A pithy comic strip about life, love, lust and puthy cats.

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

A Long Long Time Ago

By Jimmy Johnson


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

John Hambrock is a fellow cartoonist who creates The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee. I checked in on John’s site this morning, and he was doing some bragging in his blog. His fine comic strip launched in November of 2006, which led John to calculate that he has drawn over 3,000 daily and Sunday strips that, if laid end to end, would equal the height of three Sears Towers stacked on top of one another (about 4,500 ft.). Well, John’s calculations led me to some of my own. I have drawn over 10,700 A&J strips since 1985, not accounting for leap years, which if laid end to end would extend for 2.5 miles and closely resemble my office floor. Hey, Junior! Come back in a few years, and we’ll talk some more! I must say, I do admire the way he has copies of all his strips arranged in ring binders. And if you read John’s bio, you’ll learn he spent years developing his characters before Brilliant Mind was launched by King Features Syndicate. As evidenced by the above cartoon from the first month of A&J, it wouldn’t have hurt if I’d done a little of that.

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434 responses to “A Long Long Time Ago”

  1. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    I was intrigued by Jackie’s comment about Charles Schulz showing support for Farley’s death. I knew Farley died, but had Schulz ever had Snoopy hit by a truck?? Off to Google! And among the results was a screen capture of a page from “Suddenly Silver: Celebrating 25 Years of For Better Or For Worse” by Lynn Johnston!

    The pertinent passage reads as follows:

    “Charles Schulz was now one of my closest friends and confidants in the business. When I told him I had to do away with Farley, he was genuinely furious. I explained that I had no choice. Since the strip developed in real time, the dog was much older than he should be, and to allow him to stay in the strip would be contrary to everything I was doing. When you’re working in real time, you have to deal with life spans! He was angry nonetheless, admonishing my decision. He threatened to have Snoopy hit by a truck at the same time and taken to the hospital. ‘Then nobody will care about your stupid story,’ he said. He was serious, so when the time came to write the series, I didn’t tell him. The episode came as a surprise– and he never forgave me.”

    She added, “Like some readers, there are cartoonists who take these characters far too seriously.”

    I cannot comment as a cartoonist or creator. As a reader, my impression is that Ms. Johnston is really DOES view her strip more as “King Lear” than a comic strip. She is one of the cartoonists she comments about! “…contrary to everything I was doing…” is a very passionate stance to take! Was she working on the Manhattan Project or something?

    As for “Arlo and Janis,” I do not mind a bit that Gene grew up and got married, nor do I mind that it was outside of Real Time. Ludwig has clearly gotten older within the strip, but he can live forever as an Olden Kitty in my book. I do NOT want “a very special episode of Arlo and Janis.” EVER. It is a fun strip, sometimes a tad nutty. It is witty and clever and a touch suggestively ribald upon occasion. It is overall a ton of fun. It makes me smile.

    I watched “Downton Abbey” with my Comely Bride to the end of Season 3. The last 30 seconds of the last episode of that season sprung a development that was absolutely devastating and out of left field. Additionally, it seemed gratuitous. It was for damn sure “A Very Special Episode.” That was the last time I have ever viewed the program.

    All of which may explain why I stopped reading Ms. Johnston’s work ages and ages ago.

    Keep doing what you do, Brother Jimmy. I think it is classic and brilliant. And may Ludwig live a thousand years! 🙂

  2. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Thanks Evan, I had not read that interview. Or whatever. The fact Ms. Johnston based her story line on her own life which ended with a nasty divorce I have heard? makes it very personal to her I am sure.

    Totally agree, Arlo and Janis and Ludwig can live on like Dagwood and Blondie, more or less frozen in time. Forever. I don’t want them old or dying or tragedy happening. I have enough in my own real time. Let them live in as my favorite Alabama author says, “Alabama time” when things go on forever alive, forever young and timeless.

    Love, Jackie

  3. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    Jackie, you are spot on.

    “Arlo and Janis” is its own unique classic. May it never come for a thousand years, but in the day that the strip is no longer produced, I imagine that Our Humble Author will opt for this something like this, whether or not it is expressly stated: “But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”

    That place reminded me of another place where a little boy and his Tiger will always be in a magical world, exploring. That was probably intentional.

    Our Humble Author has shown himself to be very wise in myriad matters thus far. After 30 years, I am confident he knows us, he knows himself and he knows his characters. It will not be exactly the same as those other places, but there will be a place with mystic connections to both of them when the time comes, and as with those other places, we will smile.

