OK, so this comic strip from December of last year isn’t exactly “rare.” It’s Arlo and Janis sitting on the sofa, for cryin’ out loud. However, there is something out of the ordinary going on here. Can you tell what it is? That’s right! In the third panel, Arlo’s dialog runs to four lines. It is an unwritten rule here (where all rules are unwritten!) that dialog in a comic strip not run for more than three lines. You’d be surprised how easy this really is. Dialog tends to be terse and to the point, and much of what I write is dialog. I believe punchy dialog actually lends authenticity; remember that, would-be comic strip artists, and writers of all stripes.
I bring up dialog, because I periodically get emails from readers who complain (always nicely!) that they have a particularly difficult time reading the text in Arlo & Janis. I don’t doubt they have problems. Newspapers so reduce all comic strips these days that they’ve become almost impossible to read, particularly for the demographic that is keeping newspapers afloat. I do wonder, though, if A&J is particularly unintelligible. I look at other strips in the newspapers, and I don’t see many of them being any easier to read. I like to think it’s because Arlo & Janis is the one they want to read. Anyway, I have two points about this subject. 1) I am aware of the problem. I have gone to a thicker lettering pen, but I think this sometimes makes me squeeze the lettering, which probably is the worst thing I could do. I have experimented with computer fonts made from my own lettering. This is promising, but I haven’t been able to develop one yet that really pleases me. Perhaps I need to expand the three-line rule to four lines. In short, I am working on it. 2) I would like your observations and suggestions on this matter. It might help.
316 responses to “A Rare Arlo & Janis”
GR6, think you described a microkini.
Gary, I think he needs a new starter.
Ghost, how about the gaps between strings leave the skin as the polka dots?
I was looking back at last year’s A&J and pondering this exact strip. I googled the four dhows referenced and looked under images. Laura Petrie is clearly the prize out of the four gals in question, and by 1966, Our Humble Author was 14—and no doubt mesmerized by Mary Tyler Moore. But by that time, Major Nelson telling Jeannie to leave him alone was far, FAR “fishier.”
I have no problem reading A&J in my local newspaper, nor indeed, any of the other strips, including Sally Forth… although I find it at times irritating for other reasons. I have always noted the attention paid by OHA to framing, posture and the visuals; the careful pacing and word selection in the dialogue department might look easy, but there is a lot of thought put into them.
I had wondered about the lettering in some strips. I am relieved to find out that OHA actually WAS using a printed font derived from his own lettering, and that I was not overthinking things. 😉
“Dhows” is of course a word that is usually “shows.” And the Context Police suggest that I affirm that it is Sally Forth that I find irritating at times… otherwise, I would not be here. 🙂
Dhow: a lateen-rigged ship with one or two masts, used in the Indian Ocean.
I thought Evan had caught a nautical comment I had missed. Then I learn it was just a pesky typo. Welcome Evan to the Village Spellers Club; if it weren’t for typos we would all be scholars.
I think the first married couple in a double bed on TV were cartoon characters.
Flintstones come to mind but I am not sure.
Old Bear, I asked Google and I never heard of this show: http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/marykay.asp
Of course I wasn’t born till 8 years after it ran.
Well even further back than Flintstones (which some disqualify because they were
cartoon characters.
But – Mary Kay & Johnny December 1948
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/marykay.asp
The mention was made of no bathroom – my grandmother had no bathroom.
The toilet was down the hall and shared with the other front apartment. The rear apts.
had their own.
The tub was in the kitchen and had a porcelain cover to use as a work surface.
This was at 76th between 2nd and 3rd Ave
Mark – I was 6 but we had no TV for 3 more years. Parents thought it might be a fad –
or at least wait till it was perfected.
Parents friends had one that the tube was vertical and shone up on a curved mirror.
The mirror was on the lid so it closed and became a piece of furniture.
The first color set I saw was as big as a refrigerator. Dad’s friend worked for RCA.
The rear apts had their own TO SHARE.
And Mark you beat me to it
Debbe 😉 Early this morning, I was jammin’ at the gym; it was one of those days when my body felt like lead; and I was about to say, “#&@$ this!” and call it a day. Then this song came on the playlist on my smart phone and I started laughing because I remembered the video of it you had posted. I got some strange looks but I finished my workout with verve and panache. (Or something like that.)
So thanks, hon, for helping me get my day off to a better start than it would have otherwise. I even felt good enough when I finished to gently hit on a tall blonde lady I hadn’t seen previously, because I’ve changed my gym schedule. (And she was quite friendly.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu2pVPWGYMQ
Sand, that meteorologist needed strategic placements.
