Herman by Jim Unger for March 09, 2022

Parachute aside, service has declined in the last sixty years

Waldo Pepper lives.

We don’t need to hand crank the propeller anymore.

My dad was born in the 19th century. He saw the development of aviation. He was afraid to get on an airplane. Finally I got him to fly to visit relatives in the 1970s. To distract him I brought cards and we played gin rummy on the flight. It was the only time I was able to win against him at gin rummy.

I liked flying in the 60’s better, not as hectic. There was no carry on except what fit under the seat, only coats and umbrellas in overhead so more headroom and seats wider. Even in coach the hot meals were excellent on a 2 hour flight. The movie was one choice on a pull down screen at the front of the section. I had a pocket transistor radio to listen to otherwise.

My grandmother flew from Germany to New York in 1969. On the way to New York she flew on a turboprop plane. On the return trip she flew on a jet.

in 1962 all we flew in was turbo planes and you walked in from the back of the plane and walked up to your seat. Sat back and had a cigarette and a drink then we took off.

Remember that this comic stopped in the 1990s, despite the copyright from the current year. This fellow hasn’t flown since the 1930s at the latest.

No sir, you don’t understand. Due to crew shortages, they called me out of retirement. I’m the pilot.

Must be flying Ajax Airlines…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-WemyIbgJQ

I’ll keep the parachute…….

I’ve seen how glamorous flying looked in 1962. I’m not seeing much improvement.

I think you’ll also find there are some (minor?) inconveniences.

Or not

True when this was created circa 1979. Not so much today.

Strip searches and x-ray machines are real improvements

Maybe the poor guy would feel better on the train.

No more convertibles?

And the service sucks big time

…and quite a few disappointments.

Wanna bet?

From

https://www.gocomics.com/herman/about

About Herman

HERMAN®, the hilarious groundbreaking cartoon feature that appears in hundreds of newspapers worldwide, continues despite the sad passing of creator Jim Unger.

Unger, who died in June 2012, left a legacy of more than 8,000 HERMAN comics and a large following that’s still going strong today. In order to keep the laughs coming, Unger passed the comedic torch to cartoonist David Waisglass and illustrator Roly Wood. Waisglass had been working closely with Unger on HERMAN since 1997, when Waisglass stopped work on his own syndicated comic, FARCUS®, to assist his mentor and manage HERMAN.

Unger’s outrageous humor and distinct illustrative style was an industry, with millions of HERMAN book collections sold in more than 25 countries. Born in London, Unger floated from job to job — including soldier, policeman, office clerk and repo man — before realizing his phenomenal comedic and drawing talent.

In 2010, Wood joined the team to help create new Sunday strips with Waisglass and Unger. Unger told friends and family that he’d never before met anyone who could draw HERMAN as well as, if not better, than himself! Unger loved the new material and began contributing more and more new gags until his death.

Although Unger wanted to publicly credit his creative partners, Waisglass and Wood strongly believed that the focus should remain on the work and its originator.

The positive response from fans, friends and the entire Unger family has been terrific, encouraging the creative duo to continue the work that Unger started.

“Roly and I are deeply committed to honoring Jim’s comic legacy and his original brand of cartoon humor,” says Waisglass. “It was his greatest wish that HERMAN live on and continue to make us laugh.”

Universal Uclick distributes the best of Jim Unger’s classic cartoons along with new HERMAN material.Herman Followers67,066

I find flying only gets worse and worse.

St. Olaf now has an air port???

“We have greatly improved our parachutes, for example!!”

Yeah, you need to ditch the chute and get yourself a mask.

Maybe not.

“changes”, but not “improvements”

Improvements? IMPROVEMENTS??!? The last time I flew was 1971. My then-husband had a blue-collar job with the airlines. We were flying to LA. The flight was not full so we, flying on stand-by as employees, got upgraded to 1st class. We got little footies, a gift bag of toiletries; I chose a Black Russian cocktail before dinner, which was rack of lamb ( I an NOT making this up) and didn’t pay an additional penny. Last week my husband flew to San Francisco for work and paid $10 for a hamburger. US commercial flying, Japanese subways and root canal — don’t know that I could tell the difference.

It’s not always that bad, just in the US. I remember flying from Europe to the West Coast (non-discount airline, of course). The first leg, to NY/Kennedy, was on a European airline, and it was truly a delight in every aspect. But in NY, back to cattle-car airways all the way. By the time we got home, my joints were aching from the cramped seating — and I’m 5 foot 7 and 170 lb. (Which meant I started out flying at 1.77 m and 77.1 kg.)

But folks, WE are the source of the problem. We use internet systems to opt for the cheapest flight every which way, and y’know? The airlines quickly figured out that price was everything to the customer. They responded accordingly. Thus the existence of discount airlines where they actually consider stand-up “seating” to be a realistic option for the future. Youp, Ryan Air. We have done this to ourselves!!!

Sixty years? The image suggests more like eighty years.

I’m not sure there have been any improvements. There have been changes. Sixty years ago is about when I took my first commercial flight. People used to get dressed up to travel by plane. They served real meals. And while I’m sure this last perk wasn’t available on every flight, it sure made my day. An adorably cute French guy sat beside me and said he was scared and asked if he could hold my hand during takeoff and landing. It was a line, and I knew it, but did I mention how adorably cute he was? Now, that was travel!

Better caliber of Parachutes are available now….

Oooh you wouldn’t want to pull the ripcord on that parachute!!!

I made up a little poem about flying vs. taking the train. If you lose the engine, then all you do is roll to a stop. HOWEVER! If you lose an engine on a plane. Then, all you do is DDDDDDRRRROOOOPPPPPP!

And a lot of major inconveniences, too, however.

As a kid I flew on a TWA Constellation 4 prop plane in 1958. It had to stop in Albuquerque to refuel between Phoenix and Kansas City!

Haven’t flow in twenty years. I imagine I won’t find any improvements if I fly again.