Ah, the penguin … So far as I know Oliphant never officially retired. Latest cartoons on gocomics were in February of 2017, and the last before that was 2015. I guess he takes longer to reach a boiling point.
Oliphant is not the only cartoonist with a recurring “familiar creature”, but using his qualifies as a tribute. Toles’ artist at the draftboard wouldn’t work here, but it could have been much worse (i.e., tree dwelling rat with a bushy tail).
Is there any significance to the chemical formula (K2O2 – potassium peroxide) on the diploma/certificate on the wall in the first cartoon?
See the little number 7 near the artists signatures. This means that there are 7 of Piraro little symbols around. The Alien, the Eye Ball, The firecracker, K2, 02, The Pie, The Upside down bird. A feature of the strip.
I just can’t get the Gahan Wilson panel. At first I thought the man is thinking that the wall chart [yes?] indicates the safe may be empty. That idea would be good but I just can’t quite be sure that’s what’s happening.
Never seen seven of the hidden doodles in Bizarro before…is that the limit?
@ terrencefeenstra – It’s not a chemical formula: “K2” and “O2” are two of the 7 “Easter eggs” in this panel.. K2 appears fairly frequently, O2 is rather rare. The other five are easy to find.
P.S. @ Big Chief – Seven is quite high, but I believe there was a Sunday panel in landscape format that had more than that.
I agree with Kevin A on the Gahan Wilson comic: the boss just figured out that it wasn’t going to be worth the effort to crack the safe.
I never knew that “Arlo” was a cartoonist. There’s also Garfield’s “Jon” and the self-portraits of “Stephan” in “Pearls Before Swine”. Are there others?
POTASSIUM PEROXIDE is a yellow granular solid. Mixtures of potassium peroxide and combustible material readily ignited by friction, heat or contact with moisture. Prolonged exposure to fire or heat may cause vigorous decomposition of the material and rupture of the container. Used as a bleach
Arlo isn’t a cartoonist. He has an intentionally vague job, with coworkers, and they occasionally popped up in early A&J. But A&J isn’t a workplace strip, so they faded out, like on Garfield, Jon’s friend “Lyman”, Odie’s original owner, just faded away after a while.
In #2, is there some significance to it being “Ace Paint Co.” and not some other type of company?
So I’m gathering from these comments that the A&J is somewhat of a tribute, and that’s why Arlo is shown for the nonce as a cartoonist, and why that familiar is lurking at the side of the last frame. Does that also explain his hair? And was there a reason for the tribute? Like a death or retirement or award?
I’m pretty sure that’s Johnson’s self-portrait, not Arlo. (IIRC, Arlo is partially based on Johnson himself, so that’s a relatively fine distinction.)
The hair style is different; the clothing doesn’t click and the room doesn’t look like any of the house. I took it to be a self-portrait and not Arlo.
I absolutely don’t get the Gahan Wilson. The stock may be plummeting but one doesn’t assume that the burglers are attempting to steal stock certificates.
“I absolutely don’t get the Gahan Wilson. The stock may be plummeting…”
Businesses don’t keep track of stock prices (well, they do, but not in that way). They keep track of operations… production, sales, revenue. Business is way off, and the company is either failing to produce as much paint, or sell as much paint, as they used to, and THAT’S what you’re seeing on the chart. Stock prices may follow a similar curve, later, if the company can’t correct it’s operational problems.
But, if this is a chart of paint production, or paint sales, or revenues, then there won’t be much cash in the safe. If it’s a chart of demand, the company will face hard times but that might not affect short-term cash-flow… the company will need to keep more cash on hand, to meet expenses, because they won’t have it coming in like they’re used to. If it’s a chart of debt, the company is in good shape, but probably doesn’t have a lot of cash on hand (again).
It’s also possible this is a chart of just a single product line. For example, exterior paint is a seasonal product in places where it’s cold and/or wet outside in the winter. The company counts on peak sales during the run up to summer “painting” season to carry its exterior paint product line. Interior paints, on the other hand, are more steady year-round as people decide they don’t like the look of their interiors all year round.
