From 3 Dimensions to 1
The Anne Nichols character in For Better or For Worse used to have a lot more to her than “My husband cheats on me.” She tried to be super-mom, and was intended to be the opposite of Elly’s more laid-back (undeciplined) style. Steve Nichols picked up stuff from garage sales and filled his house full of the kind of things which would do great on E-Bay. Anne represented the strong Catholic view point. She does not believe in divorce. She practices the rhythm method. Anne was constantly getting pregnant.
Now Anne is down to just one thing---Her workaholic husband, whom she doesn’t know is not really a workaholic, but a cheater. What a surprise that Lynn Johnston would choose to focus on that particular thing before anything else in Anne’s life.
When Lynn Johnston talked about these new-runs, she talked about going to a gag-a-day strip. Here she is in week number 3, having brought in Connie Poirier to talk about her lack of a man and brought in Anne Nichols to talk about her worthless husband. Number of conversations about parenting techniques or problems dealing with their kids = 1. Lynn simply cannot do gag-a-day. As we can tell from her most recent interviews, she still has a rage going on over her ex-husband, and it is keeping her from doing anything else, even in her comic strip.
On the other hand, I am excited by the change in her plans. I was not looking forward to gag-a-day, and I lamented the potential loss of the Patterson family condescending to everyone and polite to no one. In this respect, I am not disappointed. In the new-runs, Elly has looked down her nose at Connie Poirier and Anne Nichols. Welcome to 1979, modern Elly!! And thanks for bringing us snarkers with you.
Now Anne is down to just one thing---Her workaholic husband, whom she doesn’t know is not really a workaholic, but a cheater. What a surprise that Lynn Johnston would choose to focus on that particular thing before anything else in Anne’s life.
When Lynn Johnston talked about these new-runs, she talked about going to a gag-a-day strip. Here she is in week number 3, having brought in Connie Poirier to talk about her lack of a man and brought in Anne Nichols to talk about her worthless husband. Number of conversations about parenting techniques or problems dealing with their kids = 1. Lynn simply cannot do gag-a-day. As we can tell from her most recent interviews, she still has a rage going on over her ex-husband, and it is keeping her from doing anything else, even in her comic strip.
On the other hand, I am excited by the change in her plans. I was not looking forward to gag-a-day, and I lamented the potential loss of the Patterson family condescending to everyone and polite to no one. In this respect, I am not disappointed. In the new-runs, Elly has looked down her nose at Connie Poirier and Anne Nichols. Welcome to 1979, modern Elly!! And thanks for bringing us snarkers with you.
posted by howard at 12:43 AM
25 Comments:
The last line of this strip is extra-awful. If you are not familiar with Anne's story, you don't know about Steve's cheating. The "he works, you're related" makes it sound like Elly is silently blaming Steve's absence from home on the fact that he is married to Anne (who is, in this strip, a COMPLAINER!).
If this is not in fact Lynn's message, then the last line is simply nonsensical.
qnjones,
The "he works, you're related" makes it sound like Elly is silently blaming Steve's absence from home on the fact that he is married to Anne (who is, in this strip, a COMPLAINER!).
I've noticed that same lack of sympathy for complainers for years. I have the feeling that Elly still bitterly resents having to fire Kortney just because someone couldn't keep her mouth shut. Her thinking was definitely "If only that hormone-crazed teenager had done the right thing and let Kortney push her around, then I wouldn't have had to been asked to act!"
howard,
I was not looking forward to gag-a-day, and I lamented the potential loss of the Patterson family condescending to everyone and polite to no one. In this respect, I am not disappointed. In the new-runs, Elly has looked down her nose at Connie Poirier and Anne Nichols. Welcome to 1979, modern Elly!!
The Pattersons don't seem to have any manners at all, do they? They just don't seem to care what other people think any more than their creator does. It may look like RevElly is being a gracious hostess but since her guests are only there so she can have someone to feel superior to, she's not all that at all.
It's clear that Lynn is sleep walking throught this whole thing. Your observations on old Annie versus retcon Annie prove that she really has no interest in "fleshing out" the earlier storylines or characters. She's not only thumbing her nose at the snarkers now but also to the people who actually seemed interested in watching the charaacters grow and learn more about their backstories. The artwork alone should be proof of that, Elly looks just wierd in the final panel. Only people like Joan from Peoria, AnnA M, or Bridget Q could swallow this horsepill of crap and think nothing of it.
