A lot of you are going to enjoy this discussion, but pay attention: I am not going into this subject ad infinitum.

Scantily clad women are nothing new in newspaper comics. Think of Li’l Abner and The Heart of Juliet Jones and the old Buck Rogers comic strips and even our comic-strip neighbor Blondie, to give only a few obvious examples. In fact, they once were more common than they are now, as “cheesecake” has fallen in repute.

So, I am a little amused and bemused by the attention I get when I depict Janis getting dressed, as above, or in some other domestic scenario where disrobing or discreet nudity is appropriate. I’ve thought of why the body can seem more corporeal when I draw it, and I admit sometimes it does. I think I may have the answer. I’m not a good enough cartoonist to draw the body funny, and I’m not a good enough artist to draw it in idealized pin-up fashion. I slavishly copy the real thing. I can’t help it if that’s the sexiest depiction of all!