I don’t think there’s a single part of this that I understand.
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Alto and Janis live near the Gulf Coast. They start getting peepers while the Christmas wreath is still up.
That’s where Jimmy Johnson lives too. He probably heard peepers when his wreath was still up, which was when it was still reasonable to have a Christmas wreath up, and thought of the strip.
I’m sorry, but panel two makes me think the cartoonist caught the frog in the act of urinating.
Winter Wallaby – just a quick response about the domino theory. You are correct, the Vietnam War does not disprove the idea. I used my words carelessly. What I meant to express was my opinion that we got into that fight through a failure of imagination and information. LBJ wanted no part of the fight, but the fears of global communist domination led us to pour blood and treasure down a rabbit hole. I know I’m an armchair quarterback, but we must reflect on the past or we will never make a better future.
I sincerely hope I haven’t offended you. best regards.
True, in the Southeast United States, the triggering first hint of warmth may come quite early in the new year, and I’m guessing that the last panel might be saying that not only are they early, but, boy, there’s a lot of ’em. And beckoningchasm may very well be right, the frog upon waking up might do what most of us do immediately upon waking up. That panel might not be an accidental double-entendre.
If the joke is that they hear a harbinger of spring when it’s still Christmas season, it would make more sense to run the strip during Christmas season instead of on March 25.
So this has nothing to do with the “marshmallow peeps” things? (Are they considered candies?)
FWIW- We live in western Ohio and my tree and wreath finally came down on March 16. We’ve had a lot of ” life” happening around here and I was determined to have it down before St. Pat’s. No peepers yet!
Whatever the explanation, this is just a dud of a comic.
Here on Gulf Coast of Florida, near Tampa, we had a COLD winter – but still heard crickets/peepers during the Christmas weeks. The COLD came in February for a few days.
“I’m sorry, but panel two makes me think the cartoonist caught the frog in the act of urinating.”
I think that’s it. After all, the frog just woke from hibernation. That’s a reasonably common activity when you get up.
This Mark Trail/Arlo & Janis crossover doesn’t work as well as they expected.
I agree with ignatzz – I thought the strip was about leaving the wreath up too long; if you all are right, the strip is a couple of months too late.
And thanks for pointing out the pee panel. hehe
Janis traditionally takes the Christmas wreath down when she hears the first peeps.
” it would make more sense to run the strip during Christmas season”
Perhaps it was created in early January (because Mr. Johnson noticed the early arrival of the frogs) and the run time is just a function of the lead time for Sunday comics production.
We have non-migrating robins in Massachusetts.
Spring? Bah, humbug.
James, the lead time is three weeks, not ten. And whatever the lead time, if Jimmy had intended this to take place in January, he could have just held it for next January.
Watterson once wrote that the lead time for Sunday strips was significantly longer than for dailies. He didn’t quote specific numbers, but it makes me wonder from where that “three weeks” came from.
“James, the lead time is three weeks, not ten.”
It’s between six and eight, depending on how far it is from where the paper is assembled and where the color comics are printed.
“Three weeks” is based on the fact that whenever a beloved public figure dies, tribute strips show up three weeks later like clockwork.
Six to eight weeks is based on the normal production schedules.
Mitch4 – to answer your question – no this is not referring to the Marshmallow Peeps candies, but to the little tree frogs that are called “peepers” in most of the areas where they are native. Though Peeps candies have lately come out in forms other than chicks and rabbits (and colors other than yellow, and even in weird flavors) I don’t think they’ve ever done a peeper Peep.
Those three-week tributes are presumably in the daily strips, and not the Sunday funnies. Almost everything appears in color these days (at least online, which is not necessarily an improvement), but the Sunday supplements are still printed and packaged in advance (for “offline” distribution).
No, those three week tributes arise because the syndicates pull out special handling to make substitutions for the strips that were originally scheduled.
They can change the things that appear online quite easily. But Sunday strips aren’t printed at the same time as the rest of the newspaper they appear with. They’re printed separately, and then added to the Sunday paper just before they’re distributed.
That is true. Longer lead time for Sunday strips.
Still, whatever the lead time is, Jimmy is certainly aware of it, so if he draws a panel that’s not going get published until the end of March, he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march.
Well, he *had* to run it spring and *couldn’t* have run it at christmas. The *joke* is that we think this is a spring strip and the joke is that the peepers are peeping early in december because central into canada is varied.
As a “they’re taking the decorations down late” makes no sense with the line that the range of the peepers is big. And they aren’t taking the decorations *down*. They are putting decorations *up*.
“if he draws a panel that’s not going get published until the end of March, he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march.”
And, lacking a functional time machine, if he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march, it’s not going to get published in January.
I… think that was my point?
“I… think that was my point?”
Then your point was I was right all along? Cool.
Perhaps it was created in early January (because Mr. Johnson noticed the early arrival of the frogs) and the run time is just a function of the lead time for Sunday comics production.
Heard an ad on the radio. I know that beer can be made using any type of carbohydrate but – Peeps?
Spring? Doesn’t that mean that the snow is suppose to stop (and not cancel Yankees opening day)?
