CSotD: Beaucoup flashbacks

Mike Peterson Published: August 14, 2012 1 minute 6 comments

One of my long-time favorite strips is taking advantage of that long-time factor. Here's yesterday's Arlo & Janis:

Aj120813

We'll all see, and be happy to do so. I hope it goes for more than a week.

On the other hand, it's possible to get a flashback fix even when he's not providing one in the current strip. Jimmy Johnson features random oldies at his website, and sometimes runs a whole story arc. Right now, there's a massive collection of Gene cartoons, which I assume are not the same as the ones that will be running in the funny papers.

It's worth hanging out there and he has done a better than average job of attracting a solid online fanbase that actively comments on his strips, his ruminations and life itsownself.

Which is to say, there are a handful of syndicated cartoonists who get a lot of comments on their blogs, but not many where those comments amount to a web-strip-like active conversation among a substantial number of people. It is a tribute to the warmth he has built through the strip.

So here we go with the current crop of oldies … and one thing is, (as he notes on the blog) you know when he's trotting out a super-oldie because the characters look like this …

Aj120814
By the way, the first-and-only collection of A&J cartoons was long out of print, so Jimmy took the initiative and did a sumptuous hardcopy collection which he rolled out this past fall. It's now listed as unavailable at Amazon. On the other hand, it's still being promoted at the Gocomics.com website, so it well may be that, like some other independent publishers, he just didn't want to deal with Amazon anymore. I'll ask him.

Which I have now done, but, since I don't think he's going to answer a query at 5:30 in the morning, I'll update later. Or you can go to the link at his site and ask him yourself. (UPDATE: Jimmy writes, "Yes, the book still is available through my Web site and a few very, very, very, very, very select bookstores.")

Meanwhile, here's the cover. You can either start planning to buy it or eat your heart out, whichever. I've got my copy!

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Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.

Comments ⁶

Richard J. Marcej

I’d always liked Arlo & Janis, thought it was an underrated strip.

maggiez

I’ve got my copy, and it’s signed, too. Great stuff.

Shari

You can buy the book directly from his website if you wanna.

Neal in Bahstawn

‘Beaucoup Arlo & Janis” is self-published, but is a class act and, at $25, a steal. Go to arloandjanis.com to get a copy. Johnson has been marking out a circle around his home in Alabama to do book signings (he is threatening to come to New England sometime between now and the next ice age), where he draws very large crowds.

David from Austin

The Arlo & Janis website/blog has developed a fairly cohesive community. There are definitely different opinions and personalities, but all seem to take the opportunity for reasoned and civil discourse. Come and join us!

Mike Peterson

And you are equally welcome here! Jimmy is one of a handful of cartoonists I met online more than a decade ago, when things were a little more cohesive and sheltered, and I think he’s kept his blog on that level of civility and positive interaction. I have recommended it to other artists as a model, but I’m not sure how you replicate the mood, because, really, it follows the mood A&J has always had as a strip.

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