Ghost, when I lived in Hawaii and actually wore string bikinis I favored flesh/natural colored string because they didn’t actually cover a darned thing anyway so go with no color at all. We had a friend named Dee Dee from Dallas who was known as Triple D before there was a Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, who also wore or hung strings on body if not for coverage, artistically. I was a scrawny 107 lbs. in those days at 5 foot 2 and not as pulchritudinous. My, my, I spelled that right on first attempt!
I do assume Ghost is referring to my lovely tan without any tan marks? Sorry but Texas sun messed that one up. My friends are still down there or some are at Port Lavaca and Rockport and they said marina is full of media but they didn’t look distressed enough to be on camera, what with walking their dogs and drinking wine on decks. I said rescue a dog on camera?
Finished listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, who I love, and had forgotten about Texas Floods on album. Came on just as I got in car and about when Texas was being slammed. Hear y’all are
sending us more rain up here. We don’t need it, keep it.
Love, Jackie
Apparently ketamine is effective on 7 year-old girls!
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=35107919&nid=148&title=monroe-girl-takes-imaginary-horsey-ride-after-trip-to-dentist
Good morning Villagers……
Gary, thanks for the grin…… I think that poor rooster is going through puberty. When my ‘boys’ first arrived, they were only 20 weeks old, and their crowing needed much to be desired. Now, I can even hear them crowing when I get out of the car to go into the building in the morning. Thatsa my boys!!
GR 😉 glad I can make your day, by chance was the blonde’s name…Lorraine 🙂
For those who have never seen it, and just for grins…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKyFweWu0OQ
Cxp, I love Billl the Cat…..haven’t read Bloom County in years. Ever since (can’t think of the cartoonist name now) the cartoonist retired. And it’s nice of you to fill in for eMb’s timeline of OF.
So, evidently TS Bill is making its way northeast and we are expecting rain on Friday…heh, it’s raining right now. This keeps up, we’ll never get that underground water pipe fixed.
Funny GR that you mentioned ‘Skittles’. The other day he was at the other hen house with Ian and Andrew….he got plummeted with eggs so bad he had to go home and change clothes. But you are onto something there about weaponry 🙂
Old Bear, I think you’re right about the polka dots…..even Sandcastler enjoys ‘dots’ 🙂
And Sandcastler, I once had Ian explain that acronym to me…..I was shocked I tell you 🙂
ya’ll have a blessed ‘Hump Day’
=^..^=
(Jerry must be busy moving….)
today’s grin
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8507622400/h9A4B0C1B/
….and a shout out to Indy Mindy!!!!!!
You’re right, Old Bear, I did leave out the word ‘yellow’…..now I’ll have that song in my head all day.
Mark in TTown: Alabama is a long way from Hollywood!
And P. T. Bridgeport! Talk about lettering. “Ne plus ultra,” nothing more beyond, as they say. Thanks for the reminder!
Debbe, the artist is Berke Breathed. And one of the specialty publishers who specializes in comic reprints collected all the Bloom County strips into hardcover books.
“Newspapers so reduce all comic strips these days that they’ve become almost impossible to read…” Makes me feel obscurely better to know it isn’t just me. I know my eye doctor has told me that computer fonts have gotten so sophisticated that they can easily make print literally microscopic, and I was worried that my eyes were getting worse. They’re probably just fine for my age but it’s the scale, the print, the font, etc. that’s changed as well, and not for better.
Debbe; http://www.amazon.com/Bloom-County-Complete-Collection-1980-1982/dp/1600105319
Debbe, TS Bill is still pounding us, wait your turn, please. Sorry about shocking you so early.
Jackie, I found it funny that even a mention of a cool front elicted so positive of a response.
We are going to all need Yellow Submarines to go with the teeny tiny bikinis if T S Bill doesn’t stop dumping on us. Good morning all, have to head for Tulsa via pharmacy and an oil change enrouGod bless us everyone.
Love Jackie
I woke up Monday and saw a deer munching some leaves in my backyard. I have 3/4 of an acre, which is big in Royal Oak. Since it a very urban setting, it is very rare to have a deer. My wife had taken the day off and the deer kept her company for most of it. He did not show up yesterday, but this morning he was at the end of the driveway as I went out to the car. I got within 5-10 feet of him and he stood there staring at me. I feel bad as he is alone (very young) and we have so many cars.
That is enroute and God bless. Stupid Smartphone .
Yes, Sand there used to be special equipment for avoidance of that effect on air and film. And thicker fabric