Some of us remember when there was a whole comic book series called “Little Dot,” about a girl who was obsessed with dots — who not only wore a dress with polka dots, she compulsively painted dots on everything. (Her full name as I recall, was Dot Polka.) This was one of several Harvey comic books focused on children with mental disorders, like “Little Lotta” about a girl who clearly had an eating disorder on top of whatever was happening with her hormones.
As to “Columbo,” part (not all) of the answer is that there were only about 43 episodes in the original NBC run, plus the 2 pilot movies. The rest of the 69 total are the ABC “movies,” which I enjoy too but a lot of people do not, and they are likely considered a separate lot. And among the original 43, some were longer than others and harder to decently edit for some time slots (if the channel cares about such things).
If it helps, I don’t think so, although it’s on his mind. From his Twitter, last month, about this cartoon: https://twitter.com/blisscartoons/status/1316105191385690113
and more recently, Nov 19, “still picking up her poop” which I hope means it came from her that day! https://twitter.com/Blisscartoons/status/1329435298099564551
I really hated hen Lynn “killed” the dog— irrationally, I took it as an act of cruelty. I knew Farley was old, but I felt there was an exception for dogs in comcs, that killing the dog broke the rules. In Blondie, I reasoned, the dog Daisy is still with us after about 100 years, and although the characters didn’t age in real time as credibly as in FBOFW, both Alexander and Cookie entered the strip as babies and have grown to adulthood, while Daisy is spry as ever..
Anyway I wrote a polite letter to Lynn Johnston at the time, expressing my disagreement with her decision, and she wrote a kind letter back, illustrated with drawings of the characters. Despite what she has said elsewhere, she wrote in the letter that if she had known the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing would happen right before the strip run, she woudn’t have done it (not a connection I had mentioned in my letter to her, but an interesting take from her perspective).
Re-reading your comment and others, I think you may well be right! (that Arlo thought she was referring to…something else). The joke works either way, and might be an example of how Jimmy walks the line with these gags. :^) It would help of we saw Janis’ reaction, but she’s seen in the last panel while still talking, before Arlo’s reply.
Some of us remember when there was a whole comic book series called “Little Dot,” about a girl who was obsessed with dots — who not only wore a dress with polka dots, she compulsively painted dots on everything. (Her full name as I recall, was Dot Polka.) This was one of several Harvey comic books focused on children with mental disorders, like “Little Lotta” about a girl who clearly had an eating disorder on top of whatever was happening with her hormones.