John Patterson: Back to Bad Dad
There was a brief period in the new-runs, where John Patterson was mysteriously being portrayed as a much better and more involved father with his kids than was being shown in the reprints. In fact, there was this strip back in September 21, 2008, where John is shown being handed Lizzie with a smelly diaper, and John is shown actually changing it and handing Lizzie back to Elly. I guess those times are past. Today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse returns John Patterson back to his “uninvolved with the harder parts of parenting” lifestyle.
I honestly think John Patterson as a diaper-changer seemed a little out-of-place. We know he did it, because we had reprint strips where Elly would fly out to visit her parents, and John was alone with the kids. The big difference is whether or not John is shown doing this kind of stuff. He was shown doing it back in September and I was convinced then that Lynn Johnston had decided to alter the character of John so that he would seem like he was a better husband and father than John was originally. Now, it seems like the prevalence of reprint strips where John acts like a perfect ass has taken its toll on such ideas. John plays with the kids, but hands dirty diaper Lizzie off to Elly. New-run John has gone full circle back to the John I remember.
One thing I do find interesting is the contrast in motion lines between John lifting up happy Lizzie in this strip vs. the reprint from back on February 16, where it looked like Elly was shaking Lizzie. We have very clear motion lines under Lizzie’s feet today to show John is lifting Lizzie up. In the “shaking Lizzie” strip, there are no such motion lines. Needless to say, I prefer today’s picture of Lizzie being lifted.
I honestly think John Patterson as a diaper-changer seemed a little out-of-place. We know he did it, because we had reprint strips where Elly would fly out to visit her parents, and John was alone with the kids. The big difference is whether or not John is shown doing this kind of stuff. He was shown doing it back in September and I was convinced then that Lynn Johnston had decided to alter the character of John so that he would seem like he was a better husband and father than John was originally. Now, it seems like the prevalence of reprint strips where John acts like a perfect ass has taken its toll on such ideas. John plays with the kids, but hands dirty diaper Lizzie off to Elly. New-run John has gone full circle back to the John I remember.
One thing I do find interesting is the contrast in motion lines between John lifting up happy Lizzie in this strip vs. the reprint from back on February 16, where it looked like Elly was shaking Lizzie. We have very clear motion lines under Lizzie’s feet today to show John is lifting Lizzie up. In the “shaking Lizzie” strip, there are no such motion lines. Needless to say, I prefer today’s picture of Lizzie being lifted.
posted by howard at 9:49 PM
16 Comments:
This is a new-run? That makes it even dumber. I was thinking that Lynn was even out-of-touch in 1980, but in 2009? Sheesh.
Men never want to do the responsible stuff with kids, huh? Tell that to my friend who raised his kid after the mother ran off to fulfill her destiny, which involved large amounts of crack.
There's also the implication that women are just naturally good at this stuff or something, to which I say: http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/GWS614.html
howard,
John plays with the kids, but hands dirty diaper Lizzie off to Elly. New-run John has gone full circle back to the John I remember.
I wish I could say I was surprised but I'm not; after all, the John of 2008 wasn't as involved with his kids as the real 198X John was. Since Lynn doesn't remember that man, she simply shaved thirty years off Train Man's age and let him run around acting dumb.
I posted this over at the Foobiverse, but it bears repeating: If John is such an ass for not wanting to change Liz's diaper, why did Lynn portray Golden Boy Michael as basically the same kind of parent? We always saw Michael willing to do fun things with his kids (for a while,) but then handing off the messes to his Stepford Wife. Even when he was "watching" the kids in the wading pool, he had to be reading a newspaper and not really paying attention. And when the kids "bothered" him on Father's Day with homemade cards, he yelled "DEANNNA!" to come and take the little time-suckers away. Not to mention the endless hours he spent in his precious attic.
If John's an ass, isn't Adult Mikey an ass, too?
