Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for April 25, 2014

This weeks strips have been excellent…Jimmy’s outdone himself….Great stuff…Story and art….

We all become like the floor covering eventually.

See how she’s holding her arms. She’s cold. But it’s the kid who has to go put a jacket on.

not sure I would like to be compared to a deep fryer and in panel 2 is she talking to Gene or to the girl??

Maru Lou skips over the part where it was her choice to have sex early that caused her to go from girl to mother. back in the early strips like August 2008 she was telling him he had changed her life and now he is reduced to being an appliance. notice how he is silent and she never asks his thougts on things. maybe he’s planning an exit strategy.

I could never figure out why if it’s so cold that your daughter (or in Gene’s case, stepdaughter) has to put a jacket on that you insist on walking around in shorts. Has to be a macho thing.

A sweater is something you have to wear when your mother’s cold.

Found the strips with Mary Lou pregnant. They were dated 1997… http://arloandjanis.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/1997-06-17-mary-lou.gif

Did she just call Gene a big tub of lard? Because that’s the definition of a deep fryer.

I see trouble ahead. Those are things you use.

A deep fryer is pretty important in the food business

I think Mary Lou is merely expressing how the marriage has grown beyond the infatuation stage into the realm of true love, realizing her life now is with Gene. Women usually verbalize such realizations, men usually express it with their actions.

Is that the kind of butterfly that can sting….?

Though I admit, I did not notice the “Swallow Tail.” But, the color and marking are correct.

Arms crossed over chest = major stress. Gene should take her hand to show support.

Peter, good one…

Thanks Chuck…

Why all the fear for their relationship people? They’re just talking things over. She’s trying to help him understand her better…..What her feelings are, what makes her tic…And better yet, it looks like he’s listening without interrupting…I know a lot of women who would say that she got lucky and found a rare guy….Anyway, the coat thing was one of those Mom signs that kids are expected to know or else…There must be a history to it….She doesn’t have to say anything anymore…

I lost a lot of kitchen stuff when I lost my apartment. I miss my deep fryer. Have to spoon out the oil whenever I make fried potatoes. Sucks being college-broke again.