Farley Appears Again!
A few things to compliment Lynn on this new-run version of the Farley adoption in today's For Better or For Worse:
1. 8 weeks old is good. The USDA does not recommend selling puppies before they are 8 weeks old.
2. Lynn did actually manage to look at what Mike and John were wearing in Monday’s reprint strip and imitate that outfit for Tuesday’s new-run. I know it seems stupid not to and you would expect any idiot trying to put new strips in between old strips to keep the clothing consistent; but, up until today, Lynn did not keep the outfits the same for any reprint to new-run transition.
3. Mrs. Baird has rediscovered her Grandpa Jim-style chin, she did not have on Saturday.
4. Lynn’s image of Mrs. Baird is consistent with the image of Mrs. Baird in the Who’s Who section. She is pushing Farley hard on the Pattersons from the beginning.
Now on the other side of the equation:
1. As drawn there, Farley and all the other puppies are quite a bit younger than 8 weeks old. At 8 weeks, they would be out of that box.
2. How many stripes on Mike’s shirt? Take a look at the sleeves and you can see the number change from panel-to-panel.
3. Mrs. Baird has lost her long Mrs. Baird nose from Saturday.
4. The relative height of the characters is so off in this strip, it drives me to distraction.
1. 8 weeks old is good. The USDA does not recommend selling puppies before they are 8 weeks old.
2. Lynn did actually manage to look at what Mike and John were wearing in Monday’s reprint strip and imitate that outfit for Tuesday’s new-run. I know it seems stupid not to and you would expect any idiot trying to put new strips in between old strips to keep the clothing consistent; but, up until today, Lynn did not keep the outfits the same for any reprint to new-run transition.
3. Mrs. Baird has rediscovered her Grandpa Jim-style chin, she did not have on Saturday.
4. Lynn’s image of Mrs. Baird is consistent with the image of Mrs. Baird in the Who’s Who section. She is pushing Farley hard on the Pattersons from the beginning.
Now on the other side of the equation:
1. As drawn there, Farley and all the other puppies are quite a bit younger than 8 weeks old. At 8 weeks, they would be out of that box.
2. How many stripes on Mike’s shirt? Take a look at the sleeves and you can see the number change from panel-to-panel.
3. Mrs. Baird has lost her long Mrs. Baird nose from Saturday.
4. The relative height of the characters is so off in this strip, it drives me to distraction.
posted by howard at 10:55 PM
12 Comments:
What a pushy old hag. Every family is different re: what kind of pets they want to have, if any. Strangely, there seem to be a lot of pro-dog people out in the world who think that every family needs a dog. I have run into a number of Mrs. Baird types in my life, who told me my family was weird or "missing out" for not having a dog, and should really get one. (We're cat people.) So at least she is a realistic character.
However. Everything Lynn has done re: "illuminating" the past, from the bios done by Beth to the expansion of the old storylines with new strips, has made me dislike every single character that I used to think was OK. Mrs. Baird is now the latest victim. She wasn't just a nice neighbor lady with puppies. No. Now she has a creepy agenda to meddle with the Patterson family.
Re: the drawing--John in the last panel is kind of weird. If you look at his bottom half in relation to Mrs. Baird, it looks like his legs are a bit forward of hers. But if you look at their top halves, Mrs. Baird is clearly in the foreground and John is a bit behind her, leaning over. Maybe it's just the bright blue on his pants that make it look this way. I don't know. But I found it headache-inducing.
qnjones,
She wasn't just a nice neighbor lady with puppies. No. Now she has a creepy agenda to meddle with the Patterson family.
My impression of Mrs. Baird in the past was that she was the “adopted” grandmother of Mike and Lizzie, because their own grandmother lived miles away. Lynn Johnston has often had that theme with the Patterson kids when they moved to different areas, where they would find some older woman to take on that role. For some reason it is important to Lynn to retcon Mrs. Baird into pushing Farley on her. She’s probably punishing someone in her past with this portrayal. Thankfully, this time I don’t know who it is.
Re: the drawing--John in the last panel is kind of weird.
I agree. If I know the Lynn Johnston method, she drew the bottom half of John first and then drew the top half of John smaller in order to fit him into the panel below his word balloon. Most artists would erase the bottom half and then redraw it to fit the size of the top half, but that’s not Lynn Johnston, who hasn’t erased a drawing error in years. I used to be amazed by it; but now I realize it is just another element of her effort to put the least amount of work possible into this comic strip.
