the overall effect was very, very good.
Are the finales of Edge City and Knight Life online anywhere? I found the final E.C., in which its character Patty, a therapist, talks to a couple who are ending their comic strip, at jewishexponent dot com/2016/01/08/for-countless-disappointed-fans-there-will-be-no-more-living-on-the-edge/ .
@ Bill – “Steve Canyon” was a King Features strip, so the archives are not openly available. Wikipedia says that Caniff “…produced the strip until his death in 1988. The strip was published for a couple of months after he died, but was ended in June 1988, due to Caniff’s decision that no one else would continue the feature“, and describes the final strip: “The last syndicated Steve Canyon strip was a tribute to Caniff in two panels, one drawn by cartoonist Bill Mauldin, the other containing the signatures of 78 fellow cartoonists.“
Ah, thanks, I do vaguely remember those last Steve Canyon panels now.
I’d have been shocked if he’d allowed the strip to continue without him: Canyon existed in the first place because he hadn’t had full control over Terry.
I nominate the final Peanuts strip, for the pure synchronicity of running the day after Schulz’ death, and it probably would have still made me cry if it hadn’t happened that way. https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2000/02/13/
Treesong, Edge City was King Features, so it’s not available without subscription. Its finale was spread over a least a couple of weeks with hints of the ending.
As for Knight Life, there was a following Sunday strip that I don’t count, but the real end was here:
And you can grab some of the older ones by starting with this one:
https://www.gocomics.com/theknightlife/2019/09/14
Here is the final Edge City…
And the final Steve Canyon…
Wow, that list of signatures is really something! Distinctive, legible, and memorable — wow!