This is a New Year’s Day cartoon from 2003, one of my favorites within that genre. It occurs to me that it would be an interesting exercise to update this one with a new panel or two. However, that would require extra work, and the results would be too morbid. I’ll just let Arlo ride. Although I’ll deny it to my dying day, this A&J suggests a Calvin & Hobbes influence. It was difficult for a cartoonist not to be influenced by Bill Watterson’s creation in those days. While one could argue he took the themes to new levels, Mr. Watterson did not invent the concept of the snowman diorama, nor did he invent sledding downhill. Anyway, that’s my defense, and I’m sticking to it.
