Mike is Nonviolent, Deanna Likes Violent
Today’s For Better or For Worse presents an interesting series of retcons:
1. As opposed to 1980, Lawrence and Michael do not actually fight.
2. Deanna turns out to be a young lady who seems to appreciate a boy who will be violent on her behalf, instead of that passive aggressive lump she marries later on. She must have gone to the Elizabeth Patterson School of Man Appreciation.
3. For the second time this week, Michael insults Deanna to her face, and not only is he not using it as a ploy to get her attention; but immediately regrets insulting her.
The more we continue on, new-run Michael seems less and less like his old self. He is sensitive to being taunted about Deanna. Despite his verbal blunders, he seems very responsive to her feelings. New-run Michael appears to be the nicest Michael of all, for what that is worth. He is certainly nicer than old-run Michael from 1980, and he beats 2008 grown-up Michael by a huge margin. I think it is fairly safe to say that Lynn Johnston’s intent with the new-runs is not to expand on the old characters, or expand on the old storylines; but flat out change the character in a story vaguely similar to the original.
Artwise, Deanna’s stunted arms in panels 3 and 4 bugged me.
1. As opposed to 1980, Lawrence and Michael do not actually fight.
2. Deanna turns out to be a young lady who seems to appreciate a boy who will be violent on her behalf, instead of that passive aggressive lump she marries later on. She must have gone to the Elizabeth Patterson School of Man Appreciation.
3. For the second time this week, Michael insults Deanna to her face, and not only is he not using it as a ploy to get her attention; but immediately regrets insulting her.
The more we continue on, new-run Michael seems less and less like his old self. He is sensitive to being taunted about Deanna. Despite his verbal blunders, he seems very responsive to her feelings. New-run Michael appears to be the nicest Michael of all, for what that is worth. He is certainly nicer than old-run Michael from 1980, and he beats 2008 grown-up Michael by a huge margin. I think it is fairly safe to say that Lynn Johnston’s intent with the new-runs is not to expand on the old characters, or expand on the old storylines; but flat out change the character in a story vaguely similar to the original.
Artwise, Deanna’s stunted arms in panels 3 and 4 bugged me.
posted by howard at 9:55 PM
16 Comments:
howard.
New-run Michael appears to be the nicest Michael of all, for what that is worth. He is certainly nicer than old-run Michael from 1980, and he beats 2008 grown-up Michael by a huge margin. I think it is fairly safe to say that Lynn Johnston’s intent with the new-runs is not to expand on the old characters, or expand on the old storylines; but flat out change the character in a story vaguely similar to the original.
Given that this new-model Mike is pretty much a well-intentioned stumblebum, it gets me to wondering about his first example of creativity: the invention of the word Lizardbreah. This kid seems too nice to deliberately want to hurt anyone's feelings so he'd probably blunder his way into using a word he'd want to stop using but didn't know how to.
I prefer Original Mike. Because that is what little boys are really like. At least, they were at my elementary school. Even though Original Mike was obnoxious, at least he was real.
Deanna looks like a younger version of Anne Nichols, and almost nothing like the adult Deanna.
qnjones,
It's really depressing seeing how, well, adult the children are behaving. If Lynn would stop trying to make things make sense to her and observe kids at play, she wouldn't be creeping everyone out.
Lawrence and Michael do not actually fight.
We might still see the fight--I'm thinking tomorrow. Then afterward, we can have a retread of his showing Elly the picture of Deanna and telling her he got it by fighting Lawrence.
It seems that Lynn wants to convince us that Michael was never a normal boy. That's the only explanation I can think of for why she's revising his character. I don't know what this new-run Michael is, but he's not a boy in the generally accepted sense of the word.
Oh, and Howard: Just keep including that link to that hideous Anthony strip, in case anyone ever forgets why he's loathsome. I still say he put Howard up to it, and Howard was gravely dismayed when despite Anthony's promises, he was prosecuted. Too bad nobody believed his explanation.
DreadedCandiru2,
Given that this new-model Mike is pretty much a well-intentioned stumblebum, it gets me to wondering about his first example of creativity: the invention of the word Lizardbreah.
These rewrites do raise a few questions. Naturally, if she goes to straight reprints anytime soon, the regular storyline will fix itself because there were precious few strips with little Deanna Sobinski in them and it took awhile before Mike started calling Lizzie Lizardbreath. The effect would be that Michael’s improved behaviour would only be around little Deanna, who will mysteriously disappear shortly after the Grade 4 (5?) Hallowe’en dance. On the other hand, the running joke with Mike and Deanna goes on for the next 4 years that he likes her, but denies liking her to his friends, culminating in their dancing together and I suppose, ruining that running joke. Lynn seems to anxious to move this story along with the way she is playing Mike. I wonder if she remembers just how long this went on before Deanna disappeared?
qnjones,
Even though Original Mike was obnoxious, at least he was real.
