Jump Start (comic)

"Jump Start" is a daily comic strip by cartoonist Robb Armstrong. Armstong attended Syracuse University, where in 1982 he created a popular comic strip in the student newspaper "The Daily Orange". That strip was called "Hector" and its main characters were two young men and a glasses-wearing dog. "The Daily Orange" now gives out awards for its comic strips every year known as "The Hector Awards."

After having no success in attempting to syndicate "Hector", Armstrong created "Jump Start", which was designed to have a broader appeal than the earlier strip. "Jump Start" entered syndication in 1989. It portrays the trials and tribulations of young African American couple Joe and Marcy Cobb as they try to balance the demands of work and raising their young children, Sunny, Jojo and twins Tommi and Teddy. It is syndicated by United Feature Syndicate.

Robb Armstrong set out to portray young black couples from his own experience. In Marcy and Joe the reader sees an average middle class couple, busy with work and raising a family. Armstrong says, "The image of young blacks is so skewed, so false. I don't know anybody who's carjacking, playing basketball, rapping. Joe and Marcy and the characters I've developed are deep and based on real life."

List of characters

The Cobb family

Joseph "Joe" Cobb Sr. is a father, loving husband and hard-working city police officer.

Marcy Cobb is a fun, young and caring mother, a loving wife and a busy and dedicated nurse.

Sunny Cobb is the upbeat, intelligent daughter of Joe and Marcy. She is addicted to macaroni and cheese. She is a good big sister to Jojo, but still knows how to use that older sibling power.

Joseph "Jojo" Cobb Jr. is a budding leader with an active imagination. Jojo makes it his business to cause the havoc expected of little brothers. He even considers his group of friends to be his "business partners" and acts as almost a CEO type figure among his friends. His recent pursuits include campaigning for class president and being in a band with his friends called "Benny and the Jets", which he quit to go solo.

Tommi and Teddy Cobb are fraternal twins and the newest addition to the Cobb family. Marcy was pregnant for part of the 2004 year and up until July 2005. While they can't speak yet, they are apparently able to communicate with one another telepathically. From what they say in their thoughts, they also appear to be extremely intelligent with great ambitions and plans for when they grow up. Teddy recently learned how to walk and is now in underwear, much to his dislike.

Recurring characters

*Crunchy is Joe Cobb's partner at the police department; despite the disparity in their ages, he and Joe get along and hang out outside of work. Grumpy and grouchy, he is nevertheless a good man and a dedicated police officer. He likes to appear to be hard boiled, but actually has a few soft spots, especially for his dog. Reminiscent of Ed Asner.

*Dot Cobb is Joe's mother. Despite living with a family of police officers, she is an extremely dangerous driver to the point where she can scare even the most fearless individuals. She even opened her own driving school once. Dot is a former English teacher, and is an extreme stickler when it comes to grammar, correcting anyone she meets who utters even a single grammatical error, much to their annoyance.

*Frank Cobb is Joe's father. An ex-police officer, he now spends his time knowing everything about the comic strip "Klondike Ike" (perhaps based on the old Ozark Ike strip).

*Maureen is Marcy's mother. A widow, she eventually marries Clarence's father. Clayton came into her life around the same time as Romaire, a person she dated many years ago who seemed to want to restart their relationship. This did not bother Clayton at all, and even allowed them to spend time together before and after their marriage.

*Benny is one of Jojo's friends from school. He is mostly a follower to Jojo and is also a key member of their band. At one time Benny worked for and reported directly to Jojo, and was often seem perusing documents and putting in long hours "at the office."

*Ruth is Crunchy's "long-lost sister". It is unknown at this time if she will be a recurring character.

*Clarence Glover is a good friend of Joe's. He is a very bulky man with eleven brothers.

*Clayton Glover is Clarence's father. A widower and a father of twelve, he amazes people that such a small, simple man was able to raise an entire pack of gigantic, successful men with little stress to show for it. He eventually starts dating and soon marries Marcy's mother. A retired minister and a very humble, modest man, he refuses any luxurious gifts offered to him by his successful sons. He resembles, in look and character, Tony Dungy

*Romaire is a very wealthy man who used to date Maureen. He provided a little competition to Clayton for Maureen, but their relationship never really picked up. He is still friends with Maureen and Clayton.

*Doctor Appleby is a boy who goes to school with Sunny and Jojo. He dresses like a doctor and can often be found treating various cuts and scrapes the kids from their school are afflicted with. His given first name is "Doctor", and he has been known to mention that his parents expect him to be a doctor. Even though he is only a child, he is an expert at diagnosis and seems to have a good feel for dealing with the medical industry's facets other than treatment: i.e. health insurance, malpractice and medical ethics.

