Jeremy Duncan has been seventeen for nearly thirty years. If that happened in real life, we’d be calling for a medical investigation or at least a very specialized therapist. But in the world of the Zits comic USA Today readers have followed since 1997, it’s just Tuesday. Or Sunday.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild how Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have kept a strip about a slouching, guitar-obsessed teenager relevant in an era where "relevance" changes every three minutes. Most comic strips from the late nineties feel like dusty relics. They’re filled with landline jokes and dated references to pagers. Yet, Zits still feels like someone took a GoPro into a modern suburban household and hit record.
The Secret Sauce of the Zits Comic USA Today Legacy
What most people get wrong about Zits is thinking it’s a comic for kids. It isn't. Not really. While teenagers might see themselves in Jeremy’s oversized sneakers and permanent state of "bored-to-death-ness," the real audience has always been the parents. You know, the ones looking at their own kids and wondering when they started speaking a language that sounds like a series of vowels and heavy sighs.
Jerry Scott, who also co-created Baby Blues, has this uncanny ability to find the universal "gold" in the chaos of family life. He teamed up with Jim Borgman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, to give the strip its signature look. Borgman’s art is basically a masterclass in physical comedy. He doesn’t just draw a teenager; he draws a lanky, liquid human who seems to be melting off the furniture.
Why the Sunday Strip Hits Different
If you’ve ever opened the paper or scrolled through the digital edition of the Zits comic USA Today provides, you’ve seen those massive Sunday spreads. They’re beautiful. Borgman often uses the extra space to experiment with surrealism. Jeremy’s room isn’t just messy; it’s an ecosystem. His parents, Walt and Connie, don’t just feel old; they literally turn into prehistoric fossils when Jeremy talks about "new" music.
- The Bedroom Abyss: A recurring gag where Jeremy’s room becomes a sentient black hole.
- The Van: The "Beast," a legendary hunk of junk that represents freedom and impending mechanical failure.
- Goat Cheese Pizza: Jeremy’s band, which is perpetually one rehearsal away from greatness (or at least a noise complaint).
How Zits Survived the Digital Cull
Newspapers have had a rough decade. We’ve seen sections shrink, local papers fold, and the "funny pages" get squeezed into tiny corners. Yet, Zits remains a staple. As of 2026, it’s still syndicated in over 1,500 newspapers worldwide. That’s because it transitioned. It didn’t just sit in the paper; it moved into the digital headspace.
You’ve probably seen the "Zits: Chillax" graphic novels or the massive treasuries like Peace, Love & Wi-Fi. The creators aren't afraid of tech. They’ve managed to integrate smartphones and social media into the strip without sounding like "old men yelling at clouds." Jeremy is still Jeremy, whether he's holding a garage door opener or an iPhone 17.
Actually, there’s a famous story from back in 2003 when a couple of newspapers freaked out because Jerry Scott used the word "sucks" in a strip. He had Jeremy mowing "this sucks" into the lawn. The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune actually asked for a censored version. Scott gave them "this stinks" instead, but he was pretty vocal about the fact that comics need to reflect how people actually talk.
The Supporting Cast: More Than Just Background
A lot of strips fail because the side characters are one-note. Zits avoids this by making the "friends" just as weirdly relatable as Jeremy.
- Hector Garcia: The best friend who is arguably more grounded but equally confused by adulthood. He’s one of the few long-standing Hispanic characters in mainstream syndication that isn't a stereotype.
- Pierce: The guy with enough piercings to trigger every TSA alarm in the country. He’s the "brave" one of the group, usually the first to try something stupid.
- Sara Toomey: The on-again, off-again girlfriend who represents the terrifying complexity of teenage romance.
What Really Happened with the "Ending" Rumors?
Every few years, a rumor floats around the internet that the Zits comic USA Today runs is finally ending. Usually, it’s sparked by a particularly poignant Sunday strip where Jeremy looks like he might actually graduate.
Don't buy it.
The beauty of the "perpetual junior year" is that it allows the creators to stay in that sweet spot of transition. If Jeremy grows up, the tension is gone. The magic is in the friction between his desire for independence and his need for someone to buy the groceries.
Borgman and Scott have a collaborative process that spans thousands of miles. They send sketches back and forth over the internet, trying to make each other laugh. As long as they’re still cracking each other up, Jeremy Duncan is going to keep slouching.
How to Get Your Daily Zits Fix Today
If you aren't catching the strip in the physical newspaper anymore, you've got options. You can find the daily Zits comic USA Today updates online, or head over to Comics Kingdom where the archive goes back decades.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the Archive: If you're a parent of a new teenager, go back and read the treasuries from the early 2000s. You'll realize that while the technology changes, the "moods" are exactly the same.
- Follow the Creators: Keep an eye on Jim Borgman’s sketchbook releases. His raw drawings often show more of the "surrealist" edge that doesn't always make it into the four-panel daily.
- Support Print: If your local paper still carries the Sunday funnies, keep that subscription. There is no better way to appreciate the scale of a Zits Sunday spread than on actual newsprint.
The reality is that Zits isn't just a comic; it's a bridge. It gives parents and kids a way to laugh at the friction that usually causes fights. It's a reminder that everyone is a "work in progress," and that's perfectly fine.
