This one took me a while, but I think it’s that Janis leaves these notes around for Arlo and he just ignores them. So one day she wrote one that said she was leaving him, just as an attention-getter. Now, a month later, he actually read the note. She’s frustrated that he never reads these things and rather than giving up she’s trying to make him think they might include important information.
Arlo doesn’t notice or ignores the notes Janis leaves for him. As a test, she put up a note saying she’s leaving, and it was a month before he even spotted it.
It took me awhile too, but once I got it, I chuckled. The funniest part is Arlo’s subdued reaction. Either he knows Janis is just testing him or he’s still not awake to be functioning.
I’m thinking she’s putting these notes in places that he either a) doesn’t tend to look, or b) has learned to ignore. But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.
Seems like a dangerous game Janis is playing: Arlo might not realize it’s a joke and come in and say Fine, I’ve been sleeping with Lois Flagston for the past two years, and she’ll move in thr second you’re gone.
Kilby, they’d be very different strips: Arlo & Lois would be about a middle-aged couple adjusting to their second marriages, the Flagston kids trying to figure out Arlo, and the mystery of why Lois still seems to be 30 years old.
Hi & Janis will be darker, about vengeful ex-spouses. Midway through the first year, we finally find out what happened to Janis’s former friend Robin, and it’s not pretty.
I seem to remember, wasn’t there a hint that Arlo and Janis live just around the block from Hi and Lois? I wonder if Beetle Bailey will drop in sometime when he’s on leave.
“But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.”
“You’d think the mirror would be hard to ignore.”
He’s not ignoring those things, he’s ignoring the notes. I imagine he’s reached saturation point if Janis is leaving trivial notes all over the place all of the time for months on end. He probably doesn’t even see them any more, like becoming accustomed to background noise. I don’t think he can’t be blamed here.
TALK to your husband, Janis! At the very least, find a method that works.
Additionally, if Janis is anything like my wife, then 98% of the time the notes are to remind herself of something. It’s pointless for me to read them them no matter where they are. That’s not happening here of course, but still, thought I’d share a small part of my life related to Post-It notes since we’re on the subject.
“But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.”
“You’d think the mirror would be hard to ignore.”
He’s not ignoring those things, he’s ignoring the notes.
Um, Stan? Are you just sounding roundabout, or did you miss that both of those statements you quote were written with an implied ” … the notes on …” interpolated?
that strip is supposed to be an example of passive aggressive behavior? No, it’s not. That’s playful behavior, both parties are enjoying it as witnessed by the smiles in the final panel, and since Janis is actually physically battering Arlo, there’s nothing “passive” about it. It’s also not an example of Mitch’s worry of them seriously to be having problems. So just what exactly is it a good example of?
I wouldn’t say that, Andréa: when my younger son was teo or three, and we were in the supermarket, he would often make some smartass remark just so I’d “beat him up” with an empty plastic produce bag.
Yes, I knew it looked odd to some of the other customers, but he found it hysterically funny.
I like something else Johnson did in that last comic. Even a full moon doesn’t give enough light for color vision. Everything in the comic is monochrome except for Janis’s face which is illuminated by the “newspaper”.
Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
And removes the colors from our sight
Red is gray and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion.
My brothers and I give each other the shoulder slugs and stuff, like the old days. It stings a bit, but it’s no big deal. And yeah, double standard. If he hit her, it would be an outrage, but that’s the way it is.
Comics I Don't Understand 
This one took me a while, but I think it’s that Janis leaves these notes around for Arlo and he just ignores them. So one day she wrote one that said she was leaving him, just as an attention-getter. Now, a month later, he actually read the note. She’s frustrated that he never reads these things and rather than giving up she’s trying to make him think they might include important information.
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Arlo doesn’t notice or ignores the notes Janis leaves for him. As a test, she put up a note saying she’s leaving, and it was a month before he even spotted it.
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So, based on what we see, he’s not missing anything important. She didn’t actually leave.
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It took me awhile too, but once I got it, I chuckled. The funniest part is Arlo’s subdued reaction. Either he knows Janis is just testing him or he’s still not awake to be functioning.
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I’m thinking she’s putting these notes in places that he either a) doesn’t tend to look, or b) has learned to ignore. But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.
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You’d think the mirror would be hard to ignore. He’s stooping over unnaturally.
