Not Quitting. Not Retiring. Not answering the same questions the same way.
One of the things I love about when Lynn Johnston goes on these newspaper interview circuits is that every time a new article comes out, there is something different from the last article, even if the articles are spaced within weeks. For some news reporting on a celebrity’s work, reading more than one article is boring, because the person being interviewed says the same basic thing to all the newspaper reporters. Not Lynn Johnston, by golly. The latest article from the Editor and Publisher seems to be specifically geared toward explaining the things which the reporters from the Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune and the Ventura County Star just couldn’t get right.
So, once again, I will go through this article from the Editor & Publisher and comment or interpret the things which are new to me:
NEW YORK During the past couple of weeks, there have been newspaper and blog reports implying that the old/new "For Better or For Worse" hybrid may go completely into reruns later this year.That isn't true, said "FBorFW" creator Lynn Johnston. "I'm not quitting," she declared, when reached today by E&P. "I don't want to quit. I plan to keep working on the strip. I love what I do."
My interpretation: This is directly in contradiction with her prior 2 interviews where the words “quit” and “retire” were used liberally. Technically, in the last article, it was going to be reprints in chronological order and she would “draw fresh strips every once in a while.”
But Johnston has been making adjustments since starting the hybrid version of her comic last year. For instance, the original plan was to frame earlier "FBorFW" content by having the Michael Patterson character look back from the present day. But Johnston said some readers found that confusing, so she's dropping it.
The current plan: Continue tying up loose ends with various "FBorFW" characters (a process that's taking longer than Johnston expected). Then, no later than this September, freeze all these cast members in time. After that, the 1979-launched comic will focus on the younger versions of the characters.
But that doesn't mean the post-September strips will consist entirely of rerun material. Johnston plans to change various elements of the comics, create new story lines, etc. -- but do all that in the drawing style she used to have.
My interpretation: It would be easy to read this as, “I am dropping the hybrid right now” and tying up loose ends until September with all new strips. However, the comments she makes later in the article about not working as hard imply to me that she plans to drop the hybrid style in September. The Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune article gave me the impression that the old drawing style was going to be used to frame and make additions to things going on in the reprints in their time period. However, if that were the case, then it would no longer be necessary to freeze the modern cast members in time. If everything is going to be set in the reprint time after September, she wouldn’t be going back to the modern characters ever again. I am going to have to go with the idea that the line about freezing was a reflex action from talking about the modern characters from the hybrid days and not that she plans to write new stories with the modern characters, except drawn in her old style.
Johnston intends to do the part-old/part-new "FBorFW" strips chronologically, and also create some completely new Sunday strips in the old drawing style. Reconfigured past story lines may even delve more into things like divorce, which Johnston is now experiencing in real life. But, if that happens, it will not be a divorce between the characters of Elly (partly based on Lynn) and John Patterson.
My interpretation: Lynn says, “I looked through my old strips for material talking about divorce and slamming John Patterson, and there is not enough for me to work through all my emotions about my divorce. So, I am going to make some new ones.”
How will readers know that the strips drawn in the older style include new material? When "FBorFW" transitions no later than this September, Johnston plans to explain that transition in the comic itself.
My interpretation: Newspaper articles like this one failed to get the news out about the hybrid, and Lynn is not going to make that same mistake again.
Not all the post-September strips will have new content. "I don't want to quit entirely, but I do want to take some time off," said Johnston. She has already stopped working on her comic most holidays and weekends, and stopped putting in extra "FBorFW" hours before and after taking vacations. "It's been a blessing," she said.
My interpretation: A blessing, just like Elizabeth Patterson. I have this feeling Lynn Johnston uses that word a lot these days.
Her new schedule is not only allowing Johnston more time to travel, but to do other projects. For instance, a children's book is in the works starring the late and beloved "FBorFW" character of Farley the dog. And Johnston said there might be a book showing what various "FBorFW" cast members are doing in their future lives.
