The Future
Today is the final strip of the modern day For Better or For Worse. We have 2 panels touching on the Anthony and Liz Caine wedding, which I think are there to draw a conclusion for the Sunday-only readers from last week, and also to tell the readers in general that Liz and Anthony did make it to their reception, and not everyone left by the time they got there. The only hint we have about the passage of time is little Robin asleep on Mike’s shoulder.
As we go from the first 2 panels into the rest of the strips the style of the artwork changes into Lynn’s more cartoony style, and the effect is a little jarring. Let’s see what Lynn is predicting.
Elly and John Patterson are looking at a moonlit sky over what may be the deck of a boat, or could be a hotel room balcony overlooking a lake. It’s hard to say, but it is most likely the cruise which Lynn Johnston has often said she will not be taking thanks to her divorce. Lynn has rattled down the usual list of things which Elly has long said she would do once she retired, with the big emphasis on “grandchildren”. Unlike the one strip where Elly was shown doing her retirement activities, I notice that there is no mention of helping out in the school, or fund-raising for the local theater. That could be limited text space.
Grandpa Jim and Iris are shown with Jim’s namesake, who appears to have inherited Anthony’s hair colour. The other important part is that Iris is still with Jim when he dies. This is Grandpa Jim’s 3rd great grandchild, 4th if you count Françoise; but this is the first with the child shown as any homage to Jim. When you think about it, Robin and Meredith seem to be named after no one in particular, and they were rarely shown with Jim. So, it is interesting that Elizabeth, who took great pains to include Jim in her wedding, is also taking great pains to make sure he has a namesake. If you were to draw a conclusion about Elizabeth, who spent much of her life running away from her family, you could say that this is her coming full circle back to her family, and finding things are important to her that never seemed important to her before.
Elizabeth and Anthony
I have to say that the emphasis here does bother me here. Françoise is not mentioned at all, and the idea that Elizabeth would be shown ballroom dancing with Anthony, in a clear imitation of his primary activity with his ex-wife, is a little disturbing. I would much rather have seen the Caines with all their children together and little note about how Françoise felt accepted by Elizabeth and doted on her little brother. As for Anthony’s career plan of running a bed-and-breakfast, I guess Lynn Johnston was going for the idea that Anthony would be interested in an even simpler life than he has working for Gordon Mayes. She must not have read the Beth Cruikshank Anthony Caine biography which talked about how much Anthony enjoyed working with numbers and computers, which are not exactly bed-and-breakfast fare. Of course, the Beth Cruikshank Anthony Caine biography was so long and tedious, it’s not surprising Lynn wouldn’t make it through it.
Michael Patterson is featured without his wife and his kids, which is the standard joke for Michael, bad husband and worse father. There are some confusing aspects to this. For example, it does not say what the film contract is for. Is it for screenplay writing or is it to adapt one of his books to film? My guess is adaptation, with the reference to the number of books published. The other question is exactly what is Michael Patterson doing with Josef Weeder, now that he is a full-time novelist and no longer a journalist? I have always found it funny that Lynn Johnston has continued to inadvertantly hint that Mike and Jo are lovers, and it seems appropriate that in the final strip, she accidentally does it again.
Deanna and the kids. This one is the most distressing to me. For the longest time, I would read a commentary on the Anthony and Thérèse Caine relationship, where the comment was that Lynn Johnston was against women having a career and wanted them to stay home and be a mommy. My opinion was that there was no way this was the case for 2 reasons:
1. Elly Patterson spent years in the early strips trying to find work outside of the home.
2. Deanna Patterson, the pharmacist, who paid most of the bills.
With an indication that Michael Patterson has some success with writing, Deanna decides to go from pharmacist to sewing school teacher. I am not saying that people don’t go from high-paying, stressful jobs to low-paying, less stressful jobs. However, Deanna was ½ of my argument, and her drop from pharmacy to sewing makes it look like Lynn Johnston really does believe that if a woman has a job, it should be one where she can devote a lot of time to her kids, like Liz’s school teaching or Elly’s bookstore or a sewing school (or a cartoonist who works out of her home). The next thing out after the sewing school mention, is Deanna teaches Robin to cook. The daughter does dance and theater, which is a parentally time-intensive choice. It is as if these things are things which they could not do, if their mom were working full time as a pharmacist. If Deanna decided to add a sewing school on the weekends and not drop the pharmacy, I would have been much happier.
As for the Montreal “Just For Laughs” festival, I am not sure about this one. Looking over the website and the list of performers at the festival, I see very little for small children there. I see a lot of comedians that I know use rough language. This is a strange moment of Canadian tourism promotion for For Better or For Worse.
April Patterson. Lynn Johnston appears to be throwing a bone to us snarkers who complained about Elizabeth moving back to Milborough to marry Anthony Caine. April gets to leave and she is not tied to a childhood sweetheart. After all the hinting over the last year that April would eventually get back together with Gerald, I suppose Lynn realized the readers would just assume that she didn’t. As for Calgary, the choice appears to be based strictly on the Calgary Stampede, a huge rodeo show and another Canadian tourism item. This is just plain weird. You have a series coming to and end, and then the finale is filled full of product placement. It would be like if the last strip of Calvin and Hobbes showed them playing outside and then going up to a Schwan's Ice Cream Truck for a snack. Farewell, Calvin and Hobbes. Buy Schwan’s.
