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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Reduxing the Situation

By Jimmy Johnson


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I have a confession. Remember this cartoon? You should. It ran for the first time Nov. 30, of last year. If your memory is very good, it might look familiar for another reason. This was the first and only time I have knowingly gone into the archives and resurrected an old idea verbatim. The original cartoon ran back in the 80s. I thought it would be fun and a worthwhile experiment to pluck an old cartoon of a generic variety and redraw it in my current style, and to see if anyone noticed. And, OK! I was stuck for an idea! Tomorrow, I’ll run the original cartoon here. The contrast in the drawings really is interesting. If anyone feels cheated, I apologize, but be honest: you wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told you, would you?

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48 responses to “Reduxing the Situation”

  1. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Jimmy, I very much like your “new” style, your older style was much less appealing to me. You are much improved as an artist and have continued to grow, a fact I appreciate very much. And the joke is true and good!

    Love, Jackie

  2. Galliglo in Ohio Avatar
    Galliglo in Ohio

    Jimmy – all is good!

  3. Canuckguy Avatar
    Canuckguy

    I would have known if I had a good memory.

  4. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    The artistic period is a sign of greatness. Picasso had seven clearly distinct periods. Jimmy Johnson is on which number three or four?

  5. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    Brother Jimmy, of course we would not notice, as some things will never really change. The dialogue from the mid-80’s Janis would be the same up until the last line. Only the older Janis realizes by experience that her most enthusiastic fan would never see her as anything other than The Hotness.

    Classic characters, classic situations. Costello will NEVER understand that Who is on first, and Arlo will NEVER flag in his zeal for The Hotness.

  6. Steve from Royal Oak, Mi Avatar

    So the “new” JJ can sue the “old” JJ for plagiarism? Actually a whole lot of A&K strips were created using this theme. And yes, no one minds.

  7. TruckerRon Avatar

    Regarding New Zealand:

    I fell in love with NZ about a decade before the LOTR movies. NZ is where all scenes of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, “Xena: Warrior Princess”, and “Young Hercules” were shot. Our whole family sat enthralled by the action and humor during those shows.

  8. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Finally getting off with a window between storms. Stone mason and house keeper told to pretend to be me!

  9. emeritus mn. biologist Avatar
    emeritus mn. biologist

    Geyser in its own shade again. emb

  10. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Jackie, which one will be working in the yard with t-shirt and saggy pants?

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Would anyone venture a guess as to what Janis is doing, or is about to do, or has just done, in panel #5?

  12. Nodak Wayne Avatar
    Nodak Wayne

    I think she is trying to determine how far the skirt goes up while bending over in front of a mirror.

  13. Llee Avatar

    She’s checking to see if/how far she can bend over in the short skirt. 🙂 A peek may be one thing, a show is another…..

  14. Ken from Framingham Avatar
    Ken from Framingham

    I absolutely love this one, for the content and also for the artistry. Janis has an energy that pops off the page. I look forward to seeing the early version to compare.

  15. Village Loon Avatar
    Village Loon

    Silly men, yoga!!

  16. Pris Avatar
    Pris

    never bothered with mirrors….fully relied on “hands on”

  17. NealinBawstun Avatar

    Arlo gave the wrong answer. My spouse of 39 years turns Medicare-eligible in a few months, but she has great legs. Janis, as we all know, is exceptionally well preserved. Would I tell my wife if she looked bad in something? Of course; that’s the basis of trust in a marriage. The good news is that the short skirt would look as good on her as it does on the ageless Janis!

  18. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Then I hope, Loon, that Janis is wearing her yoga panties, as she is obviously not wearing her yoga pants. 😉

    So women do that, check out their skirt lengths in strategic poses? I learn something every day. In my defense, I have to point out I have much more experience watching women get disrobed than I do watching them get dressed. But each event has its own charm, I hasten to add.

  19. Jay Avatar
    Jay

    Gene’s Mom has got it goin’ on!!!

  20. Denise in Michigan Avatar
    Denise in Michigan

    Women also lean over before a mirror to check the upper half from the front.

  21. emeritus mn. biologist Avatar
    emeritus mn. biologist

    Speaking of Bawstun, neither it nor N. MN is global. I’ve been saying, here and elsewhere, that this has not been a harsh winter. Read the first paragraph. Then the rest of the article. I don’t know / this year’s N. Eng. temps, but they have lots of snow. And no, I don’t think Elohim [#^^*##$@ speelczech] planned it so MN workers would get work.

    Let’s see: Zeus, Venus, Thor, Mars, Ares: no red lines. Speelczech is pagan! Yaweh [same]. It’s anti-Semitic. Think I’ll stop there to avoid trouble.

    Peace, emb