My interpretation: A book about Farley is new, and seems a likely choice since the old dog gets mentioned by Coffee Talk writers on a regular basis. If she were to go with her other storyline mentioned the most often, we could get a book called, “David. I’m coming out and I’m telling you first!”
In the present, the "FBorFW" client list has remained fairly steady since the hybrid began. Johnston said some newspapers have dropped the strip, but others have picked it up. It still runs in more than 2,000 papers via Universal Press Syndicate.Johnston concluded that she'd like to continue doing "FBorFW" as long as her health allows
My interpretation: She said, in her arrogance, “knock me off the page” and then when it happened, it was a big wakeup call for Lynn Johnston. Lynn Johnston has finally come to the conclusion that she no longer needs to or is motivated to completely retire. She’s never quitting.
So, once again, I will go through this article from the Editor & Publisher and comment or interpret the things which are new to me:
NEW YORK During the past couple of weeks, there have been newspaper and blog reports implying that the old/new "For Better or For Worse" hybrid may go completely into reruns later this year.That isn't true, said "FBorFW" creator Lynn Johnston. "I'm not quitting," she declared, when reached today by E&P. "I don't want to quit. I plan to keep working on the strip. I love what I do."
My interpretation: This is directly in contradiction with her prior 2 interviews where the words “quit” and “retire” were used liberally. Technically, in the last article, it was going to be reprints in chronological order and she would “draw fresh strips every once in a while.”
But Johnston has been making adjustments since starting the hybrid version of her comic last year. For instance, the original plan was to frame earlier "FBorFW" content by having the Michael Patterson character look back from the present day. But Johnston said some readers found that confusing, so she's dropping it.
The current plan: Continue tying up loose ends with various "FBorFW" characters (a process that's taking longer than Johnston expected). Then, no later than this September, freeze all these cast members in time. After that, the 1979-launched comic will focus on the younger versions of the characters.
But that doesn't mean the post-September strips will consist entirely of rerun material. Johnston plans to change various elements of the comics, create new story lines, etc. -- but do all that in the drawing style she used to have.
My interpretation: It would be easy to read this as, “I am dropping the hybrid right now” and tying up loose ends until September with all new strips. However, the comments she makes later in the article about not working as hard imply to me that she plans to drop the hybrid style in September. The Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune article gave me the impression that the old drawing style was going to be used to frame and make additions to things going on in the reprints in their time period. However, if that were the case, then it would no longer be necessary to freeze the modern cast members in time. If everything is going to be set in the reprint time after September, she wouldn’t be going back to the modern characters ever again. I am going to have to go with the idea that the line about freezing was a reflex action from talking about the modern characters from the hybrid days and not that she plans to write new stories with the modern characters, except drawn in her old style.
Johnston intends to do the part-old/part-new "FBorFW" strips chronologically, and also create some completely new Sunday strips in the old drawing style. Reconfigured past story lines may even delve more into things like divorce, which Johnston is now experiencing in real life. But, if that happens, it will not be a divorce between the characters of Elly (partly based on Lynn) and John Patterson.
My interpretation: Lynn says, “I looked through my old strips for material talking about divorce and slamming John Patterson, and there is not enough for me to work through all my emotions about my divorce. So, I am going to make some new ones.”
How will readers know that the strips drawn in the older style include new material? When "FBorFW" transitions no later than this September, Johnston plans to explain that transition in the comic itself.
My interpretation: Newspaper articles like this one failed to get the news out about the hybrid, and Lynn is not going to make that same mistake again.
Not all the post-September strips will have new content. "I don't want to quit entirely, but I do want to take some time off," said Johnston. She has already stopped working on her comic most holidays and weekends, and stopped putting in extra "FBorFW" hours before and after taking vacations. "It's been a blessing," she said.
My interpretation: A blessing, just like Elizabeth Patterson. I have this feeling Lynn Johnston uses that word a lot these days.