The lesson here is that charts with no title or measurements on them are largely useless.
But, breaking into a business and opening the safe involves time, effort, and risk… which must be measured against the possible reward. Seeing this chart on the wall suggests the reward may be negligible. These burglar-safecrackers are probably better off working elsewhere, unless they have inside knowledge (cash payroll, for example, being on the premises.)
So is the Arlo strip an oblique poke at this very blog and its seeming obsession with a certain squirrel “mascot”? It certainly seems to be a 4th wall joke, which they have done in the past from time to time.
Oh, and coffee jokes are a running gag on Dark Side Of The Horse (along with breaking the 4th wall.)
“There’s also Garfield’s “Jon” and the self-portraits of “Stephan” in “Pearls Before Swine”. Are there others?”
John Arbuckle is a cartoonist in one strip but it’s not implied his strip is itsellf Garfield. Cartoonist frequently appear in breaking the 4th wall as cartoonist (but then the panel with them in not supposed to be in the strip); that goes back to Mutt and Jeff and probably earlier. I was going to say that The pearls before swine is a bit unusual in that the character in the strip is supposed to be the cartoonist of the same strip …. until I realized Family Circus does that and if Family Circus does then it’s …. not that innovative. (Bill Griffith of Zippy the Pinhead did it too but that was supposed to be surreal). Pearls before Swine is still a bit unique in that we frequently *see* the actual events in the strip as being the result of the idea of the cartoonist (rather than the cartoonists creations bugging him during a break in cartooning).
Oh, I just got it! (.. while I was reading the comments.) I had the timeline wrong. And now I can also hear the tone in the man’s voice.
Francesco Marciulano, Randy Mulholland and David Willis all draw/drew themselves into their strips. I mention them in particular because I’ve run into all three over the years. Ces looks absolutely nothing like his in-strip persona, Mulholland looks somewhat like his, and Willis is looks so much like his — and like Walky — it was actually scary.
“Oh, I just got it! (.. while I was reading the comments.) I had the timeline wrong. And now I can also hear the tone in the man’s voice.”
Then explain it because I still don’t get it.
Darby Conley has drawn himself in “Get Fuzzy”. He looks a little bit like Rob Wilco.
I’ve seen pictures of Pastis, and he doesn’t look all that much like the way he draws himself. But then Strip!Pastis isn’t quite the same person as the real cartoonist.
Shaenon Garrity draws herself a lot, and I don’t think I would recognize her from her cartoon self. Actually, now that I think of it, lots of webcartoonists draw themselves and not just in journal comics.
Pastis has said that some people assume the marital breakup shown in the strip has happened in real life.
@ Brian in StL – I have to admit that I thought along those lines. I wasn’t able to find any confirmation, but I also couldn’t find refutation, either.
Okay woozy et. al. My apologies, I immediately knew I should have cast a little more light but got called away Sunday afternoon.. I was especially confused by the Gahan Wilson having been in the Horror collection. I got the panel when I realized that the value was dipping in the chart while the two were trying to rob the place.
My current question is: what is that long tool that the safe cracker was screwing together. I googled for a long time trying to find a picture of old/old time/classic/ safe cracking tools that would lead me to an answer.
“what is that long tool that the safe cracker was screwing together”
It looks like a pry bar with screw-on additions for added leverage. OTOH, it could be a “cow tool”.
Arthur, thanks! I see it now. I could only see something like a curved-down beak of a bird pointing to our right, and I wanted it to be something he could pry with. (I think the rest of the bar is at slightly the wrong direction.)
I presumed it was Johnson in the Arlo and he is demonstrating how hard it is to come up with ideas for the strip – and today his idea was to show him trying to come up with an idea – and he drinks a lot of coffee because “it helps him think”. Or am I being too literal which I am known to do. That was my thought when I saw the strip.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Ah, the penguin … So far as I know Oliphant never officially retired. Latest cartoons on gocomics were in February of 2017, and the last before that was 2015. I guess he takes longer to reach a boiling point.
