Flashback to July 1, 2008
Today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse is yet another strip which has been reprinted in the last year. Here is the link to the comment I made about the strip the first time it was reprinted. Since almost a year has passed since we last saw this strip, I would like to give you an update. My son is now 13 and he still burps. However, since he has discovered girls exist, he does not burp as much.
I think it is fair to say that Lynn considers any strip reprinted during the hybrid year of September, 2007 to August, 2008 to be fair game for reprinting again. The last time she did this in April, I sent in multiple Coffee Talk comments pointing this out, not only to snark that she did it; but with the hope that it was a simple mistake and she would not do it again. It appears that either those comments did not make it to her, or that she simply does not care that she has recently reprinted this strip.
In times past, when people pointed out mistakes, Lynn would often get offended they were pointed out; but she would also try to correct the situation. For example, new-run Anne Nichols went from 2 children to 1 child, when it was pointed out the second child was not born by the first year of the strip. Reprinting recent reprints does not seem to bother Lynn as much, since she is at it again over a month later.
I had wondered when Lynn had finally reprinted all the strips from the first year, if she would go on to the second year or if she would start reprinting first year strips again. I was not trying to be serious with that question; but now I am having second thoughts.
Lynn had a certain number of story lines she mentioned when she started doing the new-runs. She wanted to show Farley’s reappearance to push the book. She wanted to tell the story of Deanna Sobinski leaving Milborough, which she did. Ever since she finished the story sequence in March with Ted and John going out on the town, the strip has been floundering. We see Connie and Anne and Elly talking about Connie’s love life, but they are simply rehashing the same old story. There is no progress there since January. It seems like Lynn Johnston has returned to the hybrid style of gathering strips together from the first year based on a common theme. Because of this we have seen re-reprinted strips in April and in May, and probably more to come.
I have this feeling that Lynn has run out of the new stories she originally planned to tell about the early days and she is coasting until she gets to September and fulfills her original promise to the syndicate for the strips to be one half reprint / one half new-run in the first year. The next 3 months are not looking good, if they are like the last 2 months.
I think it is fair to say that Lynn considers any strip reprinted during the hybrid year of September, 2007 to August, 2008 to be fair game for reprinting again. The last time she did this in April, I sent in multiple Coffee Talk comments pointing this out, not only to snark that she did it; but with the hope that it was a simple mistake and she would not do it again. It appears that either those comments did not make it to her, or that she simply does not care that she has recently reprinted this strip.
In times past, when people pointed out mistakes, Lynn would often get offended they were pointed out; but she would also try to correct the situation. For example, new-run Anne Nichols went from 2 children to 1 child, when it was pointed out the second child was not born by the first year of the strip. Reprinting recent reprints does not seem to bother Lynn as much, since she is at it again over a month later.
I had wondered when Lynn had finally reprinted all the strips from the first year, if she would go on to the second year or if she would start reprinting first year strips again. I was not trying to be serious with that question; but now I am having second thoughts.
Lynn had a certain number of story lines she mentioned when she started doing the new-runs. She wanted to show Farley’s reappearance to push the book. She wanted to tell the story of Deanna Sobinski leaving Milborough, which she did. Ever since she finished the story sequence in March with Ted and John going out on the town, the strip has been floundering. We see Connie and Anne and Elly talking about Connie’s love life, but they are simply rehashing the same old story. There is no progress there since January. It seems like Lynn Johnston has returned to the hybrid style of gathering strips together from the first year based on a common theme. Because of this we have seen re-reprinted strips in April and in May, and probably more to come.
I have this feeling that Lynn has run out of the new stories she originally planned to tell about the early days and she is coasting until she gets to September and fulfills her original promise to the syndicate for the strips to be one half reprint / one half new-run in the first year. The next 3 months are not looking good, if they are like the last 2 months.
posted by howard at 9:23 PM
15 Comments:
I wonder what the terms of her contract say, as the syndicate must have negotiated something new to accommodate the hybrids and now the new-ruins. If she is obliged to do a 50:50 split for the first year, then I agree with your assessment that the next few months look fairly dire as she certainly hasn't told any new stories or filled in the blanks of old ones the way she promised originally.