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“But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.”
And yet he seems to have for at least a month.
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IarK – they finally used the pizza coupon that was covering the sticky note.
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Seems like a dangerous game Janis is playing: Arlo might not realize it’s a joke and come in and say Fine, I’ve been sleeping with Lois Flagston for the past two years, and she’ll move in thr second you’re gone.
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@ B.A. – Which of the two resulting comic strips do you think will be more successful: “Hi & Janis“, or “Arlo & Lois“?
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Kilby, they’d be very different strips: Arlo & Lois would be about a middle-aged couple adjusting to their second marriages, the Flagston kids trying to figure out Arlo, and the mystery of why Lois still seems to be 30 years old.
Hi & Janis will be darker, about vengeful ex-spouses. Midway through the first year, we finally find out what happened to Janis’s former friend Robin, and it’s not pretty.
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I seem to remember, wasn’t there a hint that Arlo and Janis live just around the block from Hi and Lois? I wonder if Beetle Bailey will drop in sometime when he’s on leave.
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Arlo mentioned once that he’d had fantasies about Lois.
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And this plot in A&J is getting worrying. They do seem to seriously be having problems.
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“But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.”
“You’d think the mirror would be hard to ignore.”
He’s not ignoring those things, he’s ignoring the notes. I imagine he’s reached saturation point if Janis is leaving trivial notes all over the place all of the time for months on end. He probably doesn’t even see them any more, like becoming accustomed to background noise. I don’t think he can’t be blamed here.
TALK to your husband, Janis! At the very least, find a method that works.
Additionally, if Janis is anything like my wife, then 98% of the time the notes are to remind herself of something. It’s pointless for me to read them them no matter where they are. That’s not happening here of course, but still, thought I’d share a small part of my life related to Post-It notes since we’re on the subject.
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“I don’t think he can’t be blamed here.”
Sorry, I meant…I don’t think he CAN be blamed here.
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“But he can’t ignore the refrigerator handle.”
“You’d think the mirror would be hard to ignore.”
He’s not ignoring those things, he’s ignoring the notes.
Um, Stan? Are you just sounding roundabout, or did you miss that both of those statements you quote were written with an implied ” … the notes on …” interpolated?
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Um, Kilby…guess I missed it. Apologies.
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Sorry…that should be…”Um, Mitch… ”
What’s wrong with me today? I’m ignoring things as badly as Arlo.
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Mitch, I’ve noticed A LOT of passive-aggressive comments and behavior in this strip over the past year.
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No worries . Have you noticed that the kids have taken up using your name as a verb? So don’t worry, we still stan you! :-)
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Today would be a good example of that . . .
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that strip is supposed to be an example of passive aggressive behavior? No, it’s not. That’s playful behavior, both parties are enjoying it as witnessed by the smiles in the final panel, and since Janis is actually physically battering Arlo, there’s nothing “passive” about it. It’s also not an example of Mitch’s worry of them seriously to be having problems. So just what exactly is it a good example of?
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Potential spousal abuse?
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I wouldn’t say that, Andréa: when my younger son was teo or three, and we were in the supermarket, he would often make some smartass remark just so I’d “beat him up” with an empty plastic produce bag.
Yes, I knew it looked odd to some of the other customers, but he found it hysterically funny.
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I like something else Johnson did in that last comic. Even a full moon doesn’t give enough light for color vision. Everything in the comic is monochrome except for Janis’s face which is illuminated by the “newspaper”.
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Isn’t the same thing at all. These are two adults, and from the look of the ‘star’, she made hard enough contact to hurt.
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Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
And removes the colors from our sight
Red is gray and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion.
The Moody Blues
Did that from memory, I think it’s pretty close.
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Yes, it is; it was playing on my SONOS a day or so ago.
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The star doesn’t really make sense to me, because they’re both laughing about it. Maybe they’re into sado-masochism?
Is it possible the star is… actually a star? This is nighttime, after all.
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Also, Arthur, illuminating Janis’s face makes it easier to TELL that Arlo’s looking at an iPad or some other electronic device.
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Arlo can take it, and he knows he deserves it; plus, Janis hits like a girl.
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My brothers and I give each other the shoulder slugs and stuff, like the old days. It stings a bit, but it’s no big deal. And yeah, double standard. If he hit her, it would be an outrage, but that’s the way it is.
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