Far and away my favorite.

She's one of the top two for me with the castaway piece alone -- very witty -- lots of variety.

The only finalist to make me laugh out loud, and she did so TWICE. The best, by a healthy margin.

not funny please dont pick this one please im begging donttttt

this is the worst of the bunch when you first look at it its like what is this it does not catch your eye at all its like your trying to figure it out terrible

Pick of the litter. No question.

best of the bunch -- choose this one.

WACK

I want to marry her. She makes me laugh.

Adding my voice to the pile.

Hers are the most thoughtful, interesting, and witty -- and I love her style, which I expect will develop as she gets older.

Love it love it. "By Whom is First Base Occupied?"

Fantastic.

Can we just start over? Remake the entire Post comics page with Olivia (at the top), Doonesbury, Dilbert, Weingarten, and a few others at nice, large scale. Save a slot to reprint an identical Judge Parker every day—no one will notice it doesn't change. Resume printing Roger Lewis's Shaping the City cartoons at full size while you're at it. For anyone who misses all the other stuff, perhaps you can provide a free link to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Better yet, put Olivia on the front page—until another Watergate or John Philip Sousa comes along, she could be the last best chance to save the Post.

Walch's humor is clever and original, as is her style. By far the best of the bunch.

All of these strips are great. They're not just better than the other contestants; they're better than most of current comics the Post publishes.

You don't really need to know who Hesiod is to appreciate the humour. The concept is brilliant and the joke basically explains itself.

Regardless, the other puns are so cleverly crafted that I doubt any of the other cartoonists would have come anywhere close to making them funny, given the same subject matter. The last thing the funnies need is another anthropomorphic animal cracking the same lasagna joke week after week. I really hope Olivia wins.

olivia's on fire!
great job.
i hope she wins.

I like this! All the strips are smart and clever, but approachable. It would be the first cartoon I would try to find, because I would always want to see Olivia's unusual and hilarious approach. Olivia, you're great! Keep doing what you do!

This one got my vote. It's the best of the ten: smart, original, well drawn. The different drawing styles and content show great versatility--from "Muffin" to Hume. Nice, very nice!

it's fabulous, the who's on first? omG! but will it fit in with the other Post comics? I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure. I hope there is room for this one. But while it's nothing like Zippy or Six Chicks, those comics seemed to get voted out for being different and this is very different!
but it's so good, can we please have it anyway?

One big reason to choose Walch is that she makes the greatest contrast with the "In Memoriam" theme dominating the comics page. I'm not just talking about strips by dead people, but strips in which nothing has happened since Judge Parker last heard a case.

Can someone please explain the Hesiod comic?

Voted for this one, and agree with other posters that it's by far the most original, smart, and humorous of all the finalists. Contrary to RichardB4, I thought the changing style made it more appealing.

Unfortunately, smart and original probably won't win this contest. Middle-brow, unoffensive, and blessed by GW probably will. But a subscriber can dream...

Anyone who references David Hume gets my vote.

I MISS THE PONIES.

Very original...maybe too origianl for a commercial comic strip. Loose the change of style for each strip. Readers like consistancy and want to be able to spot their favorites easily. Some of the humor is a little high-brow for the average newspaper reader, don't you think? "David Hume" I knew, but I had to look up "Hesiod".

Imogen Quest is truly the BEST of the best--by far. The frames are well drawn with distinctive style, the ideas are all fresh, relevant, very creative and most importantly they are really, really, really funny. This entry is not only the smartest but also the most original entry in the Top 10. To the only women in the group of finalists, I have only one message: Olivia, your work is awesome, you go Girl!

Well drawn, but this isn't America's Next Great Artist Contest. The panels merit higher marks for avoiding the typical body function jokes, but I honestly don't get this humor and cleverness. To me, these are too clever by half. Based on the comments to date, I'm either alone, with a few whose accounts have been banned, or simply dim-witted; hence, don't change a thing!

FINALLY! A genuinely funny one in the bunch! This one is only keeper in the bunch.

I think these cartoons are great! Funny, witty and so true, I also enjoy her style of art. The topics she picked I feel every one can relate to. Great Work Olivia!

I think these cartoons are great! Funny, witty and so true, I also enjoy her style of art. The topics she picked I feel every one can relate to. Great Work Olivia!

Winner winner, chicken dinner. It's obvious Olivia is the most original and clever of all the finalists.

If WaPo had more comics like this, I might actually pick up the Style section more often.

@ Olivia - You should look into animation. I can tell you're pretty handy with stills, but I think you'd have a knack for bringing these characters to life. For serious. I'll make the music for the animation and we'll pitch it to Cartoon Network. =P

"How I hated Hesiod". Funny. Of the five or so I've looked at so far, this one is my favorite.

Now listen: This is far and away the funniest of all the entries. If this doesn't win, I would ask the artist to please email me a strip every day. I understand the judges focusing on character development and commercial promise, but let's not forget, humor might actually have something to do with this contest. Every single one of these was an original thought and hilarious. The worst of these is better than the best of any of the other entries. (Also great is how the artist chooses a different drawing style to fit each strip. Adds a strange bit of dry parody into the mix).

i'll vote for this. one, because its good and two because most of the others are so lame. was this really the top ten? yikes, no wonder this art form is dying. the humor here is personal and smart without being too smart (i get the hesiod joke without knowing who hesiod is), and its not the usual tepid, second rate tv sitcom humor. the drawing style is relaxed and economical, plus there's no talking animals. she even challenges the 3-4 panel format.(it's even better than my entry, which didn't even make the gallery slide show, but i'm not bitter).

You guys kept the best for last.

This one has the lovely quirkiness in tone and artwork I liked in the Bob Erskine and Thomas Mullany one-panels, but the intelligence missing from Zachary Snyder's awkward-scientist.

This one's a keeper!

This is IMHO the most original of these.

Smart, original humor and style.

I'm liking this one more every time I read it.

In my top 3.

This is great work! Intersting, original, and of course, funny.

This one's a keeper. Distinctive and original, with lots of turf to explore.

I understand the concern about the tininess of the double-layer strips, but don't share it. I find them refreshing and fun and they open up possibilities you can't get in a three-box panel.