Arlo Rub
Cidu Bill on May 29th 2009
Needless to say, a lot of people sent me today’s Arlo and Janis. Jimmy clearly slipped an Arlo Award comic past the syndicate’s censors.
Filed in Arlo Award, Arlo Page, Arlo and Janis, Bill Bickel, Jimmy Johnson, comic strips, comics, humor, sex | 14 responses so far
Mateus May 30th 2009 at 01:32 am 1
Heh…I guess it’s good to be reminded why the Arlo Award got its name every so often, right?
Marshal May 30th 2009 at 03:04 am 2
I don’t know it it’s a case of slipping one over on
the censors or the censors just thinking the joke just
wasn’t that big a deal. As Arlo’s go this one if fairly
tame.
Rub -noun
12. something that annoys or irritates one’s feelings, as a sharp criticism, a sarcastic remark, or the like: to resent rubs concerning one’s character.
13. an annoying experience or circumstance.
14. an obstacle, impediment, or difficulty: We’d like to travel, but the rub is that we have no money.
Annie Benson May 30th 2009 at 04:51 am 3
So marshall, are you saying that when my male companion asks me to rub his anatomy he’s hoping for an annoying experience? I thought I understood his motives, but I guess I was wrong. How very odd.
Powers May 30th 2009 at 09:15 am 4
What a coincidence that a strip with “Arlo” in its title would win the “Arlo” award, since the latter is very specifically not named for the former!
Ooten Aboot May 30th 2009 at 09:33 am 5
#4 Powers: if the Arlo Award is not named after Arlo of Arlo and Janis, then I suppose Washington is not named after George. Don’t believe everything you read in the FAQs. “That’s my story and I’m sticking with it” is on a par with “To be perfectly honest with you”.
Rammy M May 30th 2009 at 10:04 am 6
This does not deserves “The Arlo” at all. Yes he is implying some “heavy petting” (a purposely vague term)
But to say that “more than rubbing” is something that “obviously slipped by the censors” is like saying that ANY strip with a baby (or any person!) implies someone (their parents) “Had SEX!!, how did the censors not block the comic!!?? What Will We Tell The Kids For Heavens Sake!!!!”
If you did “want to explain [this comic] to the kids”, it is easy to explain that it means kissing.
No award here.
(Did you mean “practically living with”? Certainly there are many that would frown on that, even just “practically”, but the mention of the concept itself is certainly nowhere near censor territory)
R
ps sorry for the rant
Mitch4 May 30th 2009 at 10:44 am 7
“Pibgorn” this week went well past suggestive, approaching explicit. [So not an Arlo candidate.]
Craig May 30th 2009 at 04:59 pm 8
Mitch4,
Pibgorn frequently strays way past suggestive and into explicit. I was still tempted to send it in for consideration.
Cidu Bill May 30th 2009 at 05:27 pm 9
Piborn seems to be web-only, so it doesn’t count.
Pheidias May 30th 2009 at 08:27 pm 10
I get the “more than rubbing” joke, but it’s a belabored setup. What does practically living with Mary Lou have to do with getting a job, and why is that “the rub”?
Perhaps a better comic would be, “Gene’s not spending much time at home anymore, finally!” “But he’s practically living with Mary Lou!” “Ay, there’s the rub.” “There’s a lot more than rubbing going on, and you know it!”
Kamino Neko May 30th 2009 at 09:16 pm 11
That wouldn’t be funnier - it’d be the exact same joke.
What the up side Arlo presents is doesn’t change that, or why, the downside is that Gene will be living with (and presumably sleeping with) his girlfriend.
Andrea May 31st 2009 at 12:13 am 12
Pheidias, it’s only a belabored setup if you don’t know the story line. Gene will be “practically living with” Mary Lou to get this job because it’s a job in her family’s restaurant, in a town far away from his parents’ house. So living with Mary Lou has everything to do with the job.
yellojkt May 31st 2009 at 07:55 am 13
Janis is having a very hard time dealing with the fact that her son is sexually active and that rubs her the wrong way.
Powers May 31st 2009 at 07:55 am 14
Re: #5: Ooten, try looking up “polite fiction” sometime. Sheesh.