JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for June 25, 2023

Never underestimate Frank’s speed…especially when it comes to meeting his idol!

Frank/The Flash: “Dang. I gave away my secret identity.”

Evidence of a TRUE fan.

I don’t know. I live in a medium city and found out a couple of years ago that a guy who does my favorite non- gocomics.com strip (Well, 6 days a week) lives here. He’d be easy to find even if he didn’t do appearances around town. I haven’t gone to any appearances that he’s made and for all I know he could live a couple of blocks over from me.

There’s a thin line between fan and stalker.

Isn’t this a rerun? Or done before but maybe a little differently?

Talk about a hardcore fan.

Umm, a bit hard to swallow. If Vic van Streck was on a book signing tour Joe’s dad would have been aware of it long before VvS arrived in the city, and would have pitched a tent in front of the bookstore and been living in it for three days before the appearance.

I wonder if Vic van Streck is based on an actual cartoonist..?

If you figure that out let me know.

I’d like to see Robb devote a week to showing us “Klodike Ike” strips, the way “Fearless Fosdick” used to appear in “Li’l Abner.”

But then there’d be the risk that our subjective judgment of the strip would be different than Frank’s. As it is, we can (have to) take Frank’s word on how great it is…

Why do cops like doughnuts??? According to Jack Reacher I believe, it’s because they can sit in a car and still be just fine after a day! Plus: sugar = quick energy!

Another example of cartoon physics.

I love the magic in this strip!

Robb, so who is your “Vic Van Streck” in real life?

We live outside NYC so when we go into Manhattan it is not completely unheard of to see actors, actresses, etc on the street – especially in the Broadway theater area.

We used to wait after shows for autographs and have many of them. One time we were walking and we recognized an actor walking by who was in a play we had just seen. We stopped him for an autograph. His wife, also an actor(ess) who was not in the play was with him as was another woman. We were being polite and not bothering his wife when I heard comment to her friend that we did not recognize her. I mentioned her name and said that we recognized her, but since she was not there working did not want to bother her.

We also learned that bigger actors and actresses were much nicer about autographs when stopped then lesser ones. (To be polite we have never stopped anyone who was not in a play we had just seen and was coming out of the theater – though in conversation with one actor as he waited for someone from the play while we waited for an autograph he did offer his autograph and we gratefully accepted.)

I’ve always thought Joe’s dad was the strip’s ONLY fan.