*Dexter is Sunny's best friend from school. At one point their relationship is portrayed as being puppy love, but later their friendship stayed on/off as Sunny became a big sister to her siblings.

Clayton Glover's 12 Sons

*Bernard, a luxury car salesman. He got Dad the Mercedes-Benz which he never drives.
*Butch, whose real name is Thaddeus. He's a bodyguard, stuntman, and actor.
*Chuck, a pastor like his dad, runs Dad's church.
*Clarence, friend of Joe, and an orthodonist.
*Clayton, Jr., the oldest son, also an orthodonist.
*Marcus, NFL football player, currently with the Philadelphia Eagles.
*Moose, whose real name is Carl - a state trooper.
*Otis, the largest son (460 lbs, almost 8 feet tall), the kindergarten teacher.
*Raymond, the weatherman (third letter in his job is "A" as in Raymond)
*Roland, the sportscaster (third letter in his job is "O" as in Roland)
**Raymond and Roland are twins
*Sam, the fireman.
*Vance, the dentist.

One-Time Characters

*George and Stanley, Crunchy's "long-lost brothers"

Jump Start books

* "Jump Start" (1997) ISBN 0-8362-3661-0.
* "Jump Start: A Love Story" (1996) ISBN 0-0609-5139-7. This collection includes original strips detailing how Joe and Marcy met.

Major Events

* The birth of Jojo

* The birth of Teddy and Tommi: This followed the thoughts of the twins while in the womb and the parents' struggle to name the twins. Tommi was very reluctant to leave the womb for the trials of the real world, and almost refused to be born.

*African History Month: Every February, the comic's theme is based on the characters talking about African History and usually focuses on research about a famous African individual.

*Joe's shooting: Maureen has a strange feeling, and begs Joe to wear his bulletproof vest, despite the sweltering heat, for fear that something bad is going to happen. He reluctantly agrees, and sure enough during a routine traffic stop, while Crunchy is looking away, one of the suspects pulls a gun and shoots Joe in the chest. Joe survives thanks to his vest.

*Frank's heart attack: Frank has a heart attack while on the roof of his house. He ends up in a coma and sees his life flash before his eyes. It is revealed here that Frank's father served and was killed in World War II.

*Maureen and Clayton's relationship: Marcy and Clarence decide to set their parents up on a date, and eventually they fall in love. Their children try to help them along in their relationship, but they mostly reject their children's advice, especially Clayton, who prefers simple methods such as fishing and picnics. Soon, Maureen's ex Romaire comes into the picture, and they start seeing each other socially. Clarence is absolutely baffled why Clayton is doing nothing about the fact an extremely rich ex-boyfriend is threatening to come between him and Maureen, but it is such examples of Clayton's modesty and lack of jealousy that eventually win Maureen's heart.

Minor Events and other Memorable Storylines

*Joe's Haircut Joe goes to the barbershop and asks for "the usual". however, he is given a wild hairstyle and was told that that was "usual" for the times. The rest of the week shows him slowly going home trying to figure out how to hide it from Marcy. He thinks about buying a wig, but decides not to after realizing he'd look like Wilt Chamberlain. He also finds out his zodiac sign is shaved into the back of his head. He finally decides to face the inevitable, and goes into his apartment where Marcy is waiting. They both scream when they see each other because she also has a bad haircut.
*Joe and Marcy go to Africa Joe and Marcy realize they saved $50 a week for two years and decide to go on vacation. (Upon telling Joe's father, he exclaims that it doesn't surprise him, because they've "been BORROWING $50 a week from him for two years!") They decide to go to Africa. Many crazy things happen, including one day Joe traded all of the clothes on his back except his underwear for souvenirs from one vendor.
*The Radio Contest Joe is enamoured by an SUV that he cannot afford. However, a local radio station, WGAG, is giving one away to the contestant who can name every song played over a period of a week. Joe basically went through the entire week with headsets permanently attached to him, listening to some of the worst music he's ever heard in his life (hence the call letters), even suffering through Milli Vanilli. He makes it, and is the only person to enter, so he wins by default. However, he has the truck repainted because it has the radio station's call letters emblazoned on it.

References

*Strickler, Dave. "Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index." Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.

External links

* [http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/jumpstart/index.html Jump Start on United Media]
* [http://www.unitedfeatures.com United Feature Syndicate]