Monday, April 28, 2008

Back from AZ State Chess Championships

I just got back from Flagstaff, Arizona and the Arizona State Chess Championships, in which both my son and daughter participated. They played 7 games over 2 days. My daughter won 3 games in K-6. My son won 2 games in K-9. Neither of them got a trophy; however, my daughter’s K-6 team won second place, and she was excited by that.

As for my mother-in-law, my wife informs me that she has reached the level of health where my wife is having a difficult time getting her slow down enough to rest. I view that as a good thing; but not so my wife. She will be headed back to Tucson tomorrow and I am sure my kids will be happy to have her back after dealing with their cranky father since Wednesday.

Coming back into For Better or For Worse, I was a little surprised to find Gerald kissing April with even less passion than he did when he kissed her for the first time back in 2003 and she was 11. But in these days of passionless marriages for this strip, that’s probably all one can expect.

Today’s For Better or For Worse strip is the first one that has given me a serious indication that Lynn Johnston is not writing the strip. Artwise, I can easily see that it is the work of Laura Piché, Lynn’s assistant: John’s car has its wheels firmly on the road and not hovering in the Lynn Johnston style of showing car movement, and in the final panel John’s body shows the geometric shape body contours I have begun to associate with Piché. However, in the second panel, we have John Patterson referencing the song lyrics to Feeling Good, a song performed by Muse and appears on their album Origin of Symmetry (2001).

The topic of this week looks like it is going to be Dr. John’s Patterson’s official retirement. Actually, it appears to be headed in the direction of Dr. John Patterson saying to Elly “I’ve sold my business and I am informing you after the fact and here are these flowers to make up for that.” The song lyrics referenced fit that storyline very well, but the music and the group is far too modern for Lynn Johnston and her publicly-expressed anti-pop music leanings. Not only this, but there is a silent penultimate panel leading into a final panel where there is no pun and the strip is a little funny. This is not the Lynn Johnston style of writing, and it has caused me to notice that other strips, which I have previously identified as Piché-art strips (like April 17, 18 with Elly interrupting April’s homework) also do not look like Johnston writing, i.e. the idea of John Patterson supporting Elly Patterson in her parenting of April instead of sabotaging her or doing nothing is not typical Lynn Johnston-written John Patterson behaviour.

Assuming my analysis is correct about the actual creators of these strips, the next question is: Who is the writer, if it is not Lynn? Is Lynn Johnston letting Laura Piché do this too? We may never know.

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lynn's cartoons exactly mirror my situation at work. In FOOB, everyone is desperate to be married, and being without a spouse is seen to be a horrible situation. Yet marriage is depicted to be a miserable experience, and characters were usually happier in their single days.

The women at work are always nagging the hell out of me to get married and have kids. They won't shut up about it. But they also won't stop complaining about their spouses and kids (who really are pretty horrible). I finally called them on it the other day. When one of them claimed they "just want me to be happy! (with husband and kids, this is the only way in their eyes)", I looked at them and said, "I don't see marriage and children making you ladies very happy."

They were dumbfounded.

I'm still not sure why unhappily married people feel the need to recruit, but they sure do it--and quite aggressively at that.

1:01 AM  
Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

howtheduck:

This seems like an experiment on Lynn's part. If nobody but us picks up on her handing a general plot to another writer to flesh out, she could change her mind yet again and keep this arrangement permanent and keep the strip going. She'd have gone the Jim Davis route and become the head of a creative staff.

3:34 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

qnjones, I've never understood that attitude. It never would occur to me to push marriage/children on anyone else because everyone's different--my choices don't fit everyone else. It sounds as if your co-workers are trying to get you into their sorority of sorrow!

6:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For the record, Muse covered Feeling Good. It was written in 1965, and has also been recorded by John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Traffic, Eels, Sophie B. Hawkins, Michael Buble, George Michael, and the freaking Pussycat Dolls. And many others. It's virtually a standard now.

My bet is that John, being elderly and hopelessly square even when young, is listening to the Buble version. But he could also be working out some issues and singing along with the Dolls. He is way too boring to be singing along with Muse. Or Nina Simone, for that matter, even though her version's probably the most well known.

I doubt anyone up in Corbeil has even heard of Muse.

7:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I doubt anyone up in Corbeil has even heard of Muse."

That's unfair and unnecessary. People who live in small towns listen to music, read, travel . . all the things that big city dwellers do. If you want to suggest that Lynn Johnson has never heard of Muse, then please say just that.

8:00 AM  
Blogger howard said...

qnjones

The women at work are always nagging the hell out of me to get married and have kids.

Weird. It’s not like that in my office, but that could have something to do with the fact most of the people with whom I work are men. The conversation topics are usually religion, politics, sports and work.


I'm still not sure why unhappily married people feel the need to recruit, but they sure do it--and quite aggressively at that.

“Societal enforcers”-- I like to call them. It’s like when my 10-year-old daughter has it pointed out to her that the hair on her legs is turning from blonde to brown so people can see it, and she should consider shaving. My theory is that it is a modern version of class separation. Look a certain way. Dress a certain way. Live in a certain place. Have the husband and kids. Gone are the days of the maiden aunt and confirmed old bachelor.

Only they are not gone. If the societal trends I have been reading about lately are true, more people are marrying later in life or not marrying at all. My step-brother and my brother-in-law are in their 30s and are two fine young gentlemen who have not gotten married and show no signs of it. This is despite the fact that both their mothers would very much like them to be married and producing grandchildren. As time goes on, qnjones, you may find more attractive young ladies, such as yourself, cornering an engaged woman in your office and saying, “Are you sure you want to get married and have kids?”

