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

Est. 1985

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Punch Line

By Jimmy Johnson


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
Today, I’ve chosen another really old A&J for you, from 1987. I talk a lot here about the evolution of my drawing and sometimes about the evolution of the writing, but I don’t think enough is made of how much the personality of the characters has evolved over time. Arlo and Janis both have become familiar, knowable individuals. In the early days, as in this cartoon, nothing defined the players beyond an air of whimsy that always has existed within the strip and married-couple banter, hopefully from a fresh perspective—mine—but still married-couple banter. The development of the characters is, of course, a reflection of growth in drawing and in writing, yet it’s more: while a sum of the whole, it almost is a separate metamorphosis, the satisfying outcome of the cartoonist’s craft.

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252 responses to “Punch Line”

  1. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    In today’s convenience store news – About 5:30 this afternoon, there was an attempted armed robbery of a competitor by a woman with a gun. Police were on the scene before she could get away. Details are sketchy beyond this, but a man is dead.

  2. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I didn’t know they were making a movie based on “The Man from Uncle”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FOjW7NTv1Q

  3. Steve from Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    Just returned today from Leon Mexico. I had forgotten that the fat on the meat there is not as marblized as it is here the US. I did have a nice Margarita. I rarely drink but I like slushies and was told (accurately) that the Tequilla was smooth. One night I ordered a chicken totillia soup, which may have been the best things that I ate. One of my guests ordered Ostrich and another order Ant Eggs. My system is way too delicate to handle anything too exotic

    I had to leave for the airport at 5:30, so I had a fitful night sleep. At about 3:00 AM I started to feel the effects of the fatty food that I had eaten and again at 4:00 AM. I have to admit that I had flashbacks of my vacation to Italy when I got food poisoning on the last day of the trip (that lasted a month before I could eat “real” food!). I was feeling rough on the first leg of my trip home. The airline “misplaced” the snacks and then I had a tight, connection but the weather actually cooperated. Before I got home a 3:30, I mentioned to the attendant that we did not get our snacks on the first flight and that I had not eaten all day. She was sweet and we had a nice conversation. A few moments later she slipped me a couple of cookies!

    Yes strangers are friends that I have not met yet!

  4. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    What I need to know is if the female agents will still be walking around U.N.C.L.E. headquarters wearing white blouses and tight black skirts, and packing Beretta pistols in their Small Of Back holsters. 🙂

  5. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    What I want to know is if the male agents will be providing as much eye candy for me. David McCallum is a tough act to follow.

  6. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    There’s a serial robber in Indianapolis? This is a robbery. Gimme all your Cheerios! Not funny when somebody gets shot though.

  7. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    Mindy from Indy, the robbery story you told, of a competitior, is scary. I hope that you and your store stay safe. The Village is all wishing you well.

    Steve from Royal Oak, sorry that your trip was rocky in places, especially on the way home. How nice that you found a helpful flight attendant. Are you feeling better now that you are home and rested up a bit?

    I haven’t flown for years, so please tell me, friends in the Village who do fly — with all the regulations, are you allowed to bring any food at all on the plane? Cookies — a cheese, or peanut butter, sandwich — and if not, why not? Just wondering.

  8. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Dunno, Lady Mindy. Did you watch the trailers? You might get at least an eye candy teaser from them. No tight-skirted, sexily armed female agents that I saw, but there were a couple of females wearing only the bare essentials.

    Not sure about food on flights now, Charlotte, but I think the airlines would probably want to sell you anything you eat in-flight, rather than allowing you to bring your own. Besides, the TSA is so dim, they’d probably fear you’d use sandwich ingredients and condiments to build a bomb.

  9. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    http://jibajabaz.com/Old-School-Photos-That-You-Must-See/
    Number 9 is of Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Andre the Giant. Wow.

  10. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Sad. Even sadder, some ignorant knuckleheads somewhere will probably blame the police officer for not waiting for the woman to fire first, so that he would know she had a real gun. Or for not just shooting to wound her, or for not shooting the gun out of her hand, or some such Hollywood crap they once saw in a movie.

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Charlotte, thanks for letting us know that your husband was a WWII combat veteran. (I had the honor of knowing a friend’s father, recently deceased, who was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in 1944. They were a special breed of men.) I’m sure that Chris was a practitioner of what I’ve preached about here a couple of times, situational awareness, and I’m equally sure that helped keep him alive.

