Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Reprint John is Naked

December 7, 2008 marked the only new-run where John Patterson is shown in bed with Elly. There have been several reprints of the same situation including today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse on Christmas Eve. The majour thing I notice as the difference between the two situations is that reprint John does not wear a pyjama top to bed, whereas new-run John does. Even in a strip on December 24, where you would think that in Toronto or Milborough or Lynn Lake, it has got to be cold enough outside to warrant a pyjama top, there is John Patterson without one. Why is that? And more importantly, why does Lynn Johnston feel it is necessary to cover the man up in the new-runs?

My guess is that in 1980 Rod and Lynn Johnston still had an active sex life. This is illustrated by John’s semi-nakedness. In 2008, Lynn Johnston would just soon forget they did. However, in 1980, the characters’ sexuality is mentioned far more often. Can you imagine the strip from yesterday, with young Michael mentioning “a blonde nubile wrapped in cellophane” appearing in a modern For Better or For Worse strip from 2008? In 2007, Lynn Johnston was extremely subtle about the times when Elizabeth Patterson and Anthony Caine engaged in premarital sex. Most readers missed their post-Christmas coupling, which was only indicated in the strip by Liz putting her seatbelt back on, instead of getting out of Anthony’s car when he pulled up to her apartment.

In 1980, John is half-naked, and Phil is talking blonde nubiles in cellophane, and Connie is going on about whether Phil is tall, dark and handsome. And when you get right down to it, little Lizzie is not that old. These people are young enough to be actively engaging in sex. In one recent interview, Lynn Johnston talked about how she could no longer relate to kids and had a hard time writing for them. Ironically, she has taken her strip back to another time in their lives to which she also can no longer relate. How do we know? Because new-run John wears a shirt to bed.

1 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

howard,

These people are young enough to be actively engaging in sex. In one recent interview, Lynn Johnston talked about how she could no longer relate to kids and had a hard time writing for them. Ironically, she has taken her strip back to another time in their lives to which she also can no longer relate. How do we know? Because new-run John wears a shirt to bed.

This is another of those things that are so obvious, you don't notice them until they're pointed out to you. Given that we can only see the adult Pattersons from the neck up, I'd say that the header should have read "Reprint John and Elly are Naked." Reason: the kids heard all the noise in the bedroom and assumed that Mommy and Daddy were getting ready for the big day little realizing their parents were going roadside. Their peeved expression is mostly the result of having their fun interrupted.

3:51 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home