10:01 AM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

This seems like an experiment on Lynn's part. If nobody but us picks up on her handing a general plot to another writer to flesh out, she could change her mind yet again and keep this arrangement permanent and keep the strip going.

Very possible. She had one interview where she said that a new creator focusing on Mike and the kids would be possible. Maybe she is working that angle with Piché and whomever writing to keep those royalties coming.

10:02 AM  
Blogger howard said...

dlauthor,

For the record, Muse covered Feeling Good. It was written in 1965, and has also been recorded by John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Traffic, Eels, Sophie B. Hawkins, Michael Buble, George Michael, and the freaking Pussycat Dolls. And many others. It's virtually a standard now.

Well, dlauthor, you have blown my whole theory. 1965 is around the time of Bobby Curtola, Elly’s fave, so a Michael Buble listen could be entirely possible. On the other hand, the writing style still seems different to me from the usual Lynn, even if the song is Lynn-possible.

10:03 AM  
Blogger howard said...

Anonymous,


If you want to suggest that Lynn Johnson has never heard of Muse, then please say just that.

Point well taken. I would like to think that just because Lynn Johnston lives in Corbeil that she has not turned the townfolks to be all like her. Now, if you were talking Milborough and Elly Patterson, then that would be a different story.

10:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, I actually think it is something about being unhappily married that makes people recruit. Women and men, though men do it to a lesser extent. The way men do it is less confrontational. However, as I am about to turn 31, I have learned that many 30+ men out there will not date a woman who is over 30 if she is not divorced/widowed or doesn't have kids. Their reasoning is, any woman who didn't either get married or have kids before 30 must be a freak. Yes, they actually prefer to take on women with that baggage than to even try dating someone who just stayed single and childless.

12:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Forgot to say--the men who do this are all divorced (i.e., unhappily married).

1:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

qnjones,

I'm still not sure why unhappily married people feel the need to recruit, but they sure do it--and quite aggressively at that.

I’m under the impression that attitudes are quite different in large cities. Our mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has a 50+ gal pal. Diane Taylor is an extremely successful investment banker and has never been married. She is an independent woman who is living her life as she wishes.

Howard,
To suggest that a 10 year-old shave her legs is barbaric. In the words of Albert Einstein (supposedly): “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”

Anon NYC

1:46 PM  
Blogger howard said...

qnjones,

Forgot to say--the men who do this are all divorced (i.e., unhappily married).

A divorced man would probably have a very different motive for suggesting a single woman should get married. Do any of these suggestions come with requests to go out on dates?

5:36 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Anon NYC,

To suggest that a 10 year-old shave her legs is barbaric.

I agree. Although it is may be stupidity, it is also a social standard, and I fear the pressure on my daughter to shave her legs will only increase, the older she gets.

5:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, Howard, you misunderstand. These men are actively rejecting the idea of dating single childless women over 30 like me. In their minds, it is too late for someone like me to get married because the fact that I didn't marry is proof that I am an irredeemable freak. I have heard this attitude too many times to count.

5:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Apologies -- I thought we used "Corbeil" here as a shorthand for "Lynn Johnston's Fortified Compound". Didn't mean to annoy the bumpkins.

I mean, small-towners. :)

9:30 PM  
Blogger howard said...

dlauthor,

Apologies -- I thought we used "Corbeil" here as a shorthand for "Lynn Johnston's Fortified Compound".

Actually dlauthor, the Howard Bunt Blog has been privileged to have had people post here who actually live in Corbeil and who do not work for or are related to Lynn Johnston, so I would say the distinction is probably necessary.

11:10 PM  
Blogger howard said...

qnjones,

These men are actively rejecting the idea of dating single childless women over 30 like me. In their minds, it is too late for someone like me to get married because the fact that I didn't marry is proof that I am an irredeemable freak.

What? You are barely over 30!! These are strange, strange, deeply-disturbed men. They are not normal to me at all. If you lived anywhere close to where my over 30, childless step-brother lives, I would be trying to set you up on a painfully-awkward blind date with him. Where I work in Tucson, the 30 to 40-year-old, childless, single woman set do not lack for male admirers.

11:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi there!

I've been thoroughly entertained by this blog for quite some time. I must confess, in the words of Shaggy.... "wazzin't me" when it comes to the retro-styled content of FBorFW. I prepare the files electronically for submission to the syndicate, but am "hands off"in their development. Go grab a collection book; you'll see little to no changes. I'm still completing the current day backgrounds. I get a kick out of the banter on this blog; and I've seen many. Kudos! I'm not from Corbeil, so perhaps my "worldly view" is larger than you give us credit for. I'm impressed Lynn's work has provided such a candid forum for your entertainment value.

Take 'er easy....and rest assured, for the record, I have nothing to do with the retro artwork!! I hope I've put your speculation to rest!! Enjoy the spring/summer seasons! they're all too short where we are.

Straight from the horses mouth,
Laura Piche!!
Ha!

5:28 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Laura Piché,

I blush and say thanks for stopping by the Howard Bunt Blog and putting my speculation to rest about the retro artwork. Also, thank you for the compliments on the blog. Now I just have to speculate why Lynn Johnston is changing her art style at this late stage in the game. I suppose it could be in preparation for the “new” storylines to be added into the strip once they go to chronological reprints; but it really does not match the style she used back in 1979.

10:49 AM  
Blogger howard said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

11:09 AM  

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