The extended families, etc. OK. This is the part that really gets me. I can understand why she doesn’t want to write a huge history for the billions of side characters, but I have been waiting since January for Dixie the dog to reappear and it has not happened. Edgar the dog appeared during the wedding, but Dixie is still gone. This was my last hope to see a little comment about Dixie, to know she was all right; but no. No Dixie. And don’t even get me started on Shiimsa the cat. Not one strip discussing how Shiimsa is going to take the move into Anthony’s house, Françoise’s reaction, Anthony’s reaction, little James Allen’s reaction. Nothing. As for the bunny, I am pretty sure Merrie and Robin have killed her by now. All Lynn had to do was add “and pets” to the extended families section, but she didn’t. If her website can give the stupid things a monthly letter, then they deserve a final strip mention.
As for the future of the Howard Bunt Blog, I plan to address any new-runs Lynn puts out. I might mention the reprints, if they go along with the new-runs, but if they don’t, I expect that will be a day I skip. I went over reprints this last year with hybrid, and it was painful. I really got tired of saying things like “Obviously stolen from Charles Schulz, Cathy Guisewite, Hank Ketchum.” Lynn was young and inexperienced then, and like many young artists she was copying what other cartoonists did instead of developing her own style, which she eventually did. It’s a lot more fun critiquing a cartoonist with 29 years of experience for doing things she should know better than to do.
Lynn has said that September will be all new, and then after that the new-runs and reprints will be 50/50 for the first year. After that, I would be surprised if the amount of new-run material does not drop off. The other possibility is that Lynn will lose so many papers with this new-run stuff, she may change her mind and un-retire. Her retirement plans have changed so many times over the last 5 years, it would almost be out of character for her, if they did not change again.
As we go from the first 2 panels into the rest of the strips the style of the artwork changes into Lynn’s more cartoony style, and the effect is a little jarring. Let’s see what Lynn is predicting.
Elly and John Patterson are looking at a moonlit sky over what may be the deck of a boat, or could be a hotel room balcony overlooking a lake. It’s hard to say, but it is most likely the cruise which Lynn Johnston has often said she will not be taking thanks to her divorce. Lynn has rattled down the usual list of things which Elly has long said she would do once she retired, with the big emphasis on “grandchildren”. Unlike the one strip where Elly was shown doing her retirement activities, I notice that there is no mention of helping out in the school, or fund-raising for the local theater. That could be limited text space.
Grandpa Jim and Iris are shown with Jim’s namesake, who appears to have inherited Anthony’s hair colour. The other important part is that Iris is still with Jim when he dies. This is Grandpa Jim’s 3rd great grandchild, 4th if you count Françoise; but this is the first with the child shown as any homage to Jim. When you think about it, Robin and Meredith seem to be named after no one in particular, and they were rarely shown with Jim. So, it is interesting that Elizabeth, who took great pains to include Jim in her wedding, is also taking great pains to make sure he has a namesake. If you were to draw a conclusion about Elizabeth, who spent much of her life running away from her family, you could say that this is her coming full circle back to her family, and finding things are important to her that never seemed important to her before.
Elizabeth and Anthony
I have to say that the emphasis here does bother me here. Françoise is not mentioned at all, and the idea that Elizabeth would be shown ballroom dancing with Anthony, in a clear imitation of his primary activity with his ex-wife, is a little disturbing. I would much rather have seen the Caines with all their children together and little note about how Françoise felt accepted by Elizabeth and doted on her little brother. As for Anthony’s career plan of running a bed-and-breakfast, I guess Lynn Johnston was going for the idea that Anthony would be interested in an even simpler life than he has working for Gordon Mayes. She must not have read the Beth Cruikshank Anthony Caine biography which talked about how much Anthony enjoyed working with numbers and computers, which are not exactly bed-and-breakfast fare. Of course, the Beth Cruikshank Anthony Caine biography was so long and tedious, it’s not surprising Lynn wouldn’t make it through it.
Michael Patterson is featured without his wife and his kids, which is the standard joke for Michael, bad husband and worse father. There are some confusing aspects to this. For example, it does not say what the film contract is for. Is it for screenplay writing or is it to adapt one of his books to film? My guess is adaptation, with the reference to the number of books published. The other question is exactly what is Michael Patterson doing with Josef Weeder, now that he is a full-time novelist and no longer a journalist? I have always found it funny that Lynn Johnston has continued to inadvertantly hint that Mike and Jo are lovers, and it seems appropriate that in the final strip, she accidentally does it again.
