The last time Arlo and Janis comic strips were reprinted in book form, the volume sold so poorly that today it is considered a rare item, selling for hundreds of dollars. (That’s true, you know!) Now, over 20 years later, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor of the next A&J book! My plan is to publish a hard-bound volume of my favorite cartoons, approximately 220 pages in length; it also will include some original text, embarrassing photographs of the author and assorted other goodies. I expect it to sell for less than $20. (Since your first trip to the five-and-dime, you’ve known what that means.) If I succeed, the book should be out late this summer, and the first printing will be made available primarily through this Web site.

This is expected to be the first step of what will become a giant and sprawling self-publishing empire, but now I’m having to watch the nickels and dimes. I want to ask those of you who think that you might want one of those books to please drop me an email to book@arloandjanis.com . This is to get a preliminary idea of demand, which will help determine the size of the first run. It is not a pre-order. It is not a commitment of any kind. No addresses and certainly no money are necessary at this point. Just vote “aye” or some such. If you know, for whatever reason, you’d like more than one book, you could mention it, but don’t fret. It’s just a rough count. I’m pretty sure Bennett Cerf started this way.