Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for March 10, 2015

Oh, my! Red flags all over this new neighbor. She is getting on my nerves already.

What’s nagging me is that, for some reason, every sentence in their conversation finishes with an exclamation mark! (except when it’s a question).

We’ll have to see how this progresses, I think.

Maybe Jimmy means this to be just light-hearted “girlfriend” banter…and maybe she’s giving Janis some great clothes she just doesn’t happen to wear. But it makes me a little suspicious…Is she about to become needy and demanding, wanting “things” as well as an excess of attention and closeness?

Maybe it’s just because I had a “friend” like that…she’d give me piles of ratty clothes, occasionally even something nice that I loved…and dishes, costume jewelry, etc…sometimes if I said “oh, i like that picture” (or whatever) she’d offer it to me…

Very nice, right?But it was all kept on a list in her head…to be repaid with favors, time, and attention…

Can you get me one of those, why did you go to ___ without me…will you help me with blah blah…always with some subtle reminder of her generosity to me…even if I hadn’t wanted it, and even if the desired favor was arduous or unreasonable.

Susan, I hadn’t thought of that…I too, have had a problem like that….And maybe LoveThemPluggers is right…But it doesn’t seem like Jimmy’s stye, to me……I think he’s just trying to show the girly girl part of a female friendship, but he’s a guy and it’s awkward, and he’s only kinda pulling it off..Even though it often seems like he’s looking in our windows, doesn’t mean he get’s it exactly right all the time…Hey, a man is just a guy….And he’s just some dude…

“When are WE going through YOUR closets?” At my advanced years this isn’t just a flag, it’s sirens, bells, flashing lights and rockets. If Arlo or Janus worked in defense or govt this would be a spy story.

So is this just an overzealous friend, or is it something more sinister?

A few years ago my friend’s wife made a new “friend.” The lady was a divorcee looking to for a “divorce buddy.” My friend’s wife almost got talked into leaving a perfectly good marriage.

I don’t believe the subject has come up in the strip (yet), but for some reason today’s strip made me think of this.

I wonder if this will go down the SWF movie plotline.

It does seem a tad forced (on both sides… Janis brings back the plate with brownies or whatever very quickly). But, I think this is just JJ getting the story line moving quickly, albeit a bit awkwardly… but in a good, kind nature. I think he is just accelerating the pacing of the friendship a bit so he can incorporate her in a string of “girlfriend” strips that he may have had developing on the back burner for a long time. My prediction is that they will become very tight friends, and then with a brief pause in the action, we will have this new friend sprinkled in and about the comic as a perfect alternative foil for the perspective of Janis in matters JJ does not really want Janis to say.

Indeed, your copy of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” is well thumbed. Now can we ask your wife? ;)

Let’s trade husbands. Won’t that be fun?

It’s okay, if Robin goes through Janis’ closets she’ll find many repeats of the same outfit.

What is Robin’s last name….Lechter?

..as a woman with 4 sisters, numerous sisters – in – law, and several nieces, who are relatively close in size to each other, their conversation just seems more like fun to me, I’ve heard it many times myself :) …hasn’t anybody here met a friend that they’ve instantly “clicked” with?…lots of ultra-suspicious people here…

Should have ended your post with (whimper whimper) :-)

I had the same “uh oh” reaction. I hope we are all reading too much into this. Janis needs a good BFF. Now if Robin were nice and her hubby totally irked Arlo, I can see some fun story lines.

I’m among the camp whose antennae perked up at “When are we going through your closets?” I had a next-door neighbor who was emotionally needy and would drop in every day and yak and yak. We moved, and she would phone me every day and talk till I managed to shake her loose. Then I started working and, being me, stayed very late while dealing with all the stuff I had to process (I was very verbose – imagine!). I was usually not home when she called, according to my husband, and she finally gave up. She was bitter about it, though. She didn’t invade my closets, she invaded my mind!

Yes, women do this kind of instant familiarity when we are young. And then we learn. At Janis’ age, when a new buddy demands cookies and clothes in exchange for goods not solicited, we start putting space, immediately.

Seems innocent enough… unless there’s lingerie in that bag of clothes. Then we have a problem.

Anyone else thinking that as much as these two look alike, if Robin is wearing Janice’s clothes and Arlo doesn’t know about the closet swap, he may wind up grabbing the wrong woman?

I agree with the warning signs; cookies to brownies to clothes – what’s next? It is escalating, no doubt about it.

Reminds me of my someone I know too well…

and who looks exactly like you.

Where is this going? Separated at birth? What are the odds they would end up living in the same neighborhood?

If she went through her closet before she moved she would have gotten rid of the unwanted clothing. You don’t move things you are getting rid of.

I agree with everyone about the red flags. Giving someone you just met your old clothes is iffy, but inviting yourself into their closet in return is definitely crowding in. It seemed Robin might have been trying just a little too hard before, but that was excusable, as she was the new kid on the block. But this is getting too close for comfort. I have been wondering if she might be having problems, possibly with her husband. She was so lost in thought when they first bumped into each other. And, the look on her face when they were talking about how people joke about a man giving his wife a black eye – well, I hope I’m reading too much into this. But she does seem very eager. Like she really needs a friend.

You know, looking at this again, Robin could be just joking! She’s already shown that she’s pretty sharp, and she would, or should, know how uncomfortable such a suggestion would make a new friend.

Anybody know how far ahead Jimmy works? I’ve got a hunch he is mining these comments for direction and tips. He mentioned something a while back about Arlo needing a new foil,

Yea……this chick is PSYCHO!!!!! Janis will have a nice pot of rabbit stew on her stove in no time.

Trouble!,,,,

Divorcee, needs a friend, trying to sort out her life

Maybe or a on troll freak, jealous of happy couples

Control freak

Hmm… this could go down a very strange path. But, Janis is married to Arlo, so…

If she’s as “adventurous” as Janis, Arlo is going to need extra pills once they start working together on that angle..

Is she meant to be Janis’s double? When we first saw her I thought this was some weird Sci-fi thing. I’m a little disappointed.