Deanna and the kids. This one is the most distressing to me. For the longest time, I would read a commentary on the Anthony and Thérèse Caine relationship, where the comment was that Lynn Johnston was against women having a career and wanted them to stay home and be a mommy. My opinion was that there was no way this was the case for 2 reasons:
1. Elly Patterson spent years in the early strips trying to find work outside of the home.
2. Deanna Patterson, the pharmacist, who paid most of the bills.
With an indication that Michael Patterson has some success with writing, Deanna decides to go from pharmacist to sewing school teacher. I am not saying that people don’t go from high-paying, stressful jobs to low-paying, less stressful jobs. However, Deanna was ½ of my argument, and her drop from pharmacy to sewing makes it look like Lynn Johnston really does believe that if a woman has a job, it should be one where she can devote a lot of time to her kids, like Liz’s school teaching or Elly’s bookstore or a sewing school (or a cartoonist who works out of her home). The next thing out after the sewing school mention, is Deanna teaches Robin to cook. The daughter does dance and theater, which is a parentally time-intensive choice. It is as if these things are things which they could not do, if their mom were working full time as a pharmacist. If Deanna decided to add a sewing school on the weekends and not drop the pharmacy, I would have been much happier.
As for the Montreal “Just For Laughs” festival, I am not sure about this one. Looking over the website and the list of performers at the festival, I see very little for small children there. I see a lot of comedians that I know use rough language. This is a strange moment of Canadian tourism promotion for For Better or For Worse.
April Patterson. Lynn Johnston appears to be throwing a bone to us snarkers who complained about Elizabeth moving back to Milborough to marry Anthony Caine. April gets to leave and she is not tied to a childhood sweetheart. After all the hinting over the last year that April would eventually get back together with Gerald, I suppose Lynn realized the readers would just assume that she didn’t. As for Calgary, the choice appears to be based strictly on the Calgary Stampede, a huge rodeo show and another Canadian tourism item. This is just plain weird. You have a series coming to and end, and then the finale is filled full of product placement. It would be like if the last strip of Calvin and Hobbes showed them playing outside and then going up to a Schwan's Ice Cream Truck for a snack. Farewell, Calvin and Hobbes. Buy Schwan’s.
The extended families, etc. OK. This is the part that really gets me. I can understand why she doesn’t want to write a huge history for the billions of side characters, but I have been waiting since January for Dixie the dog to reappear and it has not happened. Edgar the dog appeared during the wedding, but Dixie is still gone. This was my last hope to see a little comment about Dixie, to know she was all right; but no. No Dixie. And don’t even get me started on Shiimsa the cat. Not one strip discussing how Shiimsa is going to take the move into Anthony’s house, Françoise’s reaction, Anthony’s reaction, little James Allen’s reaction. Nothing. As for the bunny, I am pretty sure Merrie and Robin have killed her by now. All Lynn had to do was add “and pets” to the extended families section, but she didn’t. If her website can give the stupid things a monthly letter, then they deserve a final strip mention.
As for the future of the Howard Bunt Blog, I plan to address any new-runs Lynn puts out. I might mention the reprints, if they go along with the new-runs, but if they don’t, I expect that will be a day I skip. I went over reprints this last year with hybrid, and it was painful. I really got tired of saying things like “Obviously stolen from Charles Schulz, Cathy Guisewite, Hank Ketchum.” Lynn was young and inexperienced then, and like many young artists she was copying what other cartoonists did instead of developing her own style, which she eventually did. It’s a lot more fun critiquing a cartoonist with 29 years of experience for doing things she should know better than to do.
Lynn has said that September will be all new, and then after that the new-runs and reprints will be 50/50 for the first year. After that, I would be surprised if the amount of new-run material does not drop off. The other possibility is that Lynn will lose so many papers with this new-run stuff, she may change her mind and un-retire. Her retirement plans have changed so many times over the last 5 years, it would almost be out of character for her, if they did not change again.
posted by howard at 11:53 PM
27 Comments:
I agree, some of this is very upsetting, and much of the rest is just plain odd or ludicrous.
In the upsetting column:
1. Francoise not mentioned at all, and James is called Liz's "first child." It is as if Francie is just forgotten by both Liz AND Anthony.
2. Dee quits her job (the only woman in FOOB with a non-nurturing, non-traditionally female job) in favor of a sewing school?!? How ultra-retro and unprofitable can you get? I would be pleased to see her run her own business if it were a real moneymaking enterprise. But a sewing school serves only two purposes: a) to say Dee doesn't have to make money anymore, because Mike is rich, and b) to say Dee understands her place in the world as a woman and a mother. Major gagging.
In the odd/ludicrous/unintentionally funny column:
1) Mike can't just be a bestselling author? He has to get a movie deal? Please! And I love that Francie can be left out, but Mike's homoerotic relationship with Weed MUST be mentioned!
2) Nearly every single character owns their own business. (John: dental practice. Elly: bookstore. Mike: novelist. Dee: sewing store. April: vet practice. Anthony: bed and breakfast. Weed: freelance photographer.) This is totally unrealistic, especially as a primary source of employment/income. And I say this as a person who is self-employed! While a significant MINORITY of people will be self-employed at sometime in their lives, it is usually not the primary career. It is either a sideline, or something done for a few years between employment with a larger entity. Lynn can't seem to get it through her head that most people do not enjoy the lifestyle she has had!