Oliphant is not the only cartoonist with a recurring “familiar creature”, but using his qualifies as a tribute. Toles’ artist at the draftboard wouldn’t work here, but it could have been much worse (i.e., tree dwelling rat with a bushy tail).
Is there any significance to the chemical formula (K2O2 – potassium peroxide) on the diploma/certificate on the wall in the first cartoon?
See the little number 7 near the artists signatures. This means that there are 7 of Piraro little symbols around. The Alien, the Eye Ball, The firecracker, K2, 02, The Pie, The Upside down bird. A feature of the strip.
I just can’t get the Gahan Wilson panel. At first I thought the man is thinking that the wall chart [yes?] indicates the safe may be empty. That idea would be good but I just can’t quite be sure that’s what’s happening.
Never seen seven of the hidden doodles in Bizarro before…is that the limit?
@ terrencefeenstra – It’s not a chemical formula: “K2” and “O2” are two of the 7 “Easter eggs” in this panel.. K2 appears fairly frequently, O2 is rather rare. The other five are easy to find.
P.S. @ Big Chief – Seven is quite high, but I believe there was a Sunday panel in landscape format that had more than that.
I agree with Kevin A on the Gahan Wilson comic: the boss just figured out that it wasn’t going to be worth the effort to crack the safe.
I never knew that “Arlo” was a cartoonist. There’s also Garfield’s “Jon” and the self-portraits of “Stephan” in “Pearls Before Swine”. Are there others?
POTASSIUM PEROXIDE is a yellow granular solid. Mixtures of potassium peroxide and combustible material readily ignited by friction, heat or contact with moisture. Prolonged exposure to fire or heat may cause vigorous decomposition of the material and rupture of the container. Used as a bleach
Arlo isn’t a cartoonist. He has an intentionally vague job, with coworkers, and they occasionally popped up in early A&J. But A&J isn’t a workplace strip, so they faded out, like on Garfield, Jon’s friend “Lyman”, Odie’s original owner, just faded away after a while.
In #2, is there some significance to it being “Ace Paint Co.” and not some other type of company?
So I’m gathering from these comments that the A&J is somewhat of a tribute, and that’s why Arlo is shown for the nonce as a cartoonist, and why that familiar is lurking at the side of the last frame. Does that also explain his hair? And was there a reason for the tribute? Like a death or retirement or award?
I’m pretty sure that’s Johnson’s self-portrait, not Arlo. (IIRC, Arlo is partially based on Johnson himself, so that’s a relatively fine distinction.)
The hair style is different; the clothing doesn’t click and the room doesn’t look like any of the house. I took it to be a self-portrait and not Arlo.
I absolutely don’t get the Gahan Wilson. The stock may be plummeting but one doesn’t assume that the burglers are attempting to steal stock certificates.
“I absolutely don’t get the Gahan Wilson. The stock may be plummeting…”
Businesses don’t keep track of stock prices (well, they do, but not in that way). They keep track of operations… production, sales, revenue. Business is way off, and the company is either failing to produce as much paint, or sell as much paint, as they used to, and THAT’S what you’re seeing on the chart. Stock prices may follow a similar curve, later, if the company can’t correct it’s operational problems.
But, if this is a chart of paint production, or paint sales, or revenues, then there won’t be much cash in the safe. If it’s a chart of demand, the company will face hard times but that might not affect short-term cash-flow… the company will need to keep more cash on hand, to meet expenses, because they won’t have it coming in like they’re used to. If it’s a chart of debt, the company is in good shape, but probably doesn’t have a lot of cash on hand (again).
It’s also possible this is a chart of just a single product line. For example, exterior paint is a seasonal product in places where it’s cold and/or wet outside in the winter. The company counts on peak sales during the run up to summer “painting” season to carry its exterior paint product line. Interior paints, on the other hand, are more steady year-round as people decide they don’t like the look of their interiors all year round.
The lesson here is that charts with no title or measurements on them are largely useless.