  4. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Amen.

  5. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Evan and Jackie, you’re right. Jimmy is not doing Gasoline Alley and different characters here are on different timelines. Gene is a perfect example of that. I did not stop reading For Better or For Worse because Farley died. Ms. Johnston was honest with herself and her readers, since she made it obvious that people were growing and aging, and did not make an exception for Farley.

    As for Gasoline Alley, the biggest shock I had was when Walt’s wife died, after the Mr. Scancarelli had set the scene to make it look like Walt was the one on the way out!

  6. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    after the way…

  7. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Not only did Lynn Johnston kill off Farley, but characters as well, like grandparents, she had strips on rape, on single moms, mixed marriages and children, any number of themes not often covered in strips with continuity. I am still a fan and read the reruns because she is changing up things a little. After all, how often can one rewrite their life?

  8. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    Mark, to be honest, I wasn’t reading Ms. Johnston even at the time Farley died, so I heard about it later. I simply like my comic strips to be comic strips. Her strip had long before become an ongoing series of “Very Special Episodes” covering Important Issues and I have no interest in such. And thank you, Brother Jimmy, for never going there!

  9. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Ghost, you ought to like this link, although some of the costumes are unreal. In my opinion, Miss Nigeria’s costume looks like the result of a close encounter of a porcupine and a pinata.

    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/fun-stuff/os-miss-universe-national-costumes-pictures-photogallery.html

  10. NK in AZ Avatar
    NK in AZ

    Ah, but Evan, Jimmy did not dodge Mary Lou’s pregnancy, did he? He treated it in a light-handed but honest way.

  11. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    This is a personal note to Ghost. Cleaning out stuff today I found Mike’s silver tasse de degustation, or his Tastevin cup and chain. Shoved in a box full of odds and ends in the back of his amoire, with a whole lot of stained tee shirts covered with paint and epoxy smears in front of the box. Obviously, he could put prior lives in a box and forget about them, over and done with, go on to something new and don’t think about what’s gone.

    May I be given the strength to do the same. Not doing so well and I will keep the tastevin. It’s on shelf behind me now. Remembering a lot of really great French burgundies Probably would have walked on hot coals to drink a really good Latour.

    Love, Jackie

  12. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    “. . . tying with Michigan.” No, Minnesota. Peace, emb

  13. NK in AZ Avatar
    NK in AZ

    Thinking of you as you work through the hard moments, Jackie. We grieve for your loss.
    Nancy K.

  14. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    You are so sweet Nancy. So much is making me go way back in time and mind, so Jimmy’s “A Long Long Time Ago” is so appropriate. Having joked about drinking Chateau Latour (I don’t drink at all and haven’t in about 35 years) I went and looked to see what it is selling for todaY. It was one of the wines Mike sold, along with “Chateau Door Knock” which our 2-3 year old hawked from a wine case of empty boxes and bottles. Chateau Domecq was what she was trying to say.

    I would have to walk on coals to drink either nowadays apparently because 1961 Latour which I know I drank back in the day (before it’s time no doubt) now sells for from $1,500 to $7,000 per bottle! In fact most of the wines we drank day in and day out would require you to be so rich in today’s world.

    How life changes!!!

    Love, Jackie

  15. NK in AZ Avatar
    NK in AZ

    I was just reading in today’s paper about some astronomical money amount of wine was stolen from a VERY VERY VERY high class California restaurant recently and was just found in a “private wine cellar” in North Carolina! That is exactly the kind of wines they were talking about. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?!

  16. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    It boggles mine and we spent about 20 years in the business, Nancy. Among the odds and ends triggering my journey back in time were some items like wine openers, stuff that made me think of our earlier years and all the “great wine” we had access to and drank. It wasn’t cheap then but not what it is today. Mike worked for the most prestigious European wine importer, a company that originated in England and then moved to New York. I just looked at what some of my old favorites are selling for today and it is almost unbelievable.

    Must have mentioned the time I had a dinner party in Houston not long after Texas started being legal to drink anything, which was why we’d been sent over to get restaurants trained and selling. One of the guests got drunk and ended up falling into our flower beds, Mike informed me she was to never come again, he wasn’t going to have people drunk on Chateau Latour. That was the wine in article from Sotheby’s auction they were predicting would set new records for cost. Think if someone got drunk on a bottle of $1,500-7,000 wine!