3) Calgary is not "the country." The greater metropolitan area is over a million people.
4) All they say about Robin is that they taught him to cook. This continues to make him sound mentally retarded, as he has previously been (unintentionally) portrayed, when Merrie's career is discussed right next to that statement.
5) Still pushing Liz's "love" for Anthony, though "love" is apparently not so important to mention for John/Elly, Iris/Jim, and Mike/Dee. I'm sure the argument is that "love" can be assumed for those couples. So why can't it be assumed for Liz/Anthony? Still making up for the crappy storytelling of their romance, ha ha.
There were some pleasant surprises:
1) Liz keeps her job. Although I am sure that if the strip had continued, her job would have been ignored as Dee's was, as being unimportant once she was married. It was totally ignored anyway after she left Mtigwaki in favor of OMG! teh romance! with Anthony.
2) April got to escape Milborough. However, given how she was treated the last few years, it is like April was banished to the "country" for being a Martian.
3) They let Merrie pursue an interest in theater and dance?!? I would have expected any of the arts to be Teh Evil to pursue as a career. Although Lynn doesn't actually say it is her career. Perhaps it is just a hobby.
---
I think this last strip is very telling. It shows that Lynn, formerly a feminist, has actually made very old-fashioned choices for the woman characters, and mostly consigned them to "female ghetto" careers (low pay, low potential for promotion, working with children). April the Martian the exception that proves the rule--the character who is supposed to be weird gets to have a more high-powered career, but still it is one where she gets to nurture cute animals.
For me, this cements the realization that Lynn has become increasingly conservative and old-fashioned regarding the woman's role in the home/family over the last few years. It will be interesting to see how she handles it, going back to work on strips which were drawn at a time when Lynn had what was regarded as a more revolutionary feminist attitude. Either her increasing conservatism will help temper the early strips, or Lynn's lack of interest in consistency will make a big ol' mess when the old-old strips are put next to the new-old strips. We shall see.
Observations:
1. The throw-away panels do seem to serve a purpose: they offer a vague lead-in to the rerun era. Let's do the time-warp again!
2. Why do we seem to get less on Liz than Anthony? Liz is the more important character, yet all we hear is that she continues to teach. The rest is about her marriage and family. Anthony's also mentions his job, but also gets to have hobbies and aspirations.
3. Mike is, of course, a Literary Genius. I do find it interesting that his confidence and inspiration depend on camping out in the house he grew up in (the other interpretation is that his family inspires him, but that's clearly untrue).
4. A sewing school? Seriously? Well, I guess it's good that Deanna has nothing better to do than to take up knitting now that her husband can support the family himself. After all, if she stayed at work it would seriously damage her maternal image, as well as running the risk that they could no longer consider themselves poor.
5. April escapes. She manages to make it all the way to Alberta and not marry Gerald. This pleases me.
6. "I've enjoyed writing FOOB; I'll enjoy retconning it even more! Join me as we do in fact what the strip has done symbolically over the last couple of years and return the Pattersons to their 1979 state. Trust me, you'll love it!"
7. Congratulations on making it all the way through FOOB's run, Howard. With grateful thanks for making this snark possible;
Paladin
qnjones,
For me, this cements the realization that Lynn has become increasingly conservative and old-fashioned regarding the woman's role in the home/family over the last few years. It will be interesting to see how she handles it, going back to work on strips which were drawn at a time when Lynn had what was regarded as a more revolutionary feminist attitude. Either her increasing conservatism will help temper the early strips, or Lynn's lack of interest in consistency will make a big ol' mess when the old-old strips are put next to the new-old strips. We shall see.
I never believed that Lynn or Elly were all that advanced. Elly's idea of the perfect job seems to be in the female ghetto. She, like Liz and the Deanna of the future, wanted a traditional job that allowed her both a paycheck and time for the family. This would have been made clearer had she not decayed Annie and Connie's characters in the first few months of the strip. Connie was supposed to be the evil career woman and Annie a Stepford robot. The tension in John and Elly's marriage was the one between a big-c and small-c conservative.
First off thanks for the blog you've done a great job!
