Continuing our mini-retrospective in commemoration of the anniversary of Arlo & Janis, here are two strips from 1989, starring young son Gene. Gene always has favored his mother, obviously, and it’s apparent here in that weird pug nose that they concurrently outgrew in later years. Once my drawing style settled down a bit, Arlo has remained largely unchanged, haircut notwithstanding.
44 responses to “From the Gene Pool”
I never noticed before how different the noses are: The bridge of Janis’s nose today is quite long and also horizontal (something I can’t manage to look like), while the underside of her nose is not nearly as vertical as in these early cartoons.
There was a children’s chapter book I read when I was a boy—the boy protagonist in it invented things; he invented a town fire siren (a rotating disk with holes) to replace the old clanging iron piece—and the faces there were so similar to A and J, mouths sometime on the side of a profile face, perhaps a lower lip suggested and not drawn. It was sketchier, though, done by a Nordic fellow, I think. I’ve been trying for years to think of the title, but all I described is all I have to go on.
I miss child Gene’s often snarky but always hilarious sense of humor…
Re 8-1-19 real-time cartoon (You didn’t really think I’d let that one pass, did you?): Yes, Arlo, I see where you’re looking. IIRC, half of all women have breasts that are composed of 50% or more fat, so weight loss could make them appear a bit smaller. However, assuming Janis is an average sized C-cup, the total weight of her breasts would probably be no more than two and half pounds. (Yes, of course I did the math.) Therefore, one would assume that a total body weight loss of two and a half pounds would have a very minimal, if any, effect on the apparent size of her breasts. So, Arlo, like Janis, you should stop worrying about it. I will say, however, that the size and shape of Janis’s nose appears to not be the only thing that has changed over they years.
Janis has aged well. She is far more attractive as a “matron” than in 20s.
Gene is much more likeable as an adult and father.
Now please tell me Jimmy how they qualify for Senior rates at the gym.
I know the frustration of forgotten titles! I shared your book description for my librarian and other bookish friends on Facebook. Maybe it will ring a bell with someone. Any idea when the book was written?
Interesting – I tried to post that as a reply to DJJG but it would work. Then I deleted a sentence that included a link and it posted. Maybe I’ll try the link by itself.
Nope! Try searching for this article: The Boy Inventor in American Series Fiction: 1900-1930 by Francis J. Molson. Probably won’t help DJJG but it’s interesting anyway.
Dear Ruth Anne in Winter Park,
Thank you! Alas, you were right—the book(s) I am thinking of instead date most likely from the ’60s. But the look of today’s last panel (August 2) has Janis’s jaw just like them! Long jaw, smile on the side.
One of the Great Spirit parent peregrines.
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/falcon-nest-cam
Peace,
Sitting in car at grocery. Stopped for a premade guacamole to spread on my lunch pita bread sandwich.
Looked up to see 49 cent pound chicken/whole chicken. Went “Wow! Buy me one!”
Degree of excitement has certainly got a low bar now.
Time for a beer-butt chicken on the grill/smoker! 😀
Great stuff Mr. Johnson. Keep ’em coming!
Ok, you have to have a spy camera in our house! So many of your strips are total matches for our daily life, comments, routines, on and on! We’ll pretend your not watching! Keep up the good work!
This is the first time all day – since midnight – that my marker in my “favorites” list has gotten me here. Several of you other Villagers seem to have made it at various times, though. I wonder if there is any connection to an extremely long set of updates about 2 days ago.
I actually cooked a meal! Ghost ate it with enthusiasm. Pork loin roast, sweet carrots. big butter beans and corn bread.
Trying again tomorrow. Same pork, new sides.
Your roast sounds wonderful! Maybe tomorrow make sandwiches with some of the roast and have either cole slaw or cucumber salad as a side. Corn on the cob would be good too. Wow, now I’m getting hungry.
