Gray Area

by Jimmy Johnson


Better late than never. This was drawn in November, 2014. It is one of my favorite time-change cartoons. This cartoon is notable in another way: it employs a benday pattern, the dots that produce the large uniform gray areas in panels one and three. For more than a century, newspapers printed with only one color, black. Any white was the color of the newsprint itself. All between shades of gray (and gray is all there would be) were created by breaking down areas of black with the use of dots which would vary in size and pattern. This is the benday pattern, named for its 19th-century inventor, illustrator Benjamin Henry Day Jr. Benday patterns have been integral to printing ever since, including the printing of color images, a varying but similar process. I say it is notable in this case, because I seldom have used shading to achieve gray in Arlo & Janis. Usually, it’s just black and white.

Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"

219 responses to “Gray Area”

  1. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    May we all have a truly blessed and thanks-filled Thanksgiving Day.
    [We plan our feast for tomorrow.]

  2. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    The Turkey is now done, along with stuffing, homemade Berry sauce, baked sweet potatoes and oven roasted vegs. Hopefully my friends will come back for a third Thanksgiving dinner later tonight after they go to family gathering.

    We are planning to eat this dinner all week too, along with pork roast in oven I forgot about. I need to make gravy still from drippings. May cook the German chocolate cake tomorrow, along with baked corn pudding I have stuff for.

    Honestly we lost little from fridge and freezer but I need to cook most of it up now. Still unpacking that ice box!

  3. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Here is a beautiful Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter who I went to hear in concert last month. I thought the video pretty too. Like fairy tales.

    https://youtu.be/7NSQLMPUK-8

  4. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    And a funny turkey song for Debbe in case she ends up raising another kind of fowl. Or maybe it is just for her (and me) “I Will Survive.”

    https://youtu.be/8jGOc0P5DEI

  5. Les Nessman Avatar
    Les Nessman

    As God is my witness, I thought that turkeys could fly.

  6. Nancy Kirk in AZ Avatar
    Nancy Kirk in AZ

    Turkeys CAN fly, I’m pretty sure.

  7. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    Live film at eleven. And here it is folks, the Great Turkey Drop at WKRP.

    https://youtu.be/lf3mgmEdfwg

  8. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Wild turkeys can fly. The domestic ones have been bred to be so heavy they can’t even breed properly, much less fly.

  9. Galligio in Ohio Avatar
    Galligio in Ohio

    Happy Thanksgiving to the Village!

  10. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Had another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat – with family and new friends. I hope everyone’s day was equally blessed.

  11. JACKQULINE MONIES Avatar
    JACKQULINE MONIES

    Hmmmm, trying to remember how to invoke the return of a spirit and not how to banish one. I think this will work if we all watch the music and focus on our memories of the 1980s while willing our Ghost to leave the period of the 80s and the young irresponsible Ghost Rider 6 that he has returned to observe. You are NOT really having fun Ghost, you really want to return to 2016. The election is over. It is safe to watch sports again. Things will get better.

    Send positive thoughts and karma back to the 80s to Ghost fellow Villagers!

    https://youtu.be/Ny8QbC2XKfQ

  12. Gary Avatar
    Gary

    Wild turkeys can indeed fly. I have encountered a few of them while driving along I81 in NY. They took off at the side of the road and crossed the lanes. Luckily they were just far enough away that we didn’t hit them. I saw some carcasses at the side of the highway that indicated not all of them were as lucky.

  13. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    Do not forget that Saturday is Shop Locally Day and go to a small business in your local community to shop. If we do not support our small businesses and locally owned businesses our hometowns will not be able to survive.

    We need to do our parts to keep Main Streets open all across America.

  14. Jacqueline Monies Avatar
    Jacqueline Monies

    Good luck to those going out to fight mobs today.

  15. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Good morning Villagers…..

    I had a very blessed Thanksgiving yesterday….first one I’ve had in years, usually I’ve worked. Went to a niece’s and spent the day there. Came home with ‘doggie’ bags too.

    Thank you, Jackie for the links….

    Not going shopping, but to the hen house and do some cleaning. So over whelming and depressing to even think about it….kind of like a pygmy peeing on a forest fire Fifteen thousand some cages to inspect and pull out feathers. No hen heat either…may take my carharts and do the dance of the seven zippers… 🙂

    Some 40 degrees out there.

    later….

  16. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Unfortunately, we’ve lost another good one: http://www.wsmv.com/story/33791184/florence-henderson-the-brady-bunch-mom-dies

    Goodbye and thanks for the entertainment you gave us.

    Everybody stay safe today. Happy After-Thanksgiving!

  17. Jacqueline Monies Avatar
    Jacqueline Monies

    Oh no! Just realized that IF my doctor even got the refill request for my arthritis meds and is in office, the pharmacy is Walmart! No, no, no!

    Black Friday Madness! Crazy people! No!

    Zombie Appacolipse.