But, breaking into a business and opening the safe involves time, effort, and risk… which must be measured against the possible reward. Seeing this chart on the wall suggests the reward may be negligible. These burglar-safecrackers are probably better off working elsewhere, unless they have inside knowledge (cash payroll, for example, being on the premises.)
So is the Arlo strip an oblique poke at this very blog and its seeming obsession with a certain squirrel “mascot”? It certainly seems to be a 4th wall joke, which they have done in the past from time to time.
Oh, and coffee jokes are a running gag on Dark Side Of The Horse (along with breaking the 4th wall.)
“There’s also Garfield’s “Jon” and the self-portraits of “Stephan” in “Pearls Before Swine”. Are there others?”
John Arbuckle is a cartoonist in one strip but it’s not implied his strip is itsellf Garfield. Cartoonist frequently appear in breaking the 4th wall as cartoonist (but then the panel with them in not supposed to be in the strip); that goes back to Mutt and Jeff and probably earlier. I was going to say that The pearls before swine is a bit unusual in that the character in the strip is supposed to be the cartoonist of the same strip …. until I realized Family Circus does that and if Family Circus does then it’s …. not that innovative. (Bill Griffith of Zippy the Pinhead did it too but that was supposed to be surreal). Pearls before Swine is still a bit unique in that we frequently *see* the actual events in the strip as being the result of the idea of the cartoonist (rather than the cartoonists creations bugging him during a break in cartooning).
Oh, I just got it! (.. while I was reading the comments.) I had the timeline wrong. And now I can also hear the tone in the man’s voice.
Francesco Marciulano, Randy Mulholland and David Willis all draw/drew themselves into their strips. I mention them in particular because I’ve run into all three over the years. Ces looks absolutely nothing like his in-strip persona, Mulholland looks somewhat like his, and Willis is looks so much like his — and like Walky — it was actually scary.
“Oh, I just got it! (.. while I was reading the comments.) I had the timeline wrong. And now I can also hear the tone in the man’s voice.”
Then explain it because I still don’t get it.
Darby Conley has drawn himself in “Get Fuzzy”. He looks a little bit like Rob Wilco.
I’ve seen pictures of Pastis, and he doesn’t look all that much like the way he draws himself. But then Strip!Pastis isn’t quite the same person as the real cartoonist.
Shaenon Garrity draws herself a lot, and I don’t think I would recognize her from her cartoon self. Actually, now that I think of it, lots of webcartoonists draw themselves and not just in journal comics.
Pastis has said that some people assume the marital breakup shown in the strip has happened in real life.
@ Brian in StL – I have to admit that I thought along those lines. I wasn’t able to find any confirmation, but I also couldn’t find refutation, either.
Kilby: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/is-pearls-before-swine-creator-getting-divorced-well-if-you-believe-everything-you-read-in-the-funny-papers/2014/02/19/b20c8cda-99e7-11e3-b88d-f36c07223d88_blog.html
Okay woozy et. al. My apologies, I immediately knew I should have cast a little more light but got called away Sunday afternoon.. I was especially confused by the Gahan Wilson having been in the Horror collection. I got the panel when I realized that the value was dipping in the chart while the two were trying to rob the place.
My current question is: what is that long tool that the safe cracker was screwing together. I googled for a long time trying to find a picture of old/old time/classic/ safe cracking tools that would lead me to an answer.
“what is that long tool that the safe cracker was screwing together”
It looks like a pry bar with screw-on additions for added leverage. OTOH, it could be a “cow tool”.
Arthur, thanks! I see it now. I could only see something like a curved-down beak of a bird pointing to our right, and I wanted it to be something he could pry with. (I think the rest of the bar is at slightly the wrong direction.)
I presumed it was Johnson in the Arlo and he is demonstrating how hard it is to come up with ideas for the strip – and today his idea was to show him trying to come up with an idea – and he drinks a lot of coffee because “it helps him think”. Or am I being too literal which I am known to do. That was my thought when I saw the strip.