I really think in Lynn's mind the strip as a whole represents a better or more idealized time in her life and instead of letting it go and enjoying it for what it is she has to relive those better days again but the bubble of bitterness she lives in now is destroying a good thing. It was very telling how in her you tube interview she talked about "being thirty again" It's kind of sad that she is so emotionally crippled that she has deluded herself into thinking that since the strip is turning back thirty years she can as well. This isn't healthy and if she is in therapy I would hope this point is being driven home.
qnjones,
The "he works, you're related" makes it sound like Elly is silently blaming Steve's absence from home on the fact that he is married to Anne (who is, in this strip, a COMPLAINER!).
The other old theme with Lynn Johnston is the idea that a proper husband is there at home every evening and cannot have a job which keeps him away. Warren Blackwood was the example of this, and also, to a lesser degree, Constable Paul Wright, when he was not there at the Howard Bunt trial for Elizabeth. Lynn could be saying, “He works, you’re related” to mean that Anne is related to her family, but Steve only works for his family, because he is not there.
If this is not in fact Lynn's message, then the last line is simply nonsensical.
Nonsensical is also a strong possibility. Lynn is working really hard to get "work-related" into a joke, even having Anne repeat it a few times before Elly does her “joke”. It wouldn’t be the first time she has done a “joke” without taking the time to understand it.
DreadedCandiru2,
The Pattersons don't seem to have any manners at all, do they?
This has been one of my themes for awhile. Even during the wedding which was almost 100% given to them by others, you don’t see a Patterson say the words, “Thank you” to anyone. And, I am proud to say, since the modern storyline is done, Elly and John Patterson never told Mike Patterson congratulations for the success on his book and that they were proud of him.
ruth,
Only people like Joan from Peoria, AnnA M, or Bridget Q could swallow this horsepill of crap and think nothing of it.
Well, since you are referring to Coffee Talk talkers who almost always speak positively of Lynn Johnston (although Joan from Peoria desperately wants Lynn to go back to the modern strips), something I have noticed about them is that I rarely see any mention of the details of the modern strip. It all seems generic like, “I love reading about the old characters”. I will be more impressed when I see them make some comment about something actually going on in the new-runs, as if they could read it and remember it long enough to write something.
It was very telling how in her you tube interview she talked about "being thirty again" It's kind of sad that she is so emotionally crippled that she has deluded herself into thinking that since the strip is turning back thirty years she can as well. This isn't healthy and if she is in therapy I would hope this point is being driven home.
There was a period of time where I was pretty sure Lynn was in therapy, because she started using therapist lines in her interviews talking about her divorce. (Example: I wasn’t in love with Rod. I was in love with John Patterson, that I thought was Rod.) However, in her most recent interviews, that kind of speech has disappeared and has been replaced by angrier tones. I suspect that she is no longer seeing that therapist.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was left scratching her head and thinking, "...what?!?" after today's "punch line."
Nav,.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was left scratching her head and thinking, "...what?!?" after today's "punch line."
Join us tomorrow for Lynn’s joke on “work ethic” – he works, you have ethics. OR “workaholic” – he works, you’re an alcoholic OR “working out” – he works, and you’re left out OR “workshop” – he works, you shop OR “work week” – he works, and you’re weak.
Howard, I have to say as someone who has done therapy, that those lines do not sound like they came from a real therapist. Therapists don't plant "lines" or ideas in your head. They guide you into figuring things out on your own.
Lynn's lines about John/Rod sound like they came from someone who has read too many of those self-help books directed at women with romantic problems. The women I know who read those books talk that way.
I'm also guessing Lynn believes therapy is a form of complaining, and wouldn't go.
Now I am picturing Lynn holed up in a house in the wilderness, all alone, all her staff fired, wrapped up in a blanket and reading self-help books in front of a roaring fire that is tended by a servant who is not allowed to speak or make eye contact.
qnjones,
Howard, I have to say as someone who has done therapy, that those lines do not sound like they came from a real therapist.
I bow to your much greater knowledge on the subject.
I'm also guessing Lynn believes therapy is a form of complaining, and wouldn't go.
Good point.
Now I am picturing Lynn holed up in a house in the wilderness, all alone, all her staff fired, wrapped up in a blanket and reading self-help books in front of a roaring fire that is tended by a servant who is not allowed to speak or make eye contact.