Now on to this steaming pile of crap. The sequence between Elly and John is so mcuh glurge even the most devoted members of KAN may just OD. Well isn't that special? Good ol' Grandpa Jim lived long enough to see his namesake (gag) I predict little Jimmy will grow up an unaware self-entitled smug little jerk. The little toehead will no doubt spend his days reminding Francoise how she doesn't look like anyone else in the family and how he overheard Grandma Elly telling her wierd neighbor lady how many real grandchildren she has. Liz appears to have no neck and her head is about to roll of her shoulders. I bet she loves Anthony more each day especially after the prozack kicks in. A bed and breakfast? Kathy Bates's character from Misery sounds more appealing. Mike looks so smug in the next panel it filled me with such a rage I wanted nothing more for him to materialize before me so I could kick him in the head. And with Millboring as his inspiration I can only imagine the type of crap that Canada must be exposed to now. The rest of Mike's family have turned into muppets. I wonder what it would have been like if Lynn had straight up written Robin as a child with a Learning Disability if some of his actions would have been more understandable and we might not have met Shannon Lake. The age appropriatness of the "Just for Laughs" Festival probably wouldn't phase Lynn since she lost touch with that concept a loooong time ago. Huzzah! April escaped! I'm sure Lynn really wanted to say "Country living and a country boy keep her "out west" -- where she belongs. Many an old biddy are saying "That April was always a strange on" Throw away panel about how happy everyon is over the mass lobotomy. Then Lynn gives her b.s. speech about starting "new" before permantly sealing herself away from the world. It still really saddens me to see something I used to enjoy become a hideous shadow of it's former self. I suppose I'll read the new runs but won't give it a second thought when my paper finally drops it.
I never bought into Lynn as a person with real feminist ideals either. (Note how I worded my statement.) It seems to me that she believes women should have the opportunity to have a high-powered career, but should not take it or should give it up for motherhood and family (or to let her husband feel like the man in being the moneymaker).
Career women and single women were pretty much slandered throughout the strip. Especially if they were beyond 25 and not married. Connie and Liz were basically portrayed as being what I call "emotionally slutty," willing to sleep with any man who shows interest in hopes of getting an engagement ring. Careers for women are either traditional female jobs, and/or are to be given up after a few years in favor of family. Again, the only woman who kept a relatively successful, non pink-collar career was Connie, and she was portrayed as being a miserable ball-buster.
Lynn's idea of feminism, it seems, is for women to PRETEND they have/want a choice about career and family. But her idea about good womanhood is that gals should give up career or make it something ultra-traditional so as to put kids and hubby's ego first.
The closest Lynn came to breaking this pattern was having Dee support Mike. If she'd let Dee keep and enjoy her career as a pharmacist, I would have some doubt about my pronouncements. But please. A sewing school? That is not a real job. It's a hobby, because it is a money loser. I know some people who run quilting shops, and it is hard enough to get those places to turn a profit.
I just wish Lynn would be honest about her views. I don't take well to liars, passive-aggressives, and those who use subversive means to advance their agenda.
qnjones--I don't know if you'd be inclined, but I wanted to let you know that over at ARB, a bunch of characters are currently gathered at Tim Horton's having a "goodbye" party. It was Duncan's idea. Becky is there and she's done an arrangement of "Purple Lips" that Duncan has praised. He plans to get Perdita to book her at Redd Hott Bajan Mamma's. And invited her to hook up behind the DQ. So--we'd love to have your Becky do a farewell appearance if you're game. :)
qnjones
Francoise not mentioned at all, and James is called Liz's "first child." It is as if Francie is just forgotten by both Liz AND Anthony.
I would like to say that this was an anomaly, but it was the way Lynn wrote the strip. She was much more concerned with the romance between Liz and Anthony than the logistics of how it would work. Every time Anthony magically showed up to take Liz on a car ride when she was upset, or was driving Elly and Liz to and from the Bunt trial; there was never a mention of where Françoise was.
2) Nearly every single character owns their own business. (John: dental practice. Elly: bookstore. Mike: novelist. Dee: sewing store. April: vet practice. Anthony: bed and breakfast. Weed: freelance photographer.) Lynn can't seem to get it through her head that most people do not enjoy the lifestyle she has had!
I know, and it is shocking that she could employ and work with people who were not in her situation, while at the same time she would drop some statement in an interview about how it is easy to be rich if you work hard and show up on time.
3) Calgary is not "the country." The greater metropolitan area is over a million people.
She saw the Calgary Stampede once and thinks that’s how Calgary is. It’s kind of the same attitude as people who think the United States is very clean, because they have visited Disney World.
5) Still pushing Liz's "love" for Anthony, though "love" is apparently not so important to mention for John/Elly, Iris/Jim, and Mike/Dee.
The subtext is that men who are single fathers are difficult to love, but it is worth it; or if you want to turn that around, single women who are single mothers are difficult to love, but it is worth it, especially if they are eccentric cartoonists.
For me, this cements the realization that Lynn has become increasingly conservative and old-fashioned regarding the woman's role in the home/family over the last few years.
For me too. And it is not just the role of the women in home/family/career; but in general. The reason the Howard Bunt Blog exists is because Lynn Johnston thought it would all right to take a story line where a man rescues a woman from being assaulted and all that needs to happen to her attacker is a tweak on the ear and a forced apology. I could not believe it when I saw it back in August, 2005; but there has been almost nothing to show me that her thoughts about the matter have changed. If anything, Beth Cruikshank’s biography on Anthony showed she still accepted it by actually having Liz beef it up, by quoting a Western movie and pointing out how big and strong Anthony was for defending her against a guy who was ex-army.
