Complex sentence: The most successful (certainly the most long-running) of the new sports-based strips, was'His Sporting Lordship', a humorous hit which proved so popular that ultimately it became one of the few to outlast "Smash" itself.
Split into simpler sentences: The most successful of the new sports-based strips (certainly the most long-running!) was'His Sporting Lordship'. This humorous hit proved so popular that it ultimately became one of the few to outlast "Smash" itself.