She does still have Liuba Liamzina on staff. Maybe, in addition to doing her accounting and her En Lo Bueno y En Lo Malo translations, she also does fires.
** none of the former staff were fired
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.
** Everyone did not make alternate plans. Some of the girls weren’t even employed there for 7 years. It was status quo, “business as usual” until November 2007 when Lynn decided she wanted out. The four ladies were issued lay-off letters, before Christmas, based on seniority and function at the studio. Steph was to be done the end of May; Jackie the end of June; Allison and Laura at the end of August.
Jackie has taken a job with another company and her freelance time is very limited.
** Facing layoff in June, and they were all encouraged to find other work before “the end”, Jackie accepted full-time work with another company in March 2008. She continued freelancing the colorizing of the strip, up to and including the final strip of August. Lynn wrote to Jackie at the end of July, once the last strip was done, stating that the upcoming strips did not require her colouring style, and canceled their freelance agreement.
** Allison and Lynn parted ways in April. Allison has since set up her own business, not involving the comic strip at all.
Laura has taken the summer off and will be making other plans in the fall.
** Laura didn't take the summer off. She worked until the end of July. Lynn wrote her a letter directing her to take August as vacation, in lieu of working for her and paying out owed vacation. Laura is no longer associated with the comic strip.
Stephanie is working freelance from her home...she has always had her own business.
** Stephanie completed her employment, until the end of May. First of June, to present, fborfw.com became a client of her own web business.
Liuba continues to work with me here at the studio.
** True, although I don’t know Liuba, the girls say she’s still there.
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.
** Also true, only based on what the girls say. Guess Lynn just didn’t want Jackie and Laura around.
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.
** from what Laura said, this is true; the lay-off was due to shortage of work. The intent was to be an independent contractor to the strip post-layoff, but obviously that didn’t work out.
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
** these girls are very talented. It was an incredible feeling to visit that studio and experience their energy. It’s great to run into them in the grocery store, or Walmart, wherever. They are great women.
Guess everyone’s entitled to their own definition of ‘friendship’.
northerngirl,
Guess everyone’s entitled to their own definition of ‘friendship’.
With a friend like Lynn, her former staff don't need an enemy. It bothers me that she's so smug about slowly pushing people who could help her through her troubles away. Too bad that she's probably following the orders of her evil drunk of a mother and stiff-upper-lipping her way through life.
northerngirl, thanks for the inside scoop.
northerngirl,
** none of the former staff were fired
I am glad to hear that. When Lynn’s letter to me did not include Allison Zadorozny in her list of former employees, I had wondered why. An anonymous poster indicated that Lynn Johnston had issues with Allison and her continued involvement with Dr. Rod Johnston through their mutual interest in the Community Waterfront Friends of North Bay.
** Everyone did not make alternate plans. Some of the girls weren’t even employed there for 7 years. It was status quo, “business as usual” until November 2007 when Lynn decided she wanted out.
I found the 7 years comment to be very confusing, because I did not remember Lynn Johnston making any announcement about potential retirement until 2004, and then the plan was to retire in September, 2007 and stop the strip in any incarnation. There was a letter from Lynn Johnston to Phyllis Diller, written in 2001 and recently put up for sale by Phyllis Diller (oddly enough allowing me to read it on-line). In the letter Lynn revealed that she had lost her taste for doing her comic strip after Charles Schulz died in 2000. So perhaps that was when she truly made the decision to stop cartooning. Even given that, I couldn’t see how, if she failed to retire in 2007, due to the change in her marital status, how a pronouncement from 2001 could possibly be considered valid 6 years later, except as a way to justify to herself what must have been the suddenness of her announcement to her staff.
The four ladies were issued lay-off letters, before Christmas, based on seniority and function at the studio. Steph was to be done the end of May; Jackie the end of June; Allison and Laura at the end of August.
Although this is terrible information to receive around Christmas, this is a pretty good lead time for finding a new job.
** Facing layoff in June, and they were all encouraged to find other work before “the end”, Jackie accepted full-time work with another company in March 2008.
I guess this explains why Jackie was not in the pictures for the trip to Cuba on which Lynn took the staff.
Lynn wrote to Jackie at the end of July, once the last strip was done, stating that the upcoming strips did not require her colouring style, and canceled their freelance agreement.