John_F_Jamele,
In the real world in which most of us live, Mike is just as big an ass as John. Lynn, sadly, cannot see that. In her weird fantasy bubble, Mike is a much better father than John is because he's obeying Elly and doing what she wants without question. Since John resists her, he's a rotten father for being the same sort of negligent twit that the compliant Delicate Genius is.
clio-1,
This is a new-run?
You can tell from the art. Compare yesterday’s strip to today’s strip. The giveaways are:
a. John’s sideburns are much shorter, i.e. don’t hang down to almost the bottom of his jaw.
b. John’s muppet mouth in the sideviews are typical of modern Lynn.
c. John’s glasses have been thinned up and don’t have the 1980s “big glasses” look.
d. Lizzie has a button-nose in panel 4, and does not resemble Sally Brown.
e. Elly has sclera and the modern half-circle nose and only one set of eyebrows.
f. Lots of background figures are obviously drawn with a straightedge. In the old strips, Lynn liked to hand draw them.
g. The shading is not crosshatched, which Lynn loved doing in the old strips.
h. No speech balloons are sitting on people’s heads.
I was thinking that Lynn was even out-of-touch in 1980, but in 2009? Sheesh.
Just think back to Anthony Caine’s heroic rescue of Liz Patterson from Howard Bunt by tweaking Howard’s ear and forcing him to apologize and that will tell you all you need to know about out-of-touch Lynn Johnston is.
There's also the implication that women are just naturally good at this stuff or something, to which I say: http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/GWS614.html
That’s a funny strip. Thanks for the link.
DreadedCandiru2,
Since Lynn doesn't remember that man, she simply shaved thirty years off Train Man's age and let him run around acting dumb.
“Doesn’t remember?” or is just adding another to her long list of John-bashing strips?
John F Jamele,
I posted this over at the Foobiverse, but it bears repeating: If John is such an ass for not wanting to change Liz's diaper, why did Lynn portray Golden Boy Michael as basically the same kind of parent?
This is the area where the strip is at odds with itself. Although Lynn Johnston had Elly complain bitterly about her lot in life and how John did not do his share of the housework, Deanna was portrayed as Lynn’s ideal wife. Unlike Elly, Deanna was supposed to be fashionable and beautiful. You never see her ugly or recovering from a hangover. Unlike Elly, Deanna completed her education and was the breadwinner in her family. Unlike Elly, Deanna rarely complained to her husband about her lot in life, but oftentimes was shown to be very protective of Mike and his art. Unlike Elly, Deanna got almost everything she wanted by being extremely passive-aggressive and not by shrieking. More importantly, I can’t think of any Deanna stories that are lifted from Lynn’s own experience. She seems to represent the type of woman that Lynn would like her own son to marry – beautiful, subservient to Elly, takes care of her husband and willing to support his art.
We always saw Michael willing to do fun things with his kids (for a while,) but then handing off the messes to his Stepford Wife.
It is tempting to think of Deanna as a Stepford Wife, but a careful examination of the strips shows Deanna getting everything she ever says she wants, without exception. She managed to keep Mike out of business with Weed, managed to get Elly’s house out from under her, managed to get Mike to quit his job at Portrait Magazine, etc.; all without raising her voice even once.
Better version: the strip with baby April. The same lallalaa and bouncing, John saying "how's daddy's girl?" ... and she barfs on him and he thinks how he didn't really want an answer. Showed John as involved; didn't have him handing the baby off just because there was a mess.
The interpolquel isn't even funny. In 1980, people might sigh and say, yeah, my guy tries to avoid dealing with the real work with a baby - haha. Now, I just look at it and think "whuh?". It's insufficiently connected to reality to see the funny. It's not like how friends and family I know who are dads act.