Her new schedule is not only allowing Johnston more time to travel, but to do other projects. For instance, a children's book is in the works starring the late and beloved "FBorFW" character of Farley the dog. And Johnston said there might be a book showing what various "FBorFW" cast members are doing in their future lives.
My interpretation: A book about Farley is new, and seems a likely choice since the old dog gets mentioned by Coffee Talk writers on a regular basis. If she were to go with her other storyline mentioned the most often, we could get a book called, “David. I’m coming out and I’m telling you first!”
In the present, the "FBorFW" client list has remained fairly steady since the hybrid began. Johnston said some newspapers have dropped the strip, but others have picked it up. It still runs in more than 2,000 papers via Universal Press Syndicate.Johnston concluded that she'd like to continue doing "FBorFW" as long as her health allows
My interpretation: She said, in her arrogance, “knock me off the page” and then when it happened, it was a big wakeup call for Lynn Johnston. Lynn Johnston has finally come to the conclusion that she no longer needs to or is motivated to completely retire. She’s never quitting.
posted by howard at 11:19 PM
18 Comments:
It occurs to that if she's changed her mind about retiring, she might slowly de-emphasize the notion that her characters will stop aging. We may also expect to hear that the notion of their constantly revisiting the past was simply an idea that she was considering but dropped. We'll never be done snarking the Foobs aas long as she lives.
I'm getting whiplash from all the conflicting stories Lynn is throwing out there. But what really made me take pause is that Lynn is considering redrawing young Elly with a bigger nose! NOOOOOO! I sent this in to Coffee Talk:
According to a recent article in Editor and Publisher, Lynn, in retouching and adding to old strips, "might even make the younger Elly Patterson's nose bigger, on the grounds that "Large 'honkers' are funny." Please don't do that, Lynn! I really liked the way young Elly looked--if anything, it would make more sense to pare down present-day Elly's nose to be more consistent with her old nose. Large "honkers" are not inherently funny--and the giant noses on Elly and John just really make them look much uglier than necessary!
The problem, of course, is that her sense of humor is stuck firmly at the most juvenile level. She sees bulbous noses, wide rumps, fiddly hairs on middle-aged ladies' chins and body functions as the height of hilarity. People who take offense at this sort of gentle, mature whimsy must perforce be unfunny robots who wouldn't know a good joke if it bit them.
dreadedcandiru2
It occurs to me that if she's changed her mind about retiring, she might slowly de-emphasize the notion that her characters will stop aging. We may also expect to hear that the notion of their constantly revisiting the past was simply an idea that she was considering but dropped.
She might get rid of the no aging thing, but revisiting the past is the means by which she doesn't have to work as much. I doubt that is going away easily.
"Large 'honkers' are funny.
Oh yes, aprilp_katje. Just embrace it. After all, modern Lynn considers bodily excretions and forced puns to be hysterical too. Just imagine what she could do with that old strip, if she started redrawing Elly to put in that big nose and maybe putting in some drool or spitting things, when she eats, like modern Elly does.
Oh crap, I bet she includes an "ass scratching" panel at least once a week in her new material! No, Lynn, big noses and shots of giant butts are NOT funny. They're gross. She's like a 3-year-old who thinks fart and booger jokes are the epitome of comedy.
Oh, goody! That means we'll have a glorified and modified clip show to criticize. Worse, trying to figure out how what the past tells us about the present will become impossible because her so-called improvements to the artwork and dialogue.
Wow. This entire process with Lynn reminds me of all the whiplash storylines and inconsistent actions of the characters. This jumping back and forth just screams desperation on Lynn's part.
How ironic; we've just been through a week of Elly finding out that motherhood wasn't all it was cracked up to be and now Lynn seems to have discovered that complete retirement (and staying out of the limelight) isn't fulfilling either.
