This holiday Arlo & Janis comic strip from 2022 is similar in concept to the new strip that ran yesterday. I thought the latter strip seemed vaguely familiar when I drew it. I believe it was Schulz, creator of Peanuts, who said a comic strip artist must do the same thing day in and day out without repeating one’s self. It isn’t easy. I know that on occasion I literally have employed the same joke twice, not realizing it. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened often, but if you’re lucky enough to survive in this business, you inevitably will plow the same fields repeatedly.
Ghost of Christmas Past
By Jimmy Johnson
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9 responses to “Ghost of Christmas Past”
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When I think of all of the stories that I have repeated just on this site, I marvel at how you don’t repeat yourself.
But sometimes a good gag is worth repeating…
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Janis is wearing the same color shirt, too.
I wouldn’t call this a recycledjoke, but a variation on a theme. Nevertheless, even the other great cartoonists occassionally repeat a gag. The important thing is to repeat the good ones!
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According to my wife I am above average at retelling stories. It amuses her that there always seems to be a subtle difference in each version.
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Nearest I can tell, I am about 3 years older than you are, Jimmy. I’ve read Arlo and Janis since the 1980s, and shared all the ups and downs though the years almost as though you drew my own life. I particularly identify with Arlo’s (I assume your) love of his Lady. My Lady looks better to me today than when I met her. She says she’s glad I have poor eyesight! It’s always easy to tell when you are ‘in the mood’, Arlo, or Janis gets horny! I find it real. I find it beautiful. I’m gonna go find my Lady now…
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Mr. Johnson, you’re right: “A cartoonist is someone who hast to draw the same thing day after day after day without repeating himself.” –Charles M. Schulz, “You Don’t Look 35, Charlie Brown!” (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985, p. 3).
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Speaking of euphemisms, given the subject matter of the comic shown here, “plow the same fields” could also serve as an apt euphemism for “snuggling” in the context of marriage. (Your “repeatedly” mileage may vary. Try “cuddling” first to improve your odds. And true, with age, the fields become less fallow, but that’s not really the point, is it?)
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That reminds me of this old tale:
The precocious six year-old was struggling to read the King James version of Exodus. After sounding out what she could, she went to her dad and asked, “What does this mean, ‘Thou shall not commit agriculture'”?
He answered, “It means you should never plow another man’s field.”
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