It seems to me that she believes women should have the opportunity to have a high-powered career, but should not take it or should give it up for motherhood and family (or to let her husband feel like the man in being the moneymaker).
And yet, this is the same woman who somehow managed to convince her husband to move from Lynn Lake to Corbeil, where he would essentially have to start his practice over from scratch. I am pretty sure this was a big issue between them, because Lynn has mentioned it in at least 2 interviews where she was talking about Rod and the divorce.
Careers for women are either traditional female jobs, and/or are to be given up after a few years in favor of family.
And yet, Lynn employed a staff of almost all women for years.
The closest Lynn came to breaking this pattern was having Dee support Mike. If she'd let Dee keep and enjoy her career as a pharmacist, I would have some doubt about my pronouncements.
The way it comes off is that poor Deanna had to suffer with working full time and taking care of the kids and defying the status quo of how things should be for a woman; but was finally rewarded for her efforts, by being able to do sewing.
paladin,
2. Why do we seem to get less on Liz than Anthony? Liz is the more important character, yet all we hear is that she continues to teach. The rest is about her marriage and family. Anthony's also mentions his job, but also gets to have hobbies and aspirations.
Lynn is still trying to make us love Anthony, even to her final strip.
7. Congratulations on making it all the way through FOOB's run, Howard. With grateful thanks for making this snark possible;
It was my pleasure. This last year with the hybrid has really been a challenge, but I had every confidence Lynn’s writing would get worse and worse, and certainly this last strip has to be one of her worst yet. And yet Lynn was always innovative in her awfulness. Who would have ever thought of using product placement in the final strip ending 29 years worth of work?
DreadedCandiru2,
This would have been made clearer had she not decayed Annie and Connie's characters in the first few months of the strip. Connie was supposed to be the evil career woman and Annie a Stepford robot.
The indications of Lynn’s beliefs surfaced early on, but I didn’t think too much of it then. I think it was the vilification of Thérèse that really brought these opinions to light.
ruth
First off thanks for the blog you've done a great job!
You are quite welcome.
Liz appears to have no neck and her head is about to roll of her shoulders.
Yes, Lynn Johnston has developed the tendency of drawing the head and the body separately without considering how they are attached. She has done that a lot lately.
It still really saddens me to see something I used to enjoy become a hideous shadow of it's former self.
It used to sadden me too; but I have enjoyed the last few years charting the plummeting quality of the writing and art. I have seen a few strips end over the years, but it has been awhile since I have seen one drop off like this toward the end. Al Capp’s L’il Abner, I remember turned ultraconservative in its political views and stopped being funny, but the artwork was still great to the end. Charles Schulz’s last few years on Peanuts did one too many jokes about Snoopy’s brother Spike and his affinity for talking to Saguaro Cacti (cactus with arms) for my taste, but the drop-off was not nearly so severe. Milton Caniff got so out of touch with his subject, the final years of Steve Canyon were painful. However, I don’t think any of them can match For Better or Worse’s final year.
I suppose I'll read the new runs but won't give it a second thought when my paper finally drops it.
It will continue on-line forever, so you don’t need to worry.
Great commentaries, Howard! Your comments always made the strip humorous even when it wasn't. It was also amazing how accurate you were in your predictions. You knew how bad the writing had become, years before I did.
I bet we will still get plenty of chance to revel in the badness of the 50/50. And I imagine as soon as Lynn starts to lose the attention/money, she will return to some other format.
aprilp_katje:
Thank you kindly for the invitation, but I don't think I could muster Becky anymore, even if I tried. Am LOL that anyone remembers "Purple Lips," and am touched by the homage, though. :)
howard:
To me, it is not so surprising that Lynn might hold very old-fashioned views but not live up to them. Most of the people I know fail to live up to at least some of their ideals in large and important ways--myself included. More specifically, I have known a few women IRL (always Lynn's age or older) who espouse very traditional gender roles, but push their husbands around and/or are rather forceful in whatever work they pursue, whether it's a job or charity work or otherwise.
I think Lynn is in this category. I guess that she believes it was okay for her to do what she did re: the strip, the move to Corbeil, etc. for a whole variety of reasons. (One possible reason being that she was signed to a 20 year contract.) And as for the women who worked for her, I don't see their careers as being all that traditionally male or demanding. They worked for a woman boss in a very woman-dominated small business. Some of them were artsy types like Lynn. And the careers of the ones on the business side were not exactly the fast track type. Still, my guess is that Lynn's ideals fall by the wayside when something is convenient for her, and she needed a staff.
However she conducts herself in the real world is only partially telling. But it is clear that, when she got the chance to draw an ideal world, she saw it as husbands and wives (of the heterosexual variety), settling down young in the suburbs, near their parents, popping out kids young, with the women having pink collar careers, part-time careers, hobby-type careers, or no careers at all while the men become media moguls and business tycoons. And that is pretty darned reactionary.
On a related note: I think it is very interesting to hear that Lynn dissolved her staff in favor of a work-at-home, telecommuting model. I wonder why she did that? Surely a very rich woman like herself can afford a small staff. Does anyone know?
