Another Book To Buy - Arlo & Janis

I am old enough to remember every year of the comic "Arlo & Janis", having first encountered it 25 years ago in the Chicago Sun Times (a paper we subscribed to simply because it had better comics than the Chicago Tribune).


I remember that Arlo & Janis was the first comic that my then newlywed self read that seemed to understand modern marriage in an honest - not simply gag driven - kind of way. And, they obviously were having sex. Which is something you weren't really allowed to do in a newspaper comic strip in those days. (Heck, you can barely do it now). I think of Arlo and Janis as sort of the Rob and Laura Petrie of comics. Rob and Laura may have had twin beds onscreen but we all knew what they were doing off screen :-)


Long overdue, Jimmy Johnson has just released a hardcover 256 page coffee table book collection of over 950 strips (let's call it a Treasury) titled "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis" which you can buy here.


Jimmy will also be appearing this Saturday in Memphis TN to sign copies of the book. He doesn't make that many public appearances so, if you are a fan, I highly suggest you clear your calendar for Saturday and high tail it over to Memphis. Details are over on "Spot The Cartoonist".


You can also read an excellent interview with Jimmy here.

Support Team Cul De Sac and Buy This Book!

John was very honored to do a piece for the Team Cul De Sac book. (I have a copy of the art somewhere and will find and post it eventually). For those of you who have been living under a rock and don't know, Cul de Sac is a fabulous comic strip by Richard Thompson. A couple of years ago Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (he is currently putting the strip on hiatus to undergo therapy, which you can read about here.) And Team Cul de Sac is an effort spearheaded by Chris Sparks to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and overall research for Parkinson's.

Jillions of cartoonists - including the reclusive Bill Watterson - did art featuring Richard's characters that was included in this book and also an art auction. All to raise money for the foundation.

So, don't delay! Head over to Chris's site and pre-order your copy of the book today! (We've ordered ours!!)

More Christmas Gift Ideas

Tis the season to need a new calendar. I know, I know - we all have calendars on our smart phones and ipads and stuff, but those are booooooring! And only you can see what's on them. Who doesn't still need a calendar to hang on the wall so everyone in the house can see what's going on?!

So I suggest to you to great cartoon calendars for 2012:

From Sandra Bell Lundy of Between Friends:

(Order Here)

And KAL and The Economist:

(Order Here)

If our other cartooning friends out there also have calendars, give me a shout so I can plug them!

Buy These Books! UPDATED

Have you started your Christmas Shopping yet? Here are a few books of the comic and cartoon variety that you might want to consider gifting to a friend (or yourself):

The Edison Files; Notes From The Lab

Poncho Year One: A Puppy's Life

Pacifists in Bomber Jackets (available for $8.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling directly from Isabella at  isabella2@optonline.net

Book Smarts by Tom Racine

The MAD Art Of Caricature 

Creating Characters With Personality

These are just a few of my picks - I'll try to post more in the coming weeks as we countdown to Christmas.


Note: many of these books are self published so please be prepared to pay the cover price and show the artists that you value their work.


UPDATE: It won't be ready in time for Christmas but you should also go pre-order your copy of the Team Cul De Sac Book as well.  To pre-order the book click here.  To read about the whole Team Cul De Sac book project, which features the work of top cartoonists and is a fundraiser for Parkinson's Research,  click here.