I guess that's a bit harsh. She did tell some new stories, but they weren't intentional, like Deanna moving away in pre-school rather than when she was about 10, or Richard's unexpectedly early birth and subsequent disappearance.
Was it about this time in the last two years she started talking about her plans to change the strip? Perhaps there will be an announcement soon.
howard,I have this feeling that Lynn has run out of the new stories she originally planned to tell about the early days and she is coasting until she gets to September and fulfills her original promise to the syndicate for the strips to be one half reprint / one half new-run in the first year.I expect that you're right; I also expect to see Lynn announce that the story is finally strong enough to stand on its own in a few weeks. That's because she always announces her changes in course at the end of June or start of July.
Since we were still doing ARB when this strip originally ran, here is what howtheduck's Michael had to say about it then. :)
The first time LJ did a re-reprint, I e-mailed Steph about it and she asked me to let her know if/when it happened again, saying that they needed a system to prevent it. So I've written to her each time, and she never seems to think re-repeating is a good thing. However, I wonder if LJ herself thinks it's not a big deal and if this attitude is prevailing.
forworse,
I guess that's a bit harsh. She did tell some new stories, but they weren't intentional, like Deanna moving away in pre-school rather than when she was about 10, or Richard's unexpectedly early birth and subsequent disappearance.-
Richard’s unexpected early birth was an error on Lynn’s part. She tried to cover it by saying Richard was around when Farley was adopted, but that was not the case. As for Deanna moving away, that actually was a story she said she wanted to cover before she went to reprints in the hybrid year. Originally, Deanna’s disappearance was never explained in the strip. Of course Lynn botched it and did not actually explain her disappearance to match her own continuity. Not only did she leave at 10, but the reason for her departure was that her father was able to purchase a hardware store.
DreadedCandiru2,
I also expect to see Lynn announce that the story is finally strong enough to stand on its own in a few weeks. That's because she always announces her changes in course at the end of June or start of July.-
The next announcement will be very interesting. With the economy having a drastic effect on newspapers especially, making an announcement that For Better or For Worse is going to straight reprints and no new material would be like the kiss of death for the strip. The syndicate has to be very aware of how Lynn’s creative efforts over the last year have been killing their cash cow with even 50 percent reprints.
There is another prospect looming. Lynn’s daughter finally graduated from art school. In my mind, if Lynn Johnston were ever to let anyone take over her strip, it would be her daughter. Also, I think the syndicate would be overjoyed to have all-new material on the strip, especially with a Johnston name on it. This would be the ideal situation for Lynn. She could drop in art and story as she pleased, meddle when she wanted, have loads of vacation time, and still make quite a bit of money just for owning the comic strip horses.
It is possible that Lynn’s daughter is her own woman and has her own mind about what she wants to do with art and it is not a comic strip. However, it seems a little too coincidental that after she came running home to work with her mother for a few months after the employee that cheated with her father left, the next thing she did was to head to art school. Also, from a very practical standpoint, if my mother had For Better or For Worse and was willing to hand it to me with a substantial amount of the money that goes with it, I would find it very difficult to turn down.
Not only this, but Lynn has clearly turned the corner on allowing relatives to handle her stuff. Beth Cruikshank got a writing credit on Farley Follows His Nose, when Lynn would not admit to anyone else having done work on the book, even the lady who coloured it. I could easily see a new strip with writing by Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank (as she was credited in Farley Follows His Nose) and Kate Johnston.
aprilp_katje,
Since we were still doing ARB when this strip originally ran, here is what howtheduck's Michael had to say about it then. :)-
That was a nice blast from the past. It may be self-serving, but I got a little chuckle from my own work.
