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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Colorful Explanation

By Jimmy Johnson

September 21, 2006


I ran across this old A&J comic in the archives and couldn’t help but be amused at how far off the mark the colorist was. This wasn’t the issue with me then that it would be now, because most newspaper comics 15 years ago were still black and white, and—in my mind—digital comics weren’t real comics. Yes, a lot has changed. It wasn’t all on the colorist; there was no communication between that anonymous toiler and myself, and this concerned me not. (See reasons stated above.) Still, it often was obvious the colorists did not actually read the strip they were coloring. I need not go into what went wrong. I have remastered the strip above, and you easily can see for yourself. And, no, it was not intended to be dirty in the least.


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201 responses to “Colorful Explanation”

  1. M Avatar
    M

    Thanks for the dates, Jackie. Here is the beginning. https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2003/05/12

  2. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    I loved Ludwig trying to alert Janis that Arlo was in danger and needed help a la Lassie with “Timmy’s in the well”. Janis tells Luddie that his food bowl is full!

    1. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
      curmudgeonly ex-professor

      Arlo is rather better than Janis at interpreting Ludwigese….

  3. Greg Cravens Avatar

    I thought I’d chime in- and I apologize for carrying us all the way back to the beginning of the conversation.

    I’m lucky enough to have spoken with the latest two colorists on my comic strip, and I know why the coloring issues exist.

    According to Frank, the latest colorist (and a cartoonist in his own right) if you take the workload that the syndicates give the colorists, do the math around how many hours in the day that you can work on them based on the wage paid (NOT $50 per strip, or even close) then the colorist has, if I remember what Frank said, about three minutes to color each strip. Less than a minute a panel on a typical strip… if you want to earn enough to stay afloat.

    So that’s why Janis’ yellow bikini wasn’t yellow, all those years ago when I wondered about the exact same issue.

    1. Jackie Avatar
      Jackie

      Colonists go WAY back to when black and white prints were being produced for books like floral and biological illustrations, then hand colored by poor ladies and girls in attics for pennies. Some is beautiful work.

      Later popular artists were hand colored and sold from blacK and white prints to public. This was still going on in 1960s when I lived in New Orleans French Quarter and my husband managed art galleries.

      1. Greg Cravens Avatar

        Yup. We have some hand colored Walter Anderson prints around the house. Nice, every so often, to stop and let your eyes wander around them now and again.

  4. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Have been rereading or just now readiing all of Rick Braggs’ columbs archived on the internet This gas taken awhile

    Tonight I began on his books again, plan to read then in irder. I seem to own most of then. The first is heart wrenching, the poverty his family endured as he grew up

    Being from the South I know the accounts are true. His columns in Southern Living are usually humerus, the books not.

    Anyone else a fan?

    1. M Avatar
      M

      Gloria started posting commentary by this writer on FB. I like his work that I’ve read so far. You probably will, too. https://seandietrich.com/

      1. Jackie Avatar
        Jackie

        Ghost follows Sean Dietrch and I read some of his books/columns. He is prolific but often sad.

        1. Galliglo from Ohio Avatar
          Galliglo from Ohio

          I feel that Sean understands – and writes about – the human condition. Unfortunately, that is sometimes sad. But the thing I appreciate so much is the love that shines through.

          1. Jackie Avatar
            Jackie

            I am reading Rick Bragg who us often sad! But Sean is probably right in that same class of writing. I decided tonight to go back and read Sean in entirety, as I intended He is good person

  5. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Was it Mindy who used to post links to Icanhazcheeseburger cat jokes? In honor of all our fondly remembered former posters, here’s a different sort of cat joke: https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2021/09/05

    1. Symply Fargone/Philippe Avatar
      Symply Fargone/Philippe

      I Symply miss some of our earlier fargone denizens, but we age, we move, we grow and then we turn in to lurkers…

  6. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Another type of link we used to see more of – the bears in Alaska are getting fatter by the minute (the “Best of” video is worth a click too) https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls

  7. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    I dearly would love to have taken a writing class with Rick Braggs at University of Alabama. I have wondered if Jimmy knows him?

    Jimmy writes so well himself. Just differently.

    Reading the posts the other night on old Village Mark posted made me so sad for many reasons. I just couldn’t go on reading.

    1. Galliglo from Ohio Avatar
      Galliglo from Ohio

      I understand, Jackie… so many contributors that we never hear from anymore…

  8. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    Bistro closed.

    What the heck?

  9. TruckerRon Avatar

    The painful stresses and realities of running a struggling business in a competitive market during a labor shortage turned their dream into a nightmare. With no end in sight, it was less painful and damaging to their health and their marriage to surrender.

  10. Lost in A**2 Avatar
    Lost in A**2

    The question is, will they continue to sell produce?

  11. emb Avatar
    emb

    Aww! Maybe he’ll go back to college. Personal preference there, of course. Have been there w/ students so often. Peace,

  12. David in Granbury Avatar
    David in Granbury

    One really shouldn’t cry over a comic strip, but…

  13. NK in AZ Avatar
    NK in AZ

    I agree, David!!

  14. Old Bear Avatar
    Old Bear

    Really liked the rabbit on end of hedge.
    .
    Sorry about closing – the only thing worse than owning food service
    is farming – in my opinion.
    .
    In comments talked about “Day Care” — many places it is cheaper to stay home than
    pay Daycare. If there is another income in the household that is.
    The end of multi-generational households may be our downfall.

  15. NK in AZ Avatar
    NK in AZ

    “Dark Side” got pretty snarky and dark today. Sigh. I almost never look at it–I’d better stick to that.

  16. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    I wasn’t expecting this but Ghost wasn’t surprised. I hope they go on living there with Meg and chickens.

  17. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Gus explained to Arlo on August 5th why the Bistro would never make it. One should believe Gus in regard to foodservice as one believes Einstein in regard to relativity.
    Btw, August 5th was the birthday of my father, who knew a bit about foodservice himself.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      Perhaps Mary Lou and Gene will now have time for that grandbaby for which Janis has surely been wishing.
      Arlo Day II, or Augustina Day, maybe?

        1. Jackie Avatar
          Jackie

          Read retro strips in either direction from this one. I just did, so sweet, Jimmy is a good man, not just a good cartoonist.

          The beginning of Meg and their family

  18. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    While I read the Washington Post daily online, I do not read their comics. I was shocked to look at them tonight and see what they carried.

    Who reads Rex Morgan, Mary Worth and others of that genre? Dozens of the humor strips must be around a hundred!

    1. TruckerRon Avatar

      Because you asked, rhetorically I hope, I do!

    2. DJJG Avatar
      DJJG

      I am reading Rex Morgan–have for years and years. And just some months ago I started the Apartment 3G reruns and was astonished at the superb artwork. Man! It’s good! Then I recently started Rip Kirby reruns. But my very favorite rerun strip is Thimble Theater, starring Popeye. Every day is a standout, and I will be a long, long time figuring out just how Elzie Segar did it. I never did get started on Mary Worth. But Charles M. Schulz called Popeye a “perfect” cartoon strip–and, so far, I have not seen him be wrong about that. But when I was younger, no soap opera strips for me. So I am learning, too.

      1. Jackie Avatar
        Jackie

        I used to love. Apartment 3G back in 1950s and 60s. I did read soaps back then. It looks to me like Rex Morgan and Mary Worth are newly drawn, not reruns. I will look at strips again today and read about them, see who is drawing what. I last followed most comics when I lived in Houston in 1990s and read the Houston Post and Chronicle.. Then the papers merged and their comics pages merged.

        Since I am al.most 80 I wondered who and ages of readers since I can’t imagine young readers?