Sep 10th 2008 07:31 am Goodbye to all that
I’m sorry I was scarce yesterday. You guys have been busy! Lots to moderate. We’ve pretty much wrapped up the “Mary Lou Got Pregnant series.” I’ve always enjoyed serial strips, but they change the nature of the product. Ultimately, I think I prefer the gag-a-day format, done well. The “done well” part is crucial. Of course, they can’t be hilarious every day.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
22 Responses to “Goodbye to all that”
John in Podunk on 10 Sep 2008 at 7:52 am #
Odd that the family spent all that time at the beach and never brought the cat. I wonder if this is when he learned to operate the can opener.
merlinmurph on 10 Sep 2008 at 7:59 am #
Regarding serial vs. gag-a-day, I like both. I guess the trick with a serial strip is when to end it – you don’t want to drag it out, because it can lose the freshness of a gag-a-day strip.
Looking at a serial strip from a reader’s perspective, the anticipation of the next strip is exciting (jeez, I must have a boring life
).
Looking at the writer’s perspective, I guess it’s a way to say something you couldn’t ordinarily tell. The important part, as with any continuing series, is to have a good story to tell.
Ruth on 10 Sep 2008 at 8:51 am #
Is Janis wearing reading glasses in today’s strip? When did she get those?
Steve from Royal Oak on 10 Sep 2008 at 9:16 am #
Wow you were right JJ, we really were busy.
I think to answer all of the questions might take away some of the mystery away. One of the neat things about a comic strip or a well done sitcom is that the readers’ imagination is just as important as the creators’.
I think here A&J live and what they do for a living are purposely left blank so that we can fill in the blanks. As far as where JJ gets his ideas….I am not sure if I want to know!!!
JJ your work is “done well”. Sometimes (not too often) it might take me a few times to re-read it to get the joke, but it is well worth it.
Greg in ABQ on 10 Sep 2008 at 9:22 am #
Gag-a-day when done well IS awesome, but it is the serials which really endear the characters and breath life into them.
So PLEASE, keep doing both!!
Personally, I’d say your mix (gag-a-day,running gag/theme, serial) is about as perfect as possible.
Steve from Royal Oak on 10 Sep 2008 at 9:46 am #
The price of gasoline went up $0.20 overnight in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. I am assuming it is because the oil companies have to re-formulate the gas (EPA edict) from their summer to winter mixture, but it still stinks. Did anybody in any other states see the price go up?
Ron Pentland of Bathurst,NB,Canada on 10 Sep 2008 at 10:47 am #
I find it easy to identified with Gene’s parents, especially Arlo. He is so much on the same wavelength as me.
tony on 10 Sep 2008 at 10:53 am #
>>Of course, they can’t be hilarious every day.
True, but when they are as thought provoking as this series, (I remember reading it in real time, and being seriously being annoyed if comics dot com had not updated the page by the time I loaded it that day. (My lunchtime seemed to coincide with the transition a lot.) It was like missing an episode of a daytime soap!)
“For Better or For Worse” has just decided to reinvent itself, which I think is a wonderful idea.
The Story Arc had come full circle, and it was a courageous decision to start it over.
I think you could do the same. (I am not suggesting that you have run out of steam, though, heaven forbid!)
If you ever think you are running out of ideas, start the story over again, but tell it all from Gene’s point of view. A whole new comic strip will evolve. I don’t think any loyal reader will complain.
To quote REM, “perhaps I’ve said too much”
Tony in Japan
John on 10 Sep 2008 at 1:12 pm #
I still love it when Arlo and the family go to the beach. It’s almost like I get a second week at the beach.
Don from Minnesota on 10 Sep 2008 at 2:20 pm #
You know I buzzed briefly over the 52 comments from yesterday’s blog and I have to admit it began to wear on me a bit…if all of the answers to all of the questions were answered…what mystery would there be left? After all isn’t some of the mystery what keeps us all looking in every day? To see if we can find the answers to our questions, right?
Mindy on 10 Sep 2008 at 5:14 pm #
Gosh. A day without comments. (It’s Wednesday evening here, well after quitting time.) So I won’t comment. It’ll be a struggle, but I won’t comment, I swear I won’t! Now about “women talk” and all that….LOL! Keep it up, Jimmy, we love you!
buzz on 10 Sep 2008 at 5:38 pm #
I think you handle continuity just fine, be it either a series of gags on a given theme or topic, or in this case the Gene & Mary Lou series where you drop in on the situation every once in a while and let the reader fill in the blanks about what goes on in he mean time. Keep up the superlative work — ARLO & JANICE is always a delight.
Jack on 10 Sep 2008 at 6:07 pm #
Over romanticizing nostalgia nights? Hmm. Am I missing something? How about romanticizing goulash.
louisiana-lady1937 on 10 Sep 2008 at 6:32 pm #
Maybe not hilarious, but they always bring a positive note to my day no matter what else is going on for me. Thank you.
John in LA, late of P'cola on 10 Sep 2008 at 7:24 pm #
J.J.
“Ultimately, I think I prefer the gag-a-day format, done well. The “done well” part is crucial. Of course, they can’t be hilarious every day.”
Shades of George Herriman! You are right once again J.J. HELL YESH, amen.
Thank you, thank you. Joy
debbie on 10 Sep 2008 at 8:48 pm #
Hello,
I found another website:
http://grimmy.sahuagin.net:8080/~tcovert/dailystrips/archive.html
that has older strips going back to January 30, 2006, though there are different strips too. I am enjoying the site tremendously.
thanks for being there
Sylvia from MS on 11 Sep 2008 at 10:32 am #
Has is occurred to anyone else, or is it just me, that there are a whole lot of us around the world reading A&J and talking about them as if they were alive….Oh, right! They are alive to each and every one of us. I can’t wait to read the new one everyday and try really hard to keep up with the comments from everyone. Some days are better than others.
I appreciate that JJ does what he does with this site. Keep doing what you’re doing, JJ.
LVJeff on 11 Sep 2008 at 11:46 am #
Personally, I prefer the serials. Too many other cartoons specialize in gag-a-day, so serials create depth, draw, and uniqueness. But maybe I’m also just a sucker for a good story.
The trick, then, is to emphasize that “done well” part of the gag-a-day premise. For me, ideally, a few of those sprinkled in between some regular serials would be lovely.
Ken from Framingham (Boston Globe reader) on 11 Sep 2008 at 2:28 pm #
I think regular life is like a gag-a-day strip for the most part— though not every day is extremely funny— and only occasionally does a real storyline sneak up on us. So the balance you’ve achieved with A&J strikes me as very realistic.
CG from MN on 12 Sep 2008 at 12:17 am #
@Steve from Royal Oak – price here in MN went down. Gasp! At the 3 stations I go by
but then 2 are across the road from each other ( is that redundant?) But then we have
Gas-a-hol year round. Another government boondoggle that makes the legislators feel good
but does not do what it was preported to do. It does not reduce petroleum use or decrease
pollution.
CG from MN on 12 Sep 2008 at 8:35 pm #
@Steve from Royal Oak
Gas up ^ 10 cents from going to work and coming home.
Something about possible production interruption.
Sales must have been slow this morning – those electric signs just make it TOO easy
to change
Joyce from Indy on 15 Sep 2008 at 9:25 am #
I saw in the paper over the weekend that Illinois, Indiana and Michigan had the highest gas prices in the 48 contiguous states. And can someone explain to me why Alaska, whose only major industry is oil, has higher prices than Hawaii, where gas has to be shipped in? I know they don’t refine in Alaska but still…. And gas went up from $3.89 on Friday to $4.15 on Saturday. Hmmm.