That does sound delicious Jackie! I’m thinking of doing a smoked port tenderloin tomorrow. It will be stuffed with Green Goddess cream cheese, wrapped with bacon. We will have new potatoes in butter and either steamed broccoli or yellow squash. Only a smallish serving of the starches for me… I finally got my HgA1C down to 6.4 on the most recent check!
My wife and I just got in from a star party sponsored by the National Park Service and our local astronomy club. I had at least 40 people view the crescent moon, Jupiter, and Saturn through my telescope. It’s fun to share this hobby with people!
Re the 8-1-19 retro cartoon, Part I: I have a manlier nightlight.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71l%2BEbgHm7L._SX425_.jpg
You never know who you will see at our boutique, Part I:
Two weeks ago today, a rather striking woman came into our boutique, accompanied by a small group of older ladies. And the following Monday, when Jackie found her Facebook entry about the visit, which involved a “girls’ day out” with her mom and some of her mom’s friends, I immediately remembered her…for some reason. Turns out she is Lori Fullbright, a longtime crime news reporter/evening anchor at Channel 6 in Tulsa. (Neither Jackie nor I watch TV, so we didn’t recognize her at the time. We were honored to have her in our shop, albeit retroactively.)
This is her on the left. I would have gladly posed with her for a photo like that…all she’d have had to do was ask. 😉
https://www.facebook.com/LoriFullbrightNewsOn6/photos/a.369021143148875/1534281619956149/?type=3&eid=ARBUPbJaMJT95-KBEzl6B_nB_LI4EJIvst8OL_Y_5r6J4gG9p7rSLDVU8QZ2wst4ALjgiRprdwp6HUCi&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAi5peGH4o8jG7ehCDkxd2dEBW3Uud5Yrqh2gX1kpV0hUXYv8kG7t9R9QjSwvm15E7REOhwNSAVE5cqdgWE3ViBjdM_ttWFeMBa4i4NALOUJPj34DcOKRt4Cmc8AuZ4F-Ev4nU9GjP-6XmH3zUMlROhisdNTQ2Jd3pwQPdj6BbqhVW3VFn-pTUQmgKp9vHmsaaZFtScYpuV_sPSbQAJV614ZT095F8tBeA7Jmcc-7R-PoJy7t1MlUOxWn8jvZiX7HujeYOx3WQaMAJkv8SxNb2pyXdQZdy8hnkGXNTqHnKgFzF8&__tn__=EEHH-R
You never know who you will see at our boutique, Part II:
They seemed to like our boutique, and Lori took a selfie of her mom and herself in front of one of our display windows.
https://scontent.fden3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/67224653_2525143160869985_5003984354104311808_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_oc=AQk8dRcq15UnxXnzwOgcga-HnbWp92mcXfATCvlIdnIAkwltCTA7xCQrMYiIuAXzaR0&_nc_ht=scontent.fden3-1.fna&oh=378f041f10af0f265fad4e71a8b31913&oe=5DECF538
You never know who you will see at our boutique, Part III:
Just before closing yesterday, a thirty-something lady walked into the boutique. Judging by her hair, her tan, her denim mini-skirt, her high heels, and her other, ah, accouterments, I surmised she may have been on her way to work at one of our local purveyors of adult beverages. (We are happy to have a number of bar and restaurant employees as regular customers here, I suspect because wearing some of our clothing may enhance their tips…as Mary Lou apparently discovered.) If this lady was indeed on her way to work, I also suspect she likely made more in tips than we took in at the shop yesterday. 🙂
One of the adult Great Spirit peregrines again. When this cam is not looking at a peregrine, it often watches barge traffic on the Miss.
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/falcon-nest-cam
Peace,
I told you one if my .motives in opening a boutique was to provide Ghost with eye candy. Unfortunately it is not as frequent as one would like!
Jackie, better quality than quantity for Ghost’s eye candy. That doesn’t help in sales though. Maybe you need to hire more men as sales assistants and give the women eye candy.
We did that maybe. Sales have more than doubled since Ghost and I took over in March