I find it amusing how you seem concerned about the pets, and then call them "stupid things"!
Glad to hear your blog will continue!
debjyn,
Great commentaries, Howard! Your comments always made the strip humorous even when it wasn't.
Thanks. Once again I must credit Lynn Johnston for creating a strip where such humour could be easily derived.
It was also amazing how accurate you were in your predictions. You knew how bad the writing had become, years before I did.
To be honest about this one, Lynn Johnston does telegraph her plots. That is her style, when she begins a new story, she almost always drops in a strip which shows how it will end, even if that ending does not come for another year or two.
I bet we will still get plenty of chance to revel in the badness of the 50/50.
The new-runs are supposed to be gag-a-day, and to be frank, those are the worst kinds of strip Lynn Johnston does.
And I imagine as soon as Lynn starts to lose the attention/money, she will return to some other format.
I agree whole-heartedly.
qnjones,
I think Lynn is in this category. I guess that she believes it was okay for her to do what she did re: the strip, the move to Corbeil, etc. for a whole variety of reasons. (One possible reason being that she was signed to a 20 year contract.)
I am sure the 20-year contract and the idea she would bring in more money that Rod could as a flying dentist, were a huge part of getting Rod to agree to move. I have gotten the impression from the interviews in the last year, where Lynn has mentioned this situation with respect to her divorce, Rod deeply resented being forced to move. In the strip, it came in with Warren Blackwood, who loves his work more than Liz, and Paul Wright who loves the Northwest more than Liz. They both represent the Rod, who didn’t move or give up his job for Lynn.
And as for the women who worked for her, I don't see their careers as being all that traditionally male or demanding.
Webmaster Stephanie works in computers, which is a heavily male-dominated field. As for the other jobs, I would agree with you.
On a related note: I think it is very interesting to hear that Lynn dissolved her staff in favor of a work-at-home, telecommuting model. I wonder why she did that? Surely a very rich woman like herself can afford a small staff. Does anyone know?
This is the answer I got from Lynn:
As for the change in staff: For 7 years, everyone has known there would be a big change. We all counted down until there were months left before the story would come full circle. Because the future was uncertain, everyone made alternate plans. Jackie has taken a job with another company and her freelance time is very limited. Laura has taken the summer off and will be making other plans in the fall. Stephanie is working freelance from her home...she has always had her own business. Liuba continues to work with me here at the studio. Kevin Strang, who took over for Jackie when she was on maternity leave is on board with coloring and grey scaling. He has his own commercial art business and also works from home. Because I'm returning to my original style of drawing, I'm able to complete all the artwork on my own. I'll also be interjecting the classics, so there's not enough work for another artist full time.
I've had the good fortune to have worked with some of the most talented people in the province. We were a wonderful team and the friendship continues even though we're not still under the same roof!! Hope this answers your question!! All the best LJ
She mentions everyone on her staff, except Allison Zadorozny, the only member of her staff left who came through an association with Rod Johnston and not from Canadore College. Allison continues to be heavily involved with the Community Waterfront Friends in North Bay, for which Rod Johnston is the spokesman and significant contributor. I suspect Allison has been gone for awhile, or Lynn would have mentioned her. It’s difficult to tell when it happened, because the website eliminated the part where the staff was described, a few months ago. I hope her connection to Rod did not cost her her job.
Muzition,
I find it amusing how you seem concerned about the pets, and then call them "stupid things"!
Thanks. That was exactly what I was after.
Glad to hear your blog will continue!
It will continue for the new stuff, or related old stuff. However, if Lynn starts going all reprint, then I will close up shop.
Howard,
Thanks for the info on her staff.
What I meant about the contract was that Lynn could have used it both as a tool to manipulate Rod (which you say you think she probably did), and an excuse for her own behavior. (I.e., "Sure, I'm a woman emasculating and manipulating my husband, and by my standards, that's wrong, I should stroke his ego and let him be the breadwinner and just open a sewing school or a children's bookstore, but hey, I have a 20 year contract--I can't quit or I'll be sued!")
I have to say, this last strip has me thinking a lot about Aaron and Katie. I feel sorry for them. First, their mom blatantly exposed their childhood foibles and insecurities. That has to be tough to take. Then, she uses the strip to show them how she wishes they had acted when they grew up. Meaning, apparently, that Aaron should have become a superstar writer, Katie should have been a teacher, and both should have been married and popping out kids. After all the interviews Lynn gave about her kids, her hopes for them, and her take on how easy it is to be famous, I really can't help reading it as Lynn saying, "Hey, kids, by the time I was your age, I was rich and famous and I had a family. You're losers!" It is hard to look at this as anything but a head trip on her kids. (With a bonus message to Aaron that kids from the "mistake" first marriage don't count and don't get mentioned, to boot.) It's actually been bugging me all day long.
qnjones,
What I meant about the contract was that Lynn could have used it both as a tool to manipulate Rod (which you say you think she probably did), and an excuse for her own behavior.
