Told Her So

Comics That Made Me Laugh Out Loud in Late December

I think the difference between fathers and mothers is that fathers deliberately embarrass their pre-teen and teenage children, while mothers just… do.

Sparky

Hammer Time!

Methinks Therefore Meams

Shopping Days

I have to admit, I feel as old as Arlo (as indeed I guess I am) whenever he comes up with one of these trivial “I remember when” comments and I remember when as well.

He Needs a What to What??

Okay, so what he’s saying in the follow-up is that massive consumerism (if indeed that’s what getting a toy rocket ship is) is a good thing?

Advice

The advice being “Frustrate your new husband to the point where he can’t think straight”? I suppose next she’ll be seeking advice from Janis on clever ways to avoid having sex.

Comics That Made Me Laugh Out Loud Late in November

Plus ca change…

Well presumably Arlo is getting oddly defensive here, telling Gene that things have in fact changed: They’ve changed the calendar since Gene left for school.

But if this is the point of the comic, why did they change the calendar between September and November (because Gene is clearly home from college for Thanksgiving weekend) rather than, say, on New Year’s Day?

Mastodons

So… He’s saying he’d rather be eating mastodons? Or not?

Hint: No Relation to Bill or George

• Arlo & Janis’s Jimmy Johnson put forth what I thought was a fairly simple trivia question today. If you know the answer, tell him, not me.

Arlo and the Teapot

Reprinted by request:

Channel 3

I can’t make any sense of this, even ignoring the factual error (if channel 3 is a broadcast station in your area, then it not going to be your television’s default station for the DVD or VCR).

Like

Comics That Made Me Laugh Out Loud: September

Peter Byrnes and I shared this selection:

Consider this a runner-up: didn’t make me LOL, but a definite 🙂

Autumn Harvest sent this one:

Nicole: As someone who who works in a cubicle and somewhat into animal rights this TOTALLY made me laugh out loud:

Also from Nicole:

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And finally… this isn’t a CIDU or a Comic That Made Me Laugh, but I wanted to give special mention to a clever political cartoon:

Know Your Audience

And for feminine hygiene products it’s the other way around. His point?

Unknown Numbers

It so happens that my own son, like Arlo and Janis’s, just went off to college. Unlike Arlo and Janis, however, I know my son’s telephone number. 

Or am I missing another joke here?

A couple of weeks ago, by the way, Gene’s departure was the subject of a clever “breaking the fourth wall” strip:

Thoreauly Confused

Ouch

Janis stubbed her toe on the cat? The cat bit her?

Have I ever understood a cat comic?

Bzzzzzzzz

More

Okay, More magazine is for 40+ women. I get that. But what’s Janis’s point here?

Hello?

Donatello (not a CIDU)

Arlo and Janis is consistently one of the best comic strips out there, but every once in a while Jimmy Johnson hits a home run the way nobody else does: Just as Zits nails the way parents and children act, Arlo and Janis nails the way they think.

Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Bastille Day

Okay, it took some time, but I’m finally getting to all your explanations of CIDUs appearing on the old CIDU Page. The rest of the Comics I Didn’t Understand will be uploaded here on Tuesdays and Thursdays through August 2 (alternating with the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule of new CIDUs)

My question here was: “Arlo is saying that ‘it’ was his idea the night Gene was conceived, but what’s JANIS getting at?”

Gary Ansok: I think it’s more that Arlo wants credit for doing Janis’s share of the parenting duties one night. Janis starts thinking of all the times she took over Arlo’s share of the parenting…

Robert Warden: I’m not sure what Janis is getting at either, but it’s a pretty good bet that nothing will get conceived on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day this year.

Charlene Vickers: He’s trying to steal her thunder and take Mother’s Day away from her
by taking full credit for the conception.

She might point out on Father’s Day that the kid was only born because she didn’t have an abortion.

Shari Jackson: If Janis is supposed to be grateful to Arlo on Mother’s Day for his part in making her a mother, just think how grateful Arlo better be to Janis on Father’s Day for her part in making him a father (including carrying the kid for 9 months and going through labor and childbirth).

Joe Blevins: Janis is going to have sex with Arlo and get pregnant purely out of spite. Then the next time Father’s Day rolls around, she’s going to point out that THIS baby was all HER idea. Meanwhile the kid winds up in therapy, I guess. This is a bad marriage. I never thought so until now but bringing a child into the world just to win an argument is extremely petty.

Or else Janis is going to castrate Arlo while he sleeps. Either way, a bad marriage.