  12. Old Bear Avatar
    Old Bear

    Miz Charlotte
    You may get it on if it is smaller than 0.5 oz

    Awhile back (when TSA was new) bought some “Donkey”(rhymes with pass) Kickin’ Hot Sauce – at the airport. It was about 6 or 8oz , factory sealed. Had to trash it – could not give it away.
    I suppose they were afraid I might pour it on the floor and it would eat out to the other side.
    No liquid is allowed through – coffee or soda – saw a person told drink it or dump it.
    Once through security you might be able to by something – but then you might be escorted
    off the plane. – There was an article (Mark?) about cabin attendants wielding power.

    Next they will be asking us to check the most dangerous weapon at the gate – human brain.

  13. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I’m thinking that airlines probably set their own policies on what food can be carried onboard. And liquids have a size limit set by the TSA. On Amtrak, you can take food and drinks to consume on the trip, but you have to do it at your seat. No alcohol brought aboard Amtrak can be consumed unless you have one of the bedrooms in the sleepers.

    Last year was the first time I had flown since June 2001 and it was a whole other experience. Having to take off shoes and belt, planes were all at capacity, seats were much more crowded than before. But the crews on Southwest were cheerful, attentive and patient.

    If you have the time and want to see something, take Amtrak. I’ve seen fares for the Southwest Chief as low as $135 one way this summer for Chicago to California. And the coach seats are built to sleep in on the long-distance trains with plenty of leg room.

  14. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    TSA Security Theater. Not impressed. Remember, Fake Bombs 67 – TSA 3

  15. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    Miss Charlotte – I missed your post about your husband. Sounded like a brave and sharp fellow. Situational awareness is always something I am working on improving. I’ve always regretted not asking my grandpas about their seervice. By the time I really got interested in family history, they were both gone.

    Not that I have much time to go anywhere, but air travel is pretty low on my preference travel option. Once staffing is no longer a major issue, I am going to look into a train ride to somewhere.

  16. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Good morning Villagers…..

    GR 😉 why does it not surprise me that you took the ‘nip’ out of context 🙂

    Mark, I’ve always wanted to take a train ride, a long one. I’d read a long time ago in a travel mag that there is one that goes across Canada, making a few ‘port’ stops. Sigh, maybe in another life.

    Indy Mindy, I worry about you and your store, desperate times calls out desperate people. The worst that can happen to me is getting pecked by my girls.

    Jerry, too cute….’Skittles’ asked me yesterday at work what kind of bees make milk…I fell for it and asked ‘what kind’….he grinned, ‘boobeees’…..groan……..I told him to get away from me and get back to work.

    The egg packer was down three flippin hours yesterday, courtesy of ‘Skittles’….broke the cross shuttle chain….so I busied myself and went hunting for dead….they have to start using flashlights….I literally had to peel some off the bottom of the cage. Passed a temperature gauge, said it was 89 degrees in the middle of the hen house. And with the humidity, I am sure it was a ‘real feel’ of a higher degree.

    Cxp…thanks, and tell him we all are thinking of him and concerned. Miss him.

    well, going in early…it was 79 degrees in the house when I got there yesterday at 7ish….

    ya’ have a wonderful Caturday

  17. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Indy Mindy…may I suggest a new security system for your store….

    http://cheezburger.com/8505638144

  18. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    Flying on every continent means subjection to different rules. Even within countries, it can be vastly different. The Israeli are the strictest, most European nations and China are the most relaxed, and the Russians I’ve never fully understood. TSA pre-check helps, but I don’t always get the upgrade. Loon seems favored for pre-check, I think it is her charming ways.

  19. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    But does Loon still get the pat down with the pre-check? 🙂

  20. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Debbe 😉 According to NOAA’s Heat Index Calculator, 89 degrees F at 70% RH feels like 103.

    http://www.srh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=wxcalc_heatindex

    Not sure how you’ve made it through as many S IN summer’s in the hen house as you have, but be careful at work. Heat stroke and dehydration can kill.

    Otherwise, have a nice day. 🙂

  21. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Debbe 😉 I see I failed to post your song last night, so here you go, hon. (Did someone save all these old clips knowing someday there’d be YouTube?)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-pxgUyC_V4

    Dig the shirt…looks like extraterrestrial camo.