JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for February 26, 2024

Real subtle Robb.

I’m not even gonna try and pick apart what this means in universe…

A bit sneaky, but good!

That is a well done shout-out, Mr. Armstrong

He was not only a Philadelphia Star, he was a southpaw! Best of all worlds!!

Nice!!!

How do I love this? Unreservedly.

So, technically Jojo’s great-great-great-uncle (If you consider Robb as Joe and Marcy’s “father”!)

Who the hell is Robb Armstrong?

I’m going to try to link the Wikipedia article on Gene Benson:

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Robb Armstrong is your creator, Jojo. The man who made this all possible.

I love everything about this – except the fact that I am just now learning the name of Eugene Benson. Thank you, Robb Armstrong!

Interesting how quickly Wikipedia put in a mention about Robb being related to Gene Benson…

Wow.

How cool!

According to Baseball Reference, Benson had a lifetime batting average of .291 over 13 seasons and played in four All-Star games. Nice reference in the strip. I always enjoy learning about a player I didn’t know about before.

Three time all-star! How cool! Thanks for sharing, Robb!

Robb believes in self promotion.

Another truly shameful chapter in U.S. history, banning Black players from the major leagues for 80+ years because of their skin color. How much has this nation lost by not allowing everyone to reach their potential because of this?

As of now I’ve only seen the creator of Pearls Before Swine make himself a recurring character in his strip.

I didn’t know this about Robb!

If that’s what this whole sequence is about, he sure went the long way around to get there.

Self-promotion and shading in one swoop. Nice!

Thank you so much for sharing that! I love baseball, and love hearing about people’s histories.

Hmmm… which wall are we breaking here?

Pat yourself on the back much?

This is soo cool!!

I assume we’re talking about Eugene Benson the ball player, not Eugene Benson the opera librettist. By the way, GoComics will not allow you to name the league he played for, thereby committing a thoroughly racist act in the name of thought policing.

I bet we’re about to learn something really cool!

Hey Robb. I saw you on the Franklin special report on channel 2 with Greg Lee last night. Great job! I’m looking forward to seeing The Origins of Franklin! Thanks for keeping Sparky alive!

I’ll put in a shameless plug for the NLBM in Kansas City, Missouri.

Nice tribute there, Mr. Armstrong! Something to be truly proud of.

That’s a fantastic bit of trivia to work into the strip! Now I know another [GoComics won’t let me use the word] League player’s name. Thanks, Robb!

You haven’t really passed on as long as there is someone alive who remembers you.

No, who’s On First.

Is this breaking the fourth wall? The fifth? Love it!

Robb as an older man, your strip and its values gives one hope for this uncertain world we live in

Look up Gene Benson, he had quite the career!

This reminds me of the Peanuts strip on January 1, 1974. Lucy was watching the Rose Parade, and Linus asked if the Grand Marshall had gone by yet. She replied, “You just missed him, but he wasn’t anyone you have ever heard of.” (The Grand Marshall that year was Charles Schulz. – Breaking the Fourth Wall!)

Ooh tell me more about him! I hope you put his history in the strip!!

Nice plug for your own kin — good job, Robb.

Robb Armstrong?

Anything to get your name in the paper.

Add Monte Irvin to the two-League list

The last MLB team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox—-with a low-talent infielder named Pumpsie Green.

He once said a million people had asked h im how he got the name. So he was going to write a book titled “How I GOt The name Pumpsie”,sell it for a dollar a copy and become a millionaire.

It never happened.

Doh!

I did not know that Robb! Cool!

This made me and no doubt many others feel happy. Trivia is fun, personal trivia is awesome sauce!

Ha-ha! Good one, Robb!

Unlike Robb Armstrong, Eugene Benson was real. ; )

Generations.

If my math is correct, he was 34 when the MLB color barrier was broken. A bit long in the tooth to be considered for the bigs. Still, Gene Benson was apparently a heckuva’ a player.

Clever 4th wall break.

::insert Muttley laugh here::

Did you do a 23-and-me thing, Robb? That’s way cool!

So one of the Bodines is going to try to heist Eugene Benson’s HOF bust and plaque, then Mortimer is going to catch the Bodine while he’s trying to escape and trips over a new fictional character named ‘Robb Armstrong’?

How many new characters is this strip gonna have?!

Pretty meta for the legendary cartoonist, Robb Armstrong, to exist within the the JumpStart universe.

Early in COVID I got out my old copy of The Baseball Encyclopedia and pretty much started reading it. The Encyclopedia contains the statistics of all the players in the Black American and Black National Leagues. A lot of excellent players.

What does he mean “who?” Robb Armstrong is very famous. I’ve been reading him for years!

You have to love “Franklin Armstrong”. Like “Franklin” in Peanuts…

Been following Jumpstart since the 90’s. Keep up the good work!

Nice plug!

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