This is very odd, considering she hired Kevin Strang to do it. I doubt it would be a case of whether either Kevin or Jackie is better or less expensive. Lynn Johnston’s interviews which occurred shortly before the end seemed to indicate she planned to do all the art herself, with no mention of colouring or grayscaling. I wonder if she changed her mind when she realized how much computer knowledge is associated with the colouring and grayscaling of her art, and then was too proud to tell Jackie she changed her mind. That's just speculation.
** Laura didn't take the summer off. She worked until the end of July. Lynn wrote her a letter directing her to take August as vacation, in lieu of working for her and paying out owed vacation.
I am very disappointed by this. Laura Piché was one of my favourites of her staff, as she took the time to post to the Howard Bunt Blog in the past.
** Also true, only based on what the girls say. Guess Lynn just didn’t want Jackie and Laura around.
Anti-Quebec bias? Just kidding. She also didn't seem to want Allison around. The way it is set up, she probably has a limited need to keep in touch with Stephanie or Kevin either. I wonder why Liuba is the exception. I can only speculate, however, the obvious reason is because Lynn has mentioned she did Spanish translation for Medical Missionaries this last year and Liuba teaches Spanish at Canadore College.
** these girls are very talented. It was an incredible feeling to visit that studio and experience their energy. It’s great to run into them in the grocery store, or Walmart, wherever. They are great women.
northerngirl, thanks for taking the time to update us here at the Howard Bunt’s Blog. If you do run into these ladies, please let them know that we here at this blog are thinking of them, and appreciate their art and their talent, and wish them the best of luck.
dreadedcandiru2,
With a friend like Lynn, her former staff don't need an enemy.
Now, dreadedcandiru2. She didn’t just fire them before Christmas and give them a 2-week notice. In the letter she sent me, even though she was not entirely factual, she was extremely complimentary of her former staff. Plus Liuba and Stephanie still work for her, which I doubt they would do if they considered Lynn to be their enemy.
Perhaps they didn't all get the independent contractor work they expected, but it sounds like all of the ladies are in pretty good shape, except Laura Piché. I don’t like the “forced vacation” command, and I hope Laura has found something worthy of her talents.
I'm sure the girls would have preferred the 2 weeks notice then 1/2 of year of misery.
Anonymous,
I am not sure what you mean by 1/2 of year of misery. When I have been in that situation, I much prefer having the time to look for a new job.
dreadedcandiru: Elly didn't have to fire Kortney. Moira fired Kortney while Elly was on vacation.
Let's just say, from what I hear, things went down hill after Christmas for the girls at the studio.
Anonymous,
Let's just say, from what I hear, things went down hill after Christmas for the girls at the studio.
I can just imagine. It isn't like a big company where the bulk of the employees would still be there. Liuba is the only full-time person left.
Laura Piché wrote to the old Howard Bunt Blog after Christmas and she was still perky and enthused. But then again, at the time, she probably thought she had a freelance agreement and was going to get paid for accumulated vacation.
There are some things left out of northerngirl's explanation, like why Allison left in April to start a business, when she could have waited until August. There may have been some tension WRT that.
Allison was also given "a letter", from my understanding. I believe she would have stayed until the end of August with Laura from what I hear, but I don't think that was an option. The earlier 'anonymous' was along the right lines in suggesting that Allison's working with Rod Johnston caused some issues.
anonymous,
Thanks for corroborating the earlier 'anonymous' on the Allison rumor. I wondered why Lynn didn’t mention her in the letter to me and I guess this is because she still has hard feelings about Allison.
I keep thinking about the opinion expressed by Elizabeth Patterson when she found out that Constable Paul Wright was cheating and the whole town of Mtigwaki knew and didn’t tell her. This seems to me to be an unmistakable parallel between Lynn and her staff not telling her about Rod and the staff member with whom he was having the affair.
Judging from the interviews from this past month, Lynn is clearly still pretty angry over her divorce, and may blame her staff for not telling her, just as Elizabeth blamed the whole town of Mtigwaki for not telling her. I speculate that unpleasantness with her staff may stem from Lynn having the same belief as Liz.
Other's with more know may correct me, but I think the staff were just as shocked as Lynn when the whole 'affair' happened.
Anonymous,
That may be the case. The Mtigwaki story parallel led me to believe that, even if the staff were shocked, Lynn may not believe they were shocked.
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