Jump Start (comic strip)

Publication history

Story and characters

The Cobb family

Recurring characters

• Edmund 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. Crunchy was Frank Cobb's old police partner. He is married to Captain Yolanda Ruiz. His full name was revealed in the October 8, 2005 strip.
• 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". Frank Cobb emails the cartoonist when the strips are repeated. In a recent strip, Frank Cobb and President Barack Obama complain about another rerun.
• 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 encouraged them to spend time together before and after their marriage. Both sides have been supportive of the marriage. And her grandchildren accept their new step-uncles. Maureen's welcomed the birth also of her new step-granddaughter Olivet.
• 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 an orthodontist and a very bulky man with eleven brothers. Since his father has recently married Marcy's mother it makes him and Marcy step-siblings.
• Charlene Glover is Clarence's Caucasian wife. The two have recently had their third child, a girl named Olivet.
• Olivet Maxine Glover is Clarence's and Charlene's youngest child. She was named after Charlene's late mother and ironically she was born on her grandmother's birthday. Like the twins, she can not speak, but her thoughts are often shown. Her parents notice one blessing from her birth is that both their families get along in her presence. While she has no idea her parents talk about her, she heard her mother talking about their lives change since her birth. When she hears her mother say she has to think about herself and not just Olivet, she agrees thinking "Whoever "Olivet" is, she's way too intrusive".
• C. J. Glover who calls himself O'Sullivan is Clarence & Charlene's teenage son. He has recently been addressing the onset of puberty in the strip's story line. In June 2009, he had asked his parents about the "birds and the bees", and the strip also recently dealt with the huge appetite of a teenage boy.
• 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 Wright is Sunny's Caucasian best friend from school. They have known each other since being toddlers at day care. 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. He remains a close confidante and crush until Kenny Sharcane, another white blonde kid, joins their school.
• Captain Yolanda Ruiz is in charge of Joe's police precinct and this feisty woman recently married Crunchy.
• Ray Ramsey A former criminal gone straight, who is Captain Ruiz's biological brother. He has become close friends with Joe. He now goes by Delray and marries Marcy's boss, Dana; they eventually adopt Kenny Sharcane, son of a criminal who was sent to prison for stealing cars.
• Willarbee, Percival, and Cross Dennis Willarbee, Percival Pollard, and Seymour Cross are three bullies who steal boys' lunch money from time to time.

  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, the youngest son, an NFL football player, currently with the Los Angeles Chargers. He's built similar to Otis but not as tall.
• Moose, whose real name is Carl - a state trooper.
• Otis, the largest son, the kindergarten teacher. Olivet is most calm in her uncle's arms or in her case just being held up in his hand. He's grown very fond of his baby niece.
• Raymond, the weatherman
• Roland, the sportscaster
• *Raymond and Roland are twins
• Sam, the fireman.
• Vance, the dentist. Joe came to him after Teddy accidentally lost a tooth in a tug-a-war with Tammi.

  One-time characters

• George and Stanley, Crunchy's "long-lost brothers"
• David Willey - American Physics populariser

  ''Jump Start'' books

• Jump Start .
• Jump Start: A Love Story . This collection includes original strips detailing how Joe and Marcy met.

  Minor events and other memorable storylines

• 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, having an out-of-body experience, 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.
• Joe's second shooting A homeless family, the Nelsons, approaches Joe and presents him with a medallion in gratitude for the Cobb family's efforts to feed the needy. On a subsequent stakeout, Joe is shot, but the bullet strikes the medallion and Joe's life is spared. Joe attempts to find the Nelsons to thank them, but no trace of the family can be found, prompting Joe to suspect that they may have been angels sent to protect him. In 2017 it was revealed that "the Nelsons" were actually Ray Ramsey and his mother Sara.
• The Birth of Olivet Maxine Glover
• 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. 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, 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.
• Phillies Victory In the strip which appeared Sunday, November 30, 2008, Sunny asks Joe what he and Crunchy did the night that the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. Joe told Sunny that he and Crunchy were on duty and the entire department was on high alert. JoJo then asked, "But what did you and Crunchy do? " The last panel showed Joe and Crunchy joining in on the street celebration.
• Marcus' Trade On February 15, 2009, Marcus' brothers are helping him move into his new home in Philadelphia, when Marcus receives a phone call from his agent - who has traded him to the Chargers. Marcus, who had been playing for the Eagles, is unsure about making the trade, but his father convinces him he has to go where his talent leads him. Marcus then wonders what he will do with the house he just bought, and eventually decides to turn it into a homeless shelter. Marcus currently wears jersey number 99 with the Chargers; he has also started doing commercials, although afterward all eleven of his brothers called him up to remind him of his total lack of acting talent.

  Television series