Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for December 07, 2013

Thank you Jimmy! I’ve only seen one other of those hats since my Grandfather wore them over 40 years ago. Panel 1 brought back many fond memories.

I went to the website but did not see the bonus Ison strip…

When you are on the page, click “home” to see the bonus comic

I never noticed it before—-the way Arlo walks in panel two reminds me of the way the wide-trousered, stiff legs walked in Crockett Johnson’s cartoon “Barnaby”!

APOD

The bonus comic is great, in a broken fourth wall sense.

I didn’t know they had a little red convertible.

Both are disappointments.

I got the bonus strip right away, and I thought it was funny. Thanks, Jimmy!

As for ISON, it was a solar system scale demonstration of “a snowball’s chance in hell”

Bonus: Halley’s wasn’t too bad, Kahutek (however it is spelled) was the anti-climax. On the other hand, Hale Bop was a joy. Once solar gravity takes over, it is anyone’s guess.

This is all very cool, including the bonus strip on the website today. The interest in and excitement about the comet, and also the opportunity to share in the sense of disappointment that it got vaporized, helped honor the literally cosmic nature of the event as a whole.

Where were you in 1998?

Janis say’s: there’s going to be some weird writing on your forehead in a minute!