I suspect the way it was used as a tool was because she was making so much money she could say, “I’m tired of Lynn Lake. I am moving to Corbeil. If you love me, you will quit your job and follow me.” This would be much in the same fashion that Liz did to Paul Wright. If she were running a sewing school, she could never make that kind of demand and expect it to work. But with a 20-year contract, she certainly could.
It is hard to look at this as anything but a head trip on her kids. (With a bonus message to Aaron that kids from the "mistake" first marriage don't count and don't get mentioned, to boot.)
Lynn does seem to take a perverse delight in making Michael super successful to the point of being ridiculous. I feel for her kids in a couple of different ways. She has embarrassed them in public, and she has shown public contempt via the strip for their career and family choices. That’s one thing; but on the other hand, they know that the key element of her strip, the solid family, is something at which she has failed. And they cannot help but be aware that a good deal of their mother’s thinking is somewhat fantasy land.
Unfortunately, I too come from parents who failed at marriage, and used money and high expectations to manipulate their kids in ways similar to those Lynn uses (though my parents don't quite have Lynn's wealth). Yet it was always very important to them to hold out a public face of being the perfect family.
Now, I can say that knowing that my parents were liars was something of a comfort to me. But not much comfort. Now I think about how I would feel if I were a tool used by Mom to make a bundle, in sometimes embarrassing and humiliating ways. I don't think my private knowledge of her failings would make everything all better. Especially when Manipulative Mommy has the media to help spread her view of things. I have to think that the only think keeping Lynn's kids from speaking up is a desire to stay in the will. Maybe the money will be of some comfort. I don't know. I kind of doubt it.
qnjones,
Yet it was always very important to them to hold out a public face of being the perfect family.
In this respect, your family is different from Lynn Johnston, who has been airing her dirty laundry about Rod’s affair for months.
Now I think about how I would feel if I were a tool used by Mom to make a bundle, in sometimes embarrassing and humiliating ways. I don't think my private knowledge of her failings would make everything all better.
It depends. Some years ago, I remember a young lady who had real troubles with her mom and they way her mom treated her. Later on in life, she discovered that her mother had a particular kind of mental illness, and this was the source of most of her bad behaviour. My friend had a really hard time with it, because she wanted to be mad at her mother for the way she was treated, and that had been taken away from her. Lynn, oftentimes comes off as wandering through fantasy land. My thought is that her kids could realize she has problems and they don’t know if they should blame her or blame the problem.
While Lynn has slammed her ex and revealed an incident or two of abusive parenting, Lynn generally has always portrayed her family as being hunky-dory and rather traditional. You in fact are the person who told me she put on a big show of being the primary childcare giver in her family during a television interview. Saving some face and presenting a certain kind of image is clearly important to her. Note that she has not (IIRC) ever called herself a bad wife. And even when she talks about bad parenting, she tends to throw in other things to defend herself (like, "I support my adult children financially.")
Also, IMHO, I think Lynn likes to reveal certain "shocking" things about herself to guarantee that she will be interviewed. I think her media whoredom tends to override instincts toward painting a pretty picture of her family, sometimes.
qnjones,
Note that she has not (IIRC) ever called herself a bad wife. And even when she talks about bad parenting, she tends to throw in other things to defend herself (like, "I support my adult children financially.")
True enough. Even in the Caring Today article, she explained why she didn’t take care of her mother when she got sick.
I think her media whoredom tends to override instincts toward painting a pretty picture of her family, sometimes.
Certainly she has not shied away from talking about her divorce.
I can say with some certainty that yes, Allison Zadorozny was 'let go' due to her connection with Rod. That is why she is not metioned. She has not been there since about May.
Wouldn't it me great to hear Jackie Levesque, Allison Zadorozny and Laura Piche's response to Lynn's letter about 'the change in staff'? I found Jacqueline Laforest-Levesque on Facebook not too long ago. Lay-off 2 graphic designers and hire a contractor? Hmmmm... something smells!
Anonymous,
I can say with some certainty that yes, Allison Zadorozny was 'let go' due to her connection with Rod. That is why she is not metioned. She has not been there since about May.
Thanks for the information. I wonder if this is the reason that the website dropped the pictures of the staff, so people like me would not notice when the staff was going away. After all, it was because of the website dropping Nancy Vincent, and Entercom Canada, Inc dropping its promotion of Rod Johnston’s train business, that I was able to figure out she was the one with whom Rod had been cheating.
Anonymous
Wouldn't it me great to hear Jackie Levesque, Allison Zadorozny and Laura Piche's response to Lynn's letter about 'the change in staff'? I found Jacqueline Laforest-Levesque on Facebook not too long ago. Lay-off 2 graphic designers and hire a contractor? Hmmmm... something smells!
If the letter is correct, then Jackie found a job pretty quickly, but it sounds like Laura Piché was not expecting it and had not made other job plans.
It's been more than a year since the last post here, but I thought that this link would be of interest, especially as Allison Zadorozny and Laura Piche's responses are in the comments section of the article.
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