So I've written to her each time, and she never seems to think re-repeating is a good thing. However, I wonder if LJ herself thinks it's not a big deal and if this attitude is prevailing.-
I think you are right. If LJ thought it was a big deal, then we would have gotten some kind of response, even if it was a blatant lie, like the kind she writes to me from time to time.
howard,There is another prospect looming. Lynn’s daughter finally graduated from art school. In my mind, if Lynn Johnston were ever to let anyone take over her strip, it would be her daughter. Also, I think the syndicate would be overjoyed to have all-new material on the strip, especially with a Johnston name on it. This would be the ideal situation for Lynn. She could drop in art and story as she pleased, meddle when she wanted, have loads of vacation time, and still make quite a bit of money just for owning the comic strip horses.Good point; the only question that raises is when the newest-run strip will be set. Will Kate and Beth do
a) a Batiuk-like timefrog and show us a thirty-year old Liz and Anthony dealing with a six year old Françoise and two year old James.
b) Show us the more immediate aftermath of the Settlepocalypse.
or
c) Declare themselves to be writing Ultimate Foob and continue the new-ruins in place with fresh ideas and artwork.
DreadedCandiru2,
I would say (a) and (b) are possible, if Lynn has been listening to her fans who are desperate for new material and have been writing to Coffee Talk nonstop since last September. They want to see Liz dealing with her new family and they want to see how April progresses. I can’t see (c) the new-runs being the choice, especially with Kate Johnston doing them.
I'm pretty sure Kate won't be taking over the strip. She was already in art school when the affair happened and she is more of a sculptor. Besides, I don't care who it is, Lynn would be over their shoulder as she has said numerous times.
I wrote a letter both to Coffee Talk and to my local newspaper about the re-re-printed strip. Don't know if either letter will have any effect, though.
I'm pretty sure Kate won't be taking over the strip. She was already in art school when the affair happened and she is more of a sculptor. -
You would know this better than I would. I really don’t know anything about Kate Johnston as an artist. Is she a good enough sculptor that she can make a living as a sculptor? Or is this more of a situation like when she spent those years as a ski instructor, where Lynn seemed to hint in her writings that Kate was doing that, because she really didn’t need money? From my perspective, there is a young woman, fresh out of art school, with extremely limited job prospects with a sculpting degree. There is a huge cash cow with this comic strip, just waiting to be milked, just ask Jeff Keane on the Family Circus, or Mort Walker’s sons, Neal, Brian and Greg Walker. It seems like it would be a difficult job to turn down, if Lynn were to offer it.
Besides, I don't care who it is, Lynn would be over their shoulder as she has said numerous times.She has said this, but there are signs she is loosening her grip:
1. As near as I can tell, Kevin Strang is colouring the strip from his studio. Jackie Levesque, in contrast, appeared to be doing the colouring in Lynn’s studio. Back in 2005, when Jackie Levesque was on maternity leave, Kevin Strang had to come to Lynn’s studio to colour the strip. At least that is the way it looked from the studio pictures.
2. Lynn actually allowed her publisher to hire someone she did not know to colour her children’s book Farley Follows His Nose.
3. There is some unconfirmed evidence that Lynn allowed her publisher to hire someone to touch up her work for her children’s book Farley Follows His Nose. The publisher credited Chrissie Boehm as an illustrator and her specialty is doing artwork in the style of others for commercially licensed characters.
4. Lynn let Beth Cruikshank write the story for her children’s book, which is more than just letting Beth write her convoluted text pieces for the Who’s Who on Lynn’s website.
muzition,
Don't know if either letter will have any effect, though.-
Based on my experience with sending that comment to Coffee Talk, I would wager that it will have no effect there.
I *love* the idea of Kate taking over the strip and picking up the original timeline. I can see Elizabeth dumping Anthony (before James is even conceived) and telling everyone that she only married him because her domineering mother kept insisting that she come back to Milborough and marry him. ;-)
Anonymous,
I *love* the idea of Kate taking over the strip and picking up the original timeline.-
If she is doing new material, I think this would have to be the condition. Reading the Coffee Talk comments after the strip concluded, people were practically in mourning about the loss of the modern day Pattersons.
I can see Elizabeth dumping Anthony (before James is even conceived) and telling everyone that she only married him because her domineering mother kept insisting that she come back to Milborough and marry him. ;-)-
I have to admit it would be very interesting to see how Kate would handle the Elizabeth story, given her personal connection and given that Kate is single.
Didn't Lynn once brag that Kate created the "anatomically correct" Ned Tanner doll?
Did she even mention any of her other works, shows or juried exhibitions, etc.?
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