I was talking yesterday about comic-strip characters and how they age, or how they’re allowed to age. Some characters, like Dennis “the Menace” Mitchell, never age. The Bumstead family ages, but at a glacial pace. When the strip began over 75 years ago, Cookie and Alexander were children. Now, when they do appear, they’re teenagers. A very few characters, like Lynn Johnston’s Patterson family, age in real time. And some, Like Arlo and Janis, waltz along in something like 3/4 time. In the previous post, I touched on the difficulties faced by the creators of characters who never age. Today, we’ll talk about the peculiarities of aging comic-strip characters. The obvious problem is, they get old! On the plus side, this presents the comic strip author with a continually evolving premise and the potential of new material. On the negative side, much of the new material involves physical ailments and ennui! Who wants to read about that? Fortunately, a lot of people. The challenge is to bring along new, younger readers as well. I try to solve this by presenting Arlo and Janis as being somewhere between the age of 50 and 70. It’s not a perfect strategy, but it’s mine.
There’s Talk and There’s Talk
By Jimmy Johnson
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38 responses to “There’s Talk and There’s Talk”
All this NASA talk made me think of my first brushes with the space program, first at the Seattle World Fair and then at New York World Fair. I remember tiny capsules, burned and scarred by travels that we were allowed to touch and handle up close.
Prompted by that memory I wikipedia’d the fairs. My memory was right verified by a photo from a blogger of his siblings’ feet beneath capsule
As a long time Nassau Bay resident I knew many astronauts and other NASA personnel. I think I have delivered flowers abd balloons from one end to the other of Johnson Space Center. The rest I saw on countless school field trips.
During my time with government the NASA facilities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas were all my territory. i doubt I missed much. I was in Hawaii during Appollo 13, infinitely glad they xame home alive. They had followed me it seemed.
Jimmy you brought back personal memories up to 1987 when personal involvement with NASA personnel ended. I noted so many people I knew had become even more famous when I last visited the Johnson Space Center as a tourist.
Should have saved souvenirs!
My wife’s best friend works for NASA and many years ago for Christmas, she gave me a tile from the space shuttle. It was probably used during testing. The shuttle tiles were very much like Styrofoam and made a great conversation piece. Ironically at about the same time, I interviewed with a company that made bumpers on automobiles. (I didn’t get the job). They used a plastic foam with a plastic fascia formed over it.
When I was touring a Ford plant with my boss, who was an Engineer, and the Ford Buyer, who was also an engineer, they asked our tour guide “When do they take the styrofoam off the front and back of the vehicle and put on the bumper?” I told them that “they don’t take them off, they are part of the bumper”
Of course they made fun of me….until they got to the part of the line where the put the fascia over the “styrofoam”
I probably have shared both stories here before.
I try not to complain but today I realized how robbed I feel by cancer. I won’t go into details, so much is gone but I am alive. But I suddenly realized first I gave up cooking which I loved, now I don’t care what or where or if I eat at all
Like many things, no joy but survival Time for nap after pain meds
Wish we could do more, Jackie, but we do send our love.
Yes, Nancy – and Jackie… love and prayers.
Have been having the time of my life at Summer Theology Workshop. Attendance has been low because of illness [3] and an unavoidable last-minute conflict [2], but stimulating discussion has been great, weather good [mid-June can be iffy in central MN], and food scrumptious. Doubt any of you are w/in easy driving distance of Paynesville, MN.
Peace,
Glad to hear you’re having fun, emb.
Really folks, love and prayer are enough. I am just flat out tired of cancer. Unfortunately I will have cancer, chemotherapy and all its side effects the rest of my life. I am selfish and self centered, I want my life back. Until recently I believed some version of that was possible. It has hit me dramatically this past few weeks just how handicapped I have been left, along with captive to a disease that relentlessly can strike again and again even with aggressive treatment.
More than that, Ghost is by his generosity, kindness and love just as surely suffering as I. This makes me feel awful guilt. Don’t want or need pity, understanding helps.
No pity. Understanding and empathy insofar as we can give them when we have not walked in your shoes. Taking my cue from the way you used to sign your posts back in the day—-Love, Nancy Kirk