While most folks would be familiar with the popularly syndicated Get Fuzzy strip, and many of you might know Mr. Glasbergen’s illustrative style by his work on the long-running “The Better Half” as well as his cartoon books, greeting cards, etc. Fewer of you are acquainted with the work of Mr. Jantze and The Norm.

The Norm seems to take place in real-time, with his main character (Norm, of course!) going through bachelorhood, XGFs (ex-girlfriends), career changes, and getting married. It is a clever strip, entertaining, and the art/narrative style brings to mind what might have happened should Bill Watterson’s Calvin ever grown up.

But don’t take MY word for it — visit The Norm website and subscribe to his daily cartoon. It’s free, funny, and a great way to start your day. If you enjoy the strip and want to catch-up on the stories that came before, visit The Norm store and purchase a few of the boxed-sets collected past srips into a mini-magazine format. They’ll look as good on your bookshelf as they do on mine!

Other cool (and free!) stuff on The Norm site:

• The Norm-a-thon is a pop-up you’ll LIKE. Enjoy Norm toons all day on your desktop.

• The eLibrary — here you’ll find a collection of toons on specific topics and storylines. Lots of good stuff here, especially the XGF book and the collection of Normisms.

• and of course the requisite desktop wallpaper, icons, and eCards

Still not convinced? Here’s a perfect example of why I read The Norm: Check it out!

…incidentally, if you’re a Get Fuzzy fan, the Washington Post hosted an interesting online chat with its creator, Darby Conley. You can read the transcript here.