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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

vive la différence

By Jimmy Johnson


Butt! Butt! He said, “Butt!” Believe me, it was not easy to slip such profanity into the comics back in the good ol’ days of United Media. Over at Universal Press Syndicate, strips like Doonesbury and Bloom County had been using words such as “damn” and “hell” and “snugglebunnies” for years, but UM prided itself on upholding a very old and rigid standard in the comics. “Butt” was a huge win for the forces of darkness. Gene and family will continue next week in the current strips, and we’ll resume our previous conversations then. I hope you enjoy your weekend!
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139 responses to “vive la différence

  1. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    I’ve not looked, but I’d be totally not surprised to find there actually is a “Farm Girls Gone Wild” site on the InterWebNet.

  2.  Avatar

    Just saw a George Booth cartoon for Ghost. Woman in suit walks by couple, wife removes woman from suit in her mind. Husband sees naked woman, removing suit.

    George Booth of New Yorker fame is my favorite all time single frame cartoonist. Love his dogs but especially the cats. Rest of his cartoons are OK but the ubiquitous cats and dogs are the meow and arff of cartooning.

    Mark, I know you can link them here, the one I just found “Working on Plan B” seems appropriate!

  3. emb Avatar
    emb

    Booth is great, but Wm. Haefeli is as good.

    I’ve always wondered what he was pointing at:

    http://thatispriceless.blogspot.com/

    Peace,

  4.  Avatar

    “Promises” by Eric Clapton. Best life song ever. On my speakers right now.

    Good cartoonist emb but Booth better. IMO

  5. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    emb, if you click on that and enlarge it, the man isn’t pointing. He is holding a pair of gloves, and one finger of them is sticking out.

    Jackie, I love George Booth too. Started buying his book collections years ago, such as “Think Good Thoughts About A Pussycat”. Will find some to link in later, after work.

  6.  Avatar

    Just thinking I need to start looking for his books at used book stores!

    There seem to be a number. I just finished reading an archived article from 1980 on subject of marketing cats, the beginning of Kilban, Garfield, Heathcliff. They didn’t begin to anticipate today.

  7. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    After my race on Saturday, I watched a marathon of “My Cat From Hell. What a fascinating program.

  8. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    And you probably thought advances in technology only impacted the plots and storylines of science fiction novels…

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/03/enid-blytons-cliff-hangers-would-not-have-worked-today-because-o/

  9. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    ***Jimmy, you ole rascal, “Farm girls gone wild.” 😉 ***

    Sand, how the younger generation gets not only technologically more sophisticated, but also reckless.

    In a strip from long, long ago, Janis pre-emptively tells Arlo as they are opening up their safe deposit box at the bank that they are there to look for certain documents, and “don’t have time to look at those Poloroids.”

    Of course, on the other hand, in another strip, Arlo finds a Poloroid inside the pages of a book at their home. Janis protests that Gene might have found it. Arlo scoffs at the notion; it was in a BOOK.

    I cannot see having such photos on one’s phone being a good idea. It always seems to turn out badly. And if the photos are backed up on the Cloud?? Jennifer Lawrence says that is a bad, bad idea. 🙁

  10. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Mark: thanks for all of the above but especially the commandments.

  11.  Avatar

    I still haven’t found the Booth cartoon with the Kitty litter tanker truck delivery.

  12. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I don’t recall that one, Jackie. Ruth Anne, you are welcome. The commandments came from someone I recently friended on Facebook. From his profile, he both reads and writes science fiction and fantasy, and is strongly interested in military history.

  13. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Here’s a good one: http://imgc-cn.artprintimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/68/6835/AQEY100Z/posters/george-booth-ready-harold-you-re-the-wicked-troll-and-i-m-the-garden-fairy-and-you-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg

    I don’t know whether this adult fun, or practice for a play, but it’s funny. Check out the dog and cat in it.

  14.  Avatar

    Mark, they are sitting in living room with cats everywhere on sofa, floor, etc. And husband (I think?) Pulls curtain back and says the Kitty litter truck is there.

    Had it for years and lost it. Of course I can’t find my JJ original from auction right now.

  15. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    eMb, on the Decorah eagle site, can you tell what kind of bird’s remains are at lower right? How about the animal residue just above same – looks like a rabbit, but with coloring unfamiliar to me.

  16.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    1came across CMA AWARDS summary while reading JJ Caleb obit in Rolling Stone. Why was Carrie Underwood wearing black garbage bags?

  17. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Part of the weekend was devoted to prepping my mom’s urn planters for planting. Unlike Lovely Janis™ and Frisky Mary Lou™, I was not wearing a fetching, spaghetti-strapped camisole top for my gardening chores, but like Lou (and, I’d wager, Janis) I wasn’t wearing a bra, either.

    Mark, if you really want to be helpful, find a link to the “lady in a suit” cartoon. 😉

  18.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    JJ Cale the songwriter musician.

  19.  Avatar

    That one is easy to finf, I have been searching Google for Booth cartoons.

    Booth has a Facebook page and active at 80.