My impression of Mrs. Baird in the past was that she was the “adopted” grandmother of Mike and Lizzie, because their own grandmother lived miles away.
That's almost exactly what it says in Lives Behind the Lines: "...Mrs Baird, widowed and without children, lived alone. ... She loved the noise and the activity of young children and encouraged Michael and Elizabeth to visit, often giving them snacks and candy just before mealtime. Since the children's grandparents lived far away, she became a sort of surrogate grandmother and part of Elly and John's new extended family.
"Mrs Baird was from strong British stock. For years, she bred and raised sheepdogs for show. When her beautiful dog, Lily, gave birth to pups one spring, she hoped the family next door would adopt one of them. Then, from over the fence, she'd be able to watch one of her last babies grow up. Thelma knew this would be Lily's last litter."
qnjones,
Every family is different re: what kind of pets they want to have, if any. Strangely, there seem to be a lot of pro-dog people out in the world who think that every family needs a dog.
That's precisely why this revisiom is made of fail' there are plenty of good reasons for the family to not have a dog. Too bad Elly isn't rational in her objections. I could sympathize with her were she to point out that the poor animal would lose its appeal when it stopped being cute and end up ignored. Her reacting as if it's the dog or her is, to say the least, counterproductive. Just as she almost drove a wedge between herself and Liz by her inflexible irrationality when the Breath came homw with a motorbike, her stand here is less based on a principle and more on a need to say no.
John in the final panel: Also, he has womanly hips and thunder-thighs.
forworse,
So you have this line for the kindly grandmother in Who’s Who:
Since the children's grandparents lived far away, she became a sort of surrogate grandmother and part of Elly and John's new extended family.
And you have this line for the conniving dog-breeder in Who’s Who:
When her beautiful dog, Lily, gave birth to pups one spring, she hoped the family next door would adopt one of them. Then, from over the fence, she'd be able to watch one of her last babies grow up.
Beth Cruikshank is trying to have it both ways.
DreadedCandiru2,
Just as she almost drove a wedge between herself and Liz by her inflexible irrationality when the Breath came homw with a motorbike, her stand here is less based on a principle and more on a need to say no.
Exactly. In my family, my wife and son are allergic to cats and dogs, and so we have to say “no” to everyone who tries to convince us to get one, especially my daughter. We are a fish and bird family. Elly, however, gets over her difficulty soon enough. However, I notice in this new-run version, Lynn has written Elly resisting over the issue for a good 2 months. For some reason, Lynn thinks it’s important that Elly show more of a backbone than in the original story, even though she is ultimately going to give in. I wonder how she is going to retcon that part?
aprilp_katje,
John in the final panel: Also, he has womanly hips and thunder-thighs.
Most men in For Better or For Worse have these. It sometimes makes me wonder who bore the children in this strip.
howard,
For some reason, Lynn thinks it’s important that Elly show more of a backbone than in the original story, even though she is ultimately going to give in. I wonder how she is going to retcon that part?
Probably by copying last Sunday's new-run. We'll have Elly tell Connie that she herself wanted a dog all along but thought that Mike and Lizzie aren't old enough to keep any pet hharder to maintain than a fish.
DreadedCandiru2
Probably by copying last Sunday's new-run.
If everyone was playing with puppies…we could save the world.
I don't think Lynn has been able to get the characters' heights right for quite some time.
Muzition,
I don't think Lynn has been able to get the characters' heights right for quite some time.
Back when Lynn had a staff, there was a feature on the website called The Making of For Better or For Worse, where it showed Lynn wearing white fingerless gloves producing her work. However, whenever I would see Lynn demonstrating her style for a video, I noted that she did not follow the style in the website feature. She appeared to be slapping the stuff on the page without taking the time to get perspective right or fixing any errors that may have cropped up. Certainly, the artwork for the last few years attests to this, with a few exceptions. When she did the pow-wow strips in October, 2005, she had to show them to her fellow artist Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, who helped her envision Mtigwaki. These strips showed that Lynn had what it took to do fine drawing, but was simply choosing not to take the time and effort. She is able to do it. She chooses not to.
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