Dee gets everything she wants when it comes to the BIG things, but when it comes to the day to day struggle that is life, she gets to deal with the kids pretty much exclusively, make all the meals, do all the shopping, AND hold down a full-time job with heavy responsibility, all the while functioning without a hell of a lot of love or warmth or imput from her douchebag husband. In fact, Michael creates obstacles to her happiness, from adding fuel to the fire when it came to the conflict with the Kelpfroths (tape down the middle of the common hallway, wading pool in the front yard, nasty newspaper article, diving into the attic at the slightest hint of a problem, etc.) spending family money recklessly on overpriced parking and Valentine's Day gifts, keeping his family in April's bedroom WAAAAYYY too long, quitting his job without consulting Dee, whining like a baby about the Tiny Train House, abandoning his inlaws because "I have deadlines," etc. etc. ETC.
So yes, to me she does resemble a Stepford wife-- her little victories don't really amount to much when you consider the overall hopelessness of her life with this dick.
John F Jamele said
all the while functioning without a hell of a lot of love or warmth or imput from her douchebag husband
Putting this against the idea that Dee is an ideal wife and Michael is an ideal husband: I don't think love or warmth are considered necessary or even desirable in Lynn's world. Look at her ideal romance, between two dead fish. More time was spent on that stupid wrecked wedding dress than on any affection between Liz and Anthony. Liz cared more about security and commitment than romance. (Which, by the way, Jane Austen would have taken issue with -- Lynn Johnston is out of touch for 1800!) Actual love? What's that? People who can't feel love claim it's an illusion and a trick. What matters is getting your hooks into someone and never ever letting go so you won't have to be alone with yourself.
John shows some warmth and affection to Elly, but she reciprocates incredibly rarely. As for input, it's not like Elly ever listens to John's. I think her ideal man would shut himself in an attic, not try to foist that icky emotional intimacy stuff on her, and give her complete control over everything in the household.
clio-1
. I think her ideal man would shut himself in an attic, not try to foist that icky emotional intimacy stuff on her, and give her complete control over everything in the household.
Does a workshop count? I ask this because she became a lot more enthusiastic about her marriage after he shut himself away with his train set; heck, she even called him her best male friend for doing that.
...Liz cared more about security and commitment than romance. (Which, by the way, Jane Austen would have taken issue with -- Lynn Johnston is out of touch for 1800!)...
Austen's heroines hoped for love, but might have been willing to settle for a man they could truly respect. Anthony's actions--entering into a marriage on false pretenses & not keeping his vows--definitely showed that he was not deserving of respect.
InsertMonikerHere,
It's insufficiently connected to reality to see the funny. It's not like how friends and family I know who are dads act.
Let’s check the categories of humour to see if this should be funny:
#1: Pain. Did anyone get hurt? No. Not funny.
#2: Unexpected. Did anything unexpected happen? Actually yes. We expect John to change the diaper himself (like the friends and family you know who are dads), and instead he hands Lizzie off to Elly. This is the basis for the humour.
For me, the problem is not that it’s insufficiently connected to reality. I think the problem is that we have seen John act like a nonparent so often that this behaviour with Lizzie is expected and not the unexpected action which would make it funny. We have seen this joke too often. John is an ass yet again. Because of this, the strip from September 21 where John changes the diaper is much funnier to me than today’s.
John F Jamele,
So yes, to me she does resemble a Stepford wife-- her little victories don't really amount to much when you consider the overall hopelessness of her life with this dick.
To me, the point of the Stepford Wives was that the husbands were transforming their wives into something they wanted, a submissive wife whom they ruled absolutely and had no personality but the one preferred by their husband. For Deanna this is the case, but the person who has performed this transformation is not Mike; but Lynn Johnston.
clio-1,
Look at her ideal romance, between two dead fish.
Worse than that, many of the romantic elements between Liz and Anthony were borrowed directly from her courtship with Rod.
DreadedCandiru2,
Does a workshop count? I ask this because she became a lot more enthusiastic about her marriage after he shut himself away with his train set; heck, she even called him her best male friend for doing that.
Better than that. It was one of only 3 times in the last 13 years where Elly told John she loved him, and it was because, with the workshop, she always knew where he was.
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