Ewww!
It’s been since September 14, 2007 in For Better or For Worse, that Lynn Johnston has resorted to food coming out of a kid’s mouth for comic relief. I knew it was only a matter of time before she resorted to a bodily function joke, since she loves them so much. Today we have Christopher Nichols spitting up raisins to prevent having to give them to Michael.
I know when I was young and I didn’t want to share a food with my sisters, I found that licking the food was sufficient. The problem with Christopher Nichols’ solution is that he still has the desired food, untouched in the box in his left hand. In order for the trick to work, you have to somehow taint the food the other kid would want.
The second problem with his trick is that he is doing it right in front of his mother. In my house, what would happen next is the box of raisins would be removed from Christopher’s hands and he would be taken to the washroom to wash his hands, while getting a serious lecture about how disgusting that was.
However, we know it’s not really Christopher’s fault. After all from the biography of Anne Nichols:
Her quiet child, Christopher, was acting out more, too, and in increasingly destructive ways. Anne suspected he missed his father and resented the amount of attention his younger brother claimed.
Yes, the real reason for this was because of his father. Everything is always the fault of the father. I suspect the real reason is because those raisins taste so good.
I know when I was young and I didn’t want to share a food with my sisters, I found that licking the food was sufficient. The problem with Christopher Nichols’ solution is that he still has the desired food, untouched in the box in his left hand. In order for the trick to work, you have to somehow taint the food the other kid would want.
The second problem with his trick is that he is doing it right in front of his mother. In my house, what would happen next is the box of raisins would be removed from Christopher’s hands and he would be taken to the washroom to wash his hands, while getting a serious lecture about how disgusting that was.
However, we know it’s not really Christopher’s fault. After all from the biography of Anne Nichols:
Her quiet child, Christopher, was acting out more, too, and in increasingly destructive ways. Anne suspected he missed his father and resented the amount of attention his younger brother claimed.
Yes, the real reason for this was because of his father. Everything is always the fault of the father. I suspect the real reason is because those raisins taste so good.
posted by howard at 10:35 PM
7 Comments:
Or maybe just because little boys often find being destructive to be fun and funny? The little boys I grew up with usually did. It's a pretty normal phase, unless the destruction is outrageous.
This strip grossed me out. I have had my fill of vomit (or faux vomit, in this case) jokes. They seem to be everywhere, the last 5 years or so. Just yesterday, I was thinking how I couldn't take it anymore. Now I see this.
Although I'm guessing that the reason the fake offer worked is because Christopher was just looking for a way to avoid telling a lie to his mother. Maybe Michael didn't want any raisins after all. Probably Elly gives him a cookie for snack time, knowing her.
Another waste of a strip. I notice that we are seeing characters, but their stories are not being fleshed out in any way. In some cases, they are being changed (with Connie), but we don't really get depth with any of them. Wasn't depth the supposed point of the retread?
howard,
Yes, the real reason for this was because of his father. Everything is always the fault of the father. I suspect the real reason is because those raisins taste so good.
What a wondrous way to avoid dealing with real problems: sign and blame a fall-guy. She could BE a Pattersaint with an attitude kike that. "My child isn't a revolting jerk, he misses his Daddy who was never absent the last time it was 198X."
Wasn't depth the supposed point of the retread?
Excellent point--someone at Coffee Talk actually commented that she loves the way Lynn is fleshing out the characters' stories. I did a double take and wondered what comic strip she's been reading.
qnjones,
Or maybe just because little boys often find being destructive to be fun and funny?
Absolutely, until they break something valuable to them and their daddy says, “Sorry, son. Can’t fix that.”
I have had my fill of vomit (or faux vomit, in this case) jokes. They seem to be everywhere, the last 5 years or so.
That’s the truth. My kids were watching some new cartoon show on the TV a few days ago, where there was a sequence where the characters ate something bad and there was a probably a 2-minute vomiting sequence that wasn’t “character bent over where you don’t see anything, but hear the sound”; but showed everything. By the way, my kids did not laugh at it.
Maybe Michael didn't want any raisins after all. Probably Elly gives him a cookie for snack time, knowing her.
That’s true. If the bigger kid wanted the raisins, he would just grab the box.
I notice that we are seeing characters, but their stories are not being fleshed out in any way. Wasn't depth the supposed point of the retread?
Lynn mentioned she wanted to tell some stories that hadn’t been told like: Why did the Sobinskis move to Burlington? However, since she has started this sequence before introducing her set of reruns, what we have is more setting up the characters’ situation in preparation for the reruns. As for depth though, let us not forget Fred the fish. Obviously in those stories, you can see how much Michael needs a dog.
dreadedcandiru2
She could BE a Pattersaint with an attitude kike that. "My child isn't a revolting jerk, he misses his Daddy who was never absent the last time it was 198X."
That was the Beth Cruikshank version of Anne Nichols’ story, which was mostly a “blame Steve Nichols for everything” story. Who knows if Lynn Johnston will even mention it, given her situation? Once she had Steve cheating on Anne, she avoided strips with Anne.
april_katje,
Excellent point--someone at Coffee Talk actually commented that she loves the way Lynn is fleshing out the characters' stories. I did a double take and wondered what comic strip she's been reading.
I have yet to read a Coffee Talk comment from someone praising the new-runs which made a reference to something in the new-runs that proved they had actually read the new-runs.
Yeah. Blame the man in the family.
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