North Bay Nugget article
This is an article in the North Bay Nugget. As usual I will comment on the parts I find interesting.
Retirement is not in the picture for Lynn Johnston.
That’s a nice thought, but it is simply not true. Lynn plans to go to straight reprints of the strip eventually.
The Corbeil illustrator and creator of the syndicated comic strip For Better or For Worse, settled into Gulliver's Quality Books & Toys Saturday afternoon to sign her newest book, Home, Sweat Home, which follows one generation of the Patterson family to the next over more than 25 years.
In North Bay, it must be pointed out that Johnston doesn’t live in North Bay.
This year has been exciting for Johnston, who wrapped up For Better or For Worse.
On the plus side, not one mention of Rod Johnston as being the cause for the strip to end. I think this may be the first interview with Lynn Johnston, where this was not mentioned in the last 1½ years.
I got to the point where I couldn't count the characters in the strip," she explained. The number of characters made it difficult for her to tell a story in a few frames per day.
Now we know how high Lynn Johnston can count. Of course the notion that a large number of characters was the motivation for ending the modern strip is ridiculous.
But instead of laying the strip to rest, Johnston restarted For Better or For Worse from the beginning, filling in gaps and adding to the album of Patterson family stories.
Someone is quoting a publicity announcement from Corbeil.
The new strip appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers around the world in early September.
Love the past tense. As expected, For Better or For Worse has dropped out of the 2000+ club.
Johnston also has been sifting through boxes of calendars, books, illustrations and original artwork, selecting pieces to be preserved in the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa.
Now I know the significance of her statement to me in an e-mail earlier about how her reprint work was to be taken from her books in print. I suspect collections 1 and 3 might not have made those archives.
With help from an archivist, Johnston managed to take 17 boxes of work to Ottawa last week. After receiving a tour of the facility, she had a better understanding of the prestige of the archives.
The way this is written, Lynn didn’t think much of what she had in those 17 boxes, until she went to the archives and realized that other famous people had stuff stored there. Who knows how Lynn thought before then. “This is a great chance to clean out my basement.”
Archived within Johnston's art is North Bay's influence on her work. The bookstore in the comic is based on Suzanne's store," she said referring to Suzanne Brooks of Gulliver's Quality Books & Toys. I don't think I could do what I did without North Bay's help," Johnston said.
And a reminder why the North Bay Nugget is writing this article.
Retirement is not in the picture for Lynn Johnston.
That’s a nice thought, but it is simply not true. Lynn plans to go to straight reprints of the strip eventually.
The Corbeil illustrator and creator of the syndicated comic strip For Better or For Worse, settled into Gulliver's Quality Books & Toys Saturday afternoon to sign her newest book, Home, Sweat Home, which follows one generation of the Patterson family to the next over more than 25 years.
In North Bay, it must be pointed out that Johnston doesn’t live in North Bay.
This year has been exciting for Johnston, who wrapped up For Better or For Worse.
On the plus side, not one mention of Rod Johnston as being the cause for the strip to end. I think this may be the first interview with Lynn Johnston, where this was not mentioned in the last 1½ years.
I got to the point where I couldn't count the characters in the strip," she explained. The number of characters made it difficult for her to tell a story in a few frames per day.
Now we know how high Lynn Johnston can count. Of course the notion that a large number of characters was the motivation for ending the modern strip is ridiculous.
But instead of laying the strip to rest, Johnston restarted For Better or For Worse from the beginning, filling in gaps and adding to the album of Patterson family stories.
Someone is quoting a publicity announcement from Corbeil.
The new strip appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers around the world in early September.
Love the past tense. As expected, For Better or For Worse has dropped out of the 2000+ club.
Johnston also has been sifting through boxes of calendars, books, illustrations and original artwork, selecting pieces to be preserved in the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa.
Now I know the significance of her statement to me in an e-mail earlier about how her reprint work was to be taken from her books in print. I suspect collections 1 and 3 might not have made those archives.
With help from an archivist, Johnston managed to take 17 boxes of work to Ottawa last week. After receiving a tour of the facility, she had a better understanding of the prestige of the archives.
The way this is written, Lynn didn’t think much of what she had in those 17 boxes, until she went to the archives and realized that other famous people had stuff stored there. Who knows how Lynn thought before then. “This is a great chance to clean out my basement.”
Archived within Johnston's art is North Bay's influence on her work. The bookstore in the comic is based on Suzanne's store," she said referring to Suzanne Brooks of Gulliver's Quality Books & Toys. I don't think I could do what I did without North Bay's help," Johnston said.
And a reminder why the North Bay Nugget is writing this article.
posted by howard at 8:59 AM
6 Comments:
howard,
Of course the notion that a large number of characters was the motivation for ending the modern strip is ridiculous.
The motivation for ending the strip was her belief that the Settlepocalypse is where the story of the Pattersons should end. That belief is equally absurd. There are an endless number of stories that are left to be told but she thinks that we have to go back and see poop jokes so she can flog her subpar children's book.
I believe she would get a tax credit for the artwork she donated. Possibley the motivation there.
DreadedCandiru2,
There are an endless number of stories that are left to be told but she thinks that we have to go back and see poop jokes so she can flog her subpar children's book.
The inclusion of 2 more names listed as artists on that book tells me that the publisher does not want to publish a subpar children’s book. Oftentimes celebrity authors of children’s books are paired with artists who understand that children are not impressed by celebrity and evaluate a book based on its design. Just looking at the front cover of Farley Follows His Nose vs. the front cover of Remembering Farley, I can tell that Lynn’s art has been fixed up. The line work is thinner and more precise. The colour on the children’s book is bright watercolours. The body parts are in the right places and the background is detailed. On the front cover of Remembering Farley, Lynn Johnston has drawn his eyes crooked and the colour is flat.
Anonymous,
I believe she would get a tax credit for the artwork she donated. Possibley the motivation there.
Good point. Money seems to be Lynn’s only motivation for art these days.
howard,
The inclusion of 2 more names listed as artists on that book tells me that the publisher does not want to publish a subpar children’s book. Oftentimes celebrity authors of children’s books are paired with artists who understand that children are not impressed by celebrity and evaluate a book based on its design.
That's true. The artwork will appeal to the children of the world more than the source material ever could. I wonder if Lynn realizes that the same kids who like the book might not like the strip that inspired it (assuming, of course, that they've ever head of it). After all, they know that a cartoon dog in story book land can do something that would make a real dog sick.
dreadedcandiru2,
If I were to judge by my kids, they could care less about Farley the dog. They don't get their news or comics from the paper. Frankly, the artwork of the stuff they regularly read makes the newspaper comic strips look primitive in comparison.
The persons buying Farley Follows His Nose will be older people who know Lynn Johnston's comic strip work, probably as a gift for a kid. It will fall into the same category as all the other celebrity-authored children's books with the notable exception that, in this case, the celebrity is the artist and not the writer. The other aspect is the person who buys the book may open it up with the expectation of seeing loveable, old Farley again.
Unlike children's books which feature characters modern children might know, like animated Winnie the Pooh, for example, these purchases will be driven almost entirely by persons nostalgic for a character not seen in the comic strips for over a decade. I expect the sales will be OK, but not spectacular. Repeat sales will depend on whether or not the book was good enough to impress the kid vs. hundreds of other, brightly-coloured children's books; or the nostalgia awoken in the person buying the book to recommend it to others.
As for general appeal in Arizona, I checked to see if my local Pima County Library system has pre-ordered any copies of the book, and they have not ordered any. I guess they must not know how the kids today love old Farley.
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