Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for June 03, 2016

Notice she didn’t say “throw it away”….and sure, put it away for a long time. If Arlo has a say in it, “a long time” would be next weekend…..Sounds like they really had some fun last night….Just try to keep Arlo from accidentally finding it once in a while…

“…weirdness meter…” The mind is agog at the possibilities.

Weirdness is good for a marriage on occasion.

First get it re-recorded onto DVD. Most, if not all, blue ray players are backward compatible and will play DVD’s.

Janis doesn’t seem as thrilled or as happy (not a happy face or hint of a smile in any panel).Did Arlo find this in response to Janis’ daydreaming about her old friend?Is Janis unhappy with life or marriage?

Making out while watching yourselves making out? They should have filmed it!

Or maybe they did and that’s what was weird.

From her expression in the third frame, I suspect it turned into a session of, “Can you still do that?”, and there were some things she couldn’t. (“How did I bend like that?”)

It would be really nice to find something that does not have to have a sexual encounter in it. I am so sick of a society that seems to think with their privates. Give me a break! Now it is infesting the comics with gratuitous sex. Sad. Writers block? Can’t think of anything else?

@starcandles: uh, one strip does not an epidemic make. And if it bothers you, there’s a Delete option in the edits menu. Sheesh.

Gee, starcandies, your comment says more about you than about the comic strip.

Maybe Janis is meeting Menopause — I’m here to tell you, that would explain the emotions near the surface, lack of sexual interest, feeling not so thin (and covering up with big tshirts), reflecting on lost love (even if it was only fantasy) and lost youth. And men DO NOT understand it. And Janis has NEVER been a morning person, and that would explain why she is not as bubbly as Arlo.

I’m constantly amazed at how much some of you people read into these strips. They’re comics people!! Take your negativity elsewhere. I love this strip, sexual innuendos and all.

One of the appealing things about A&J is the “real life” situations that the strip portrays (often in a comic way). There is nothing “fantastical” or “gratuitous”. Don’t we usually feel we are “part” of the strip?

I’ve often wondered about the “If you don’t like it, don’t read it” comment. Is that legitimate? After all, on the one hand, you don’t HAVE to read it. No one’s making you. So the guy has a point. On the other hand, disagreements seem like an opportunity to discuss serious topics. Isn’t that a good thing? Aren’t we missing a bet with that attitude? And isn’t that the same attitude that says, “If you don’t like this country’s policies, leave. Go to Canada or somewhere.” I think even the guy who made the comment would agree that’s not a good thing. (Maybe not.)

I still feel there is some sort of disconnect here…. at least for me. On one hand, it seems as if Arlo and Janis had a (presumably) pleasant evening of making love in a variety of “old school” patterns…. yet, all the facial features shown by Janis seem…. at least in how I interpret them…. negative. This disconnect seems to have been a running theme for the past few weeks, and I am not really getting it. Janis is always seemingly grumpy (other than when thinking about Vince), and Arlo is generally happy, but seemingly unaware of Janis’s lack of an enthused response.So, question to all of you folks…. what do you think is going on these past few weeks? Is it a) just a misinterpretation by me of the drawing style being used, b) some sort of purposeful start of showing discord in the relationship by JJ, c) something else? To me, the last few weeks have been more confusing than they have been funny. And, that is very different from how I usually anticipate this comic to be.

“We are emotional irrational beings.We also like pleasure and sex is only part of it. The other part is the emotional connection between us.”.Side-effects, even presenting in those won’t reproduce

@gm4n1978“It is amazing how little some people can find in comics just because they aren’t novels or plays.”.Good point.One art form doesn’t have to be exactly like another art form to be art.If it did, they would simply be the same.

@starcandles“It would be really nice to find something that does not have to have a sexual encounter in it.”.Sex in Arlo and Janis happens off-stage as is usually — although not always — the case..Thinking it is not a part of life — even if a private part — is probably unhealthy since it dissociates reality from image of reality.My privates are a part of me — even if a very small part.I wouldn’t have married a woman who didn’t have any either, nor she me..“I am so sick of a society that seems to think with their privates.”.But that’s where I do my best thinking.

Wow, I am glad there are references to sex in the comics. There is not enough sex in real life, not in most long term marriages anyway.

Also, sometimes we fail to recognize the details that make a difference.

The three out-of-place hairs on Janis’ head (ref panel 3 esp – 2 at the back, 1 at front) convey so much.

Brilliant artwork by the artist.

I found it perplexing that the usual “sexual-comments-about-Janice” in every situation commenters have been frighteningly quiet today. No real attempt to interpret why here; just surprised.

No no,not Canada,we have enough malcontents already thank you very much dsTrekker!

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me how invested and devoted people can become to FICTIONAL characters. The the mission of a storyteller is to capture your imagination and cause you to connect with the story’s characters, whether you grow to love, hate, or even be indifferent to them; the mark of an accomplished story teller is how successfully they grab and, more importantly, keep your attention. This excerpt from Jimmy Johnson’s Wikipedia bio sums up the subject of sexual innuendo in this strip, for which Johnson is well-known (no innuendos intended ;-) : "In his comic strip about a small family, Johnson, the former reporter and editorial cartoonist, presents political and social commentary through his characters. Of course humor is also integral, and Johnson writes ‘jokes about many different subjects, not unlike stand-up comedians do.’ Much of the strip’s content is grounded in ‘Arlo and Janis’ love and continued desire for each other.’ Johnson’s signature style is notable for undeniable sexual suggestiveness, so much so that ‘The Arlo Award’ is awarded to “Cartoonists Who Slip One by the Syndicate’s Censors.’”

@DavidHuieGreen“Unlike Japan, some people here look down on comics and animated features as just kiddie fodder and nothing more. Not expecting or looking for any depth or heft to it.”.No problem.We can take turns looking down on each other.No harm, no foul..In college a bunch would gather to watch Road Runner cartoons and others in the afternoon.What they did to the laws of physics was fun enough, but I actually started noticing some cultural and literary undercurrents they worked in...Watching an opera with Elmer and Bugs was a world of fun..A person with enough self-confidence is just not worried about the unimportant errors of others. it’s like when you find those who don’t read or those who read but don’t read Science Fiction or read Science Fiction but have never read Heinlein or Asimov or Burroughs or Longyear or…..Nobody appreciates everything.

Based on the drawings of Janis the past couple of days it would appear that she went in for breast reduction surgery.

Sounds like Arlo finally got some. Score, Arlo!