I also find that "re-writing" really creepy. I guess the FBoFW history is going to be completely rewritten. Probably verifying that Pattersons are all wonderful and completely reconning away all the hideous behavior--hope she improves at making characters sympathetic. She has done a lousy job with Anthony (whom she was going to force us to like).
qnjones,
No, Lynn, big noses and shots of giant butts are NOT funny.
They are if you are a professional clown. Now that I think about it, the backstory for Jean Baker included a circus background.
DreadedCandiru2,
That means we'll have a glorified and modified clip show to criticize.
Well, I am not sure how often Lynn plans to jump in with brand-new old timeline stuff. Doing the hybrid, there have been a few oldstyle new strips here and there, and if that’s what she means, then there won’t be much.
debjyn,
This jumping back and forth just screams desperation on Lynn's part.
What is screams to me is a person who is not good at planning things. If, for example, she had gone with her original plan to bring everything to a halt last September, she did not allot enough time to bring all those stories to a close. Then she opted to go ahead with the hybrid, even though the strip wasn’t ready for it. One of the primary reasons the hybrid did not work (aside from the confusion), is that the avid readers of the strip are now forced to wait through 4 weeks of repeats for any forward progress on the storylines they care about (which are not the ones from 1979).
I guess the FBoFW history is going to be completely rewritten.
If she goes with all the original strips in the reprints, and then additional strips, then it won’t be rewriting as much as additional information. However, that additional information could be rewriting, if it runs contrary to the established facts.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that Lynn might add strips so as try to drop the odd hint that Lawrence is trying to convince himself that he's 'normal'. As you will recall from the long-ago sequence in which he was outed, he stated that he had spent a lot of time in denial about his orientation. Also, we might see the logic behind the Sobinski's move to Burlington as well as why Connie and Ted's marriage really fell apart.
dreadedcandiru2,
I hope your suggestions are right. Lynn had promised us the reason for the Sobinski move before and that has yet to materialize. Her prior indication that she would draw new strips in the old style to “create something of a unifying thread” in the gag-a-day old style would not match this idea as well. I would prefer expanding on stories than unifying threads.
I hope I'm right as well. I don't want to have to read about their backstories in those bios on her website when I and everyone else can see them on the printed page.
Back at the ranch… I find today’s strip disappointing because (a) it’s somewhat depressing and (b) it seems inconsistent with what we’ve seen in recent weeks.
When we observed the family at Christmas dinner, only Jim had an uplifting thought balloon: “Sometimes I think we have no idea just how fortunate we really are.” Then, at the Senior Center’s New Year’s Eve party we also saw a cheerful Jim. Earlier in the week we witnessed Jim smiling, eating, and cracking a joke (in a thought balloon), while his precious granddaughter was giving him her full attention and love.
And today Iris informs us that he feels like “his cup is empty.”
Why? (P l e a s e don’t tell me it’s to make a pun)
Anon NYC
Back at the ranch… I find today’s strip disappointing because (a) it’s somewhat depressing and (b) it seems inconsistent with what we’ve seen in recent weeks.
When we observed the family at Christmas dinner, only Jim had an uplifting thought balloon: “Sometimes I think we have no idea just how fortunate we really are.” Then, at the Senior Center’s New Year’s Eve party we also saw a cheerful Jim. Earlier in the week we witnessed Jim smiling, eating, and cracking a joke (in a thought balloon), while his precious granddaughter was giving him her full attention and love.
And today Iris informs us that he feels like “his cup is empty.”
Why? (Please don’t tell me it’s to make a pun)
Anon NYC
Weird. I see that I posted twice. I did not get a message that it was saved the first time.
Anon NYC
And today Iris informs us that he feels like “his cup is empty.”
Why?
Unfortunately it is a lead-in to even more depressing news about Jim in the next strip. And the reason for the more depressing news (in my opinion) is that Lynn Johnston is setting the stage for getting Jim in the long term health care facility. This is the theme of my next Blog entry, where I will wax on about this at length.
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