But how could we know that he really had the soul of a poet without all this rewriting?
Deanna looks like a younger version of Anne Nichols, and almost nothing like the adult Deanna.
Even in the original strips, she looked nothing like adult Deanna. Of course, in the original strips, Lynn changed Deanna’s appearance regularly in her first 4 years.
aprilp_katje,
Then afterward, we can have a retread of his showing Elly the picture of Deanna and telling her he got it by fighting Lawrence.
She might do this, but I thought this strip was from year one, and seems to be only reprinting from year two strips now. I predict that if there is a fight, the original strip will be rewritten with young Michael thought-bubbling something about how fighting Lawrence was like fighting with himself in his soul, or some kind of kinder, gentler, Mike thing like that.
josephusrex said...
It seems that Lynn wants to convince us that Michael was never a normal boy.
That could well be the case. Maybe Lynn’s project is to try and rewrite Michael into someone she likes, unlike her son Aaron who tortured her when he was growing up.
I still say he put Howard up to it, and Howard was gravely dismayed when despite Anthony's promises, he was prosecuted. Too bad nobody believed his explanation.
I believe this version too. Howard looked like he could snap Anthony like a twig, and only Elizabeth Patterson would be stupid enough to believe a man could be taken down with an ear-tweaking. It was clearly a set up.
josephusrex, howard
I still say he put Howard up to it, and Howard was gravely dismayed when despite Anthony's promises, he was prosecuted. Too bad nobody believed his explanation.
Howard looked like he could snap Anthony like a twig, and only Elizabeth Patterson would be stupid enough to believe a man could be taken down with an ear-tweaking. It was clearly a set up.
I don't have to wonder what would happen if the Pattersons realized that Anthony played them all for suckers; knowing them, they'd think that his atrocity was romantic instead of a horrible display of manipulation. A guy who'd hire some guy to frighten some girl into becoming his mistress isn't my idea of the Ideal Son but then I'm no stinking Patterswine.
If the Dreadful Event at the Nursery was what it appeared to be--attempted rape--there was only one way to handle it. Detain the perp & call the police. Answer all their questions. Finally, accept that card from the Rape Crisis Center, in case Liz wanted to discuss the crime that was narrowly averted.
Instead, Anthony chased Howard off & took Liz to a quiet, secluded place. Where he whined that he had no hooome. (While Therese was still recovering from PPD, as we later learned.)
As loathsome as I found his behavior, my alarm had already gone off: On that New Year's Eve when Liz & the just-engaged Anthony spent all night "talking." I remember thinking--that Dweeb? They're trying to make the on-again, off-again high school romance into a tragic affair? WTF?
She might do this, but I thought this strip was from year one, and seems to be only reprinting from year two strips now.
The original "Deanna fat as a pianna" was also from the first year, and she's done her new-runnified version retconned into year two. Sure, you could argue that he called her this on two separate occasions, but he seemed to be thinking it up for the first time. I suspect this was just Lynn wanting to use that story arc despite its having occurred prior to the time frame she's pretending to work in.
DreadedCandiru2,
I don't have to wonder what would happen if the Pattersons realized that Anthony played them all for suckers; knowing them, they'd think that his atrocity was romantic instead of a horrible display of manipulation.
True enough. If having a wife and child wasn’t enough to put them off, then hired thugs are nothing. Unless of course, Elly and John were the ones to hire Howard. There is some evidence of that. The whole business with Julia, who practically pushed Anthony into Elizabeth’s arms at that wedding smacked of setup, especially after she mentioned that Dr. Patterson did her teeth. And let us not forget the sudden and mysterious arrival of Warren Blackwood at Elizabeth’s apartment at late hours, who came in declaring he had quit his job for Liz, and then revealed he had another job all along after Anthony called. This directly led to Anthony finally proposing to Liz. It smells suspicious too.
maggie-texas,
I remember thinking--that Dweeb? They're trying to make the on-again, off-again high school romance into a tragic affair? WTF?
I remember that sequence well. The whole premise was that Elizabeth had made a mistake in moving in with Eric Chamberlain. Not only would Eric start cheating on her but…because Elizabeth was with Eric and not maintaining her relationship with Anthony, Anthony proposed to someone else, when he should have proposed to Elizabeth. I often thought I was getting that wrong until Lynn did this strip in August, 2008, which reiterated that whole idea. Elizabeth is getting a second chance to make up for how she messed up her first chance.
aprilp_katje,
I suspect this was just Lynn wanting to use that story arc despite its having occurred prior to the time frame she's pretending to work in.
I agree, and for this reason, I don’t think Lynn will repeat the strip where Mike and Elly talk about the picture. I do think there is a good chance Lynn will new-run that same story.
howtheduck, I think we were agreeing without realizing it. I didn't mean to suggest that I thought Lynn would reprint the old strip from year one, but that she'd tell the same story through new-runs.
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