    No wonder someone would steal it and smuggle to Carolinas. By the way, for a hobby Mike liked to drink California wines and was president of the state chapter of the American Wine Society while he was a v.p. for a European company! He was always a person who thought for himself.

    Love, Jackie

  17. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    Denise in Michigan: I hadn’t seen that story before. Shirley Temple’s mother’s advice seems to have worked very well! She certainly did sparkle!

    Jerry in Fl: Glad you have visted our scenic State. I haven’t vistited many of our State Parks, so I’m not familiar with the one you speak of. NH has a Website about all of them, so maybe you could locate the one you went to. Yes, do come back!

    David in Austin: Your method of cooking bacon, with some water, is so intriguing! And it’s simple, and logical … wonder why it’s not known by everbody! I will try it. I learned, however, to start bacon in a cold skillet (cast iron of course) and cook it very slowly, so as not to burn it. You have to start well ahead of time, mustn’t hurry. This doesn’t work if you ARE in a hurry, or have a large family. It IS possible to put a whole pound of bacon in a large skillet, without separating the slices, and cook sort of medium temp. and keep turning it and getting the slices apart. You have to keep at it. I was taught this method by a dear Southern lady who summered in NH … a real aristocrat who probably didn’t have to cook, but she sure knew how.

  18. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Charlotte in NH and David in Austin, a local meat and three restaurant here puts their bacon in the deep fryer to cook it. Never saw that before, but with their breakfast crowds I guess they went for speed.

    And Charlotte, I hope Southern women know how to cook. But these days, who knows?

  19. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    This morning I was telling my new helper (who is cooking for me, Yea!) that Southern women considered bacon, butter and booze, the 3-B’s to be essential to all cookery. And irreplaceable.

  20. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    It has to be all the testosterone filled websites I am on. I not only keep getting ads for concealed carry but I am still getting ads for expensive men’s underwear. Brand is called MackWeldon.com and briefs, boxers, etc. were $20 each pair. Oh, and just now I got an ad for Speedo men’s swimwear. You’d think I’d get kayak ads or something like that? I did get a fishing charter ad tonight.

    The liquor ads have not appeared as Ghost and I thought they would.

  21. Mindy from Indy Avatar
    Mindy from Indy

    Love the Sunday real time.

    And if Martine *does* finally lose on 9CL, there will likely be another six months of Bill losing is mind BEFORE anyone finds him to put him in the hospital where Edie ends up finding him. I forcast another year ofor this storyline.

  22. David in Austin Avatar
    David in Austin

    Charlotte, if I have to cook a lot of bacon I use the oven, set at 425. A 1/2 sheet baking pan (we call them cookie sheets) covered with foil works well and will hold a 12 ounce package.Turn only once if desired. Leaves more time for other stuff. You can use more than one sheet, but you have to rotate pans to get even heating.

    Mark, I’ve tried bacon in the fryer and it is both quick and delicious. One needs two fryer baskets to keep the strips straight. The second basket on top provides pressure to keep the bacon from curling. I hope the restaurant has a second fryer for vegetarians. I remember the fuss when McDonalds sold frys cooked in partial lard, then later with beef flavoring.

    Jackie, the underware ads are probably because they want you to buy as gifts. I get lots of ladies garments ads… Which I always mark as objectionable. I also got ads f ok r ladies in my area that want to talk. I also kept marking those and finally they went away. Recently I’m seeing ads for hunting equipment and game processing. Thats probably because I searched and bought an electric smoker, a slicer, and a meat grinder.

  23. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    Last panel in this Sunday’s A&J [click above] reminds one of the last panel in 9CL a few years back where Eva says to Bill, “I recognized your salute.”

  24. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Good morning Villagers….

    BACON, I love bacon….and I’m going to mention to my husband, David’s discovery of ‘frying’ bacon.

    Indy Mindy, are you hunckered down up there? Sitting here watching the clouds rolling some rain and snow in…..I too loved today’s real time strip….I miss dancing, can’t gyrate the old hips like I use to 🙂

    Jackie, I love reading your little stories, you have such memories….good ones at that. And yes, I would agree with Mike about getting drunk on $$$$$ wine.

    Mark, sad to have read about TD’s loss….didn’t realize they did the background to this unforgetable movie scene…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&v=nRW-gQQbKj8&x-yt-cl=84503534

    I need to get moving before the rain/sleet gets here….I need a hug from my Mom.

    later…………….

  25. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    I use the oven bake method for cooking baking. My twist is that I use the grill, no bacon smell in the hous.