The rule used to be if the Easter Bunny sees his shadow, winter was over.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Alto and Janis live near the Gulf Coast. They start getting peepers while the Christmas wreath is still up.
That’s where Jimmy Johnson lives too. He probably heard peepers when his wreath was still up, which was when it was still reasonable to have a Christmas wreath up, and thought of the strip.
I’m sorry, but panel two makes me think the cartoonist caught the frog in the act of urinating.
Winter Wallaby – just a quick response about the domino theory. You are correct, the Vietnam War does not disprove the idea. I used my words carelessly. What I meant to express was my opinion that we got into that fight through a failure of imagination and information. LBJ wanted no part of the fight, but the fears of global communist domination led us to pour blood and treasure down a rabbit hole. I know I’m an armchair quarterback, but we must reflect on the past or we will never make a better future.
I sincerely hope I haven’t offended you. best regards.
True, in the Southeast United States, the triggering first hint of warmth may come quite early in the new year, and I’m guessing that the last panel might be saying that not only are they early, but, boy, there’s a lot of ’em. And beckoningchasm may very well be right, the frog upon waking up might do what most of us do immediately upon waking up. That panel might not be an accidental double-entendre.
If the joke is that they hear a harbinger of spring when it’s still Christmas season, it would make more sense to run the strip during Christmas season instead of on March 25.
So this has nothing to do with the “marshmallow peeps” things? (Are they considered candies?)
FWIW- We live in western Ohio and my tree and wreath finally came down on March 16. We’ve had a lot of ” life” happening around here and I was determined to have it down before St. Pat’s. No peepers yet!
Whatever the explanation, this is just a dud of a comic.
Here on Gulf Coast of Florida, near Tampa, we had a COLD winter – but still heard crickets/peepers during the Christmas weeks. The COLD came in February for a few days.
“I’m sorry, but panel two makes me think the cartoonist caught the frog in the act of urinating.”
I think that’s it. After all, the frog just woke from hibernation. That’s a reasonably common activity when you get up.
This Mark Trail/Arlo & Janis crossover doesn’t work as well as they expected.
I agree with ignatzz – I thought the strip was about leaving the wreath up too long; if you all are right, the strip is a couple of months too late.
And thanks for pointing out the pee panel. hehe
Janis traditionally takes the Christmas wreath down when she hears the first peeps.
” it would make more sense to run the strip during Christmas season”
Perhaps it was created in early January (because Mr. Johnson noticed the early arrival of the frogs) and the run time is just a function of the lead time for Sunday comics production.
We have non-migrating robins in Massachusetts.
Spring? Bah, humbug.
James, the lead time is three weeks, not ten. And whatever the lead time, if Jimmy had intended this to take place in January, he could have just held it for next January.
Watterson once wrote that the lead time for Sunday strips was significantly longer than for dailies. He didn’t quote specific numbers, but it makes me wonder from where that “three weeks” came from.
“James, the lead time is three weeks, not ten.”
It’s between six and eight, depending on how far it is from where the paper is assembled and where the color comics are printed.
“Three weeks” is based on the fact that whenever a beloved public figure dies, tribute strips show up three weeks later like clockwork.
Six to eight weeks is based on the normal production schedules.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/comics-still-have-long-lead-times/
Mitch4 – to answer your question – no this is not referring to the Marshmallow Peeps candies, but to the little tree frogs that are called “peepers” in most of the areas where they are native. Though Peeps candies have lately come out in forms other than chicks and rabbits (and colors other than yellow, and even in weird flavors) I don’t think they’ve ever done a peeper Peep.
Those three-week tributes are presumably in the daily strips, and not the Sunday funnies. Almost everything appears in color these days (at least online, which is not necessarily an improvement), but the Sunday supplements are still printed and packaged in advance (for “offline” distribution).
No, those three week tributes arise because the syndicates pull out special handling to make substitutions for the strips that were originally scheduled.
They can change the things that appear online quite easily. But Sunday strips aren’t printed at the same time as the rest of the newspaper they appear with. They’re printed separately, and then added to the Sunday paper just before they’re distributed.
That is true. Longer lead time for Sunday strips.
Still, whatever the lead time is, Jimmy is certainly aware of it, so if he draws a panel that’s not going get published until the end of March, he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march.
Well, he *had* to run it spring and *couldn’t* have run it at christmas. The *joke* is that we think this is a spring strip and the joke is that the peepers are peeping early in december because central into canada is varied.
As a “they’re taking the decorations down late” makes no sense with the line that the range of the peepers is big. And they aren’t taking the decorations *down*. They are putting decorations *up*.
“if he draws a panel that’s not going get published until the end of March, he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march.”
And, lacking a functional time machine, if he knows it’s not going to get published until the end of march, it’s not going to get published in January.
I… think that was my point?
“I… think that was my point?”
Then your point was I was right all along? Cool.
Perhaps it was created in early January (because Mr. Johnson noticed the early arrival of the frogs) and the run time is just a function of the lead time for Sunday comics production.
Heard an ad on the radio. I know that beer can be made using any type of carbohydrate but – Peeps?
Spring? Doesn’t that mean that the snow is suppose to stop (and not cancel Yankees opening day)?
The rule used to be if the Easter Bunny sees his shadow, winter was over.