Monday, February 15, 2010

New Everything

For those of us who liked the long dormant idea that Connie and Elly might have a more-than-friendly relationship comes this reprint of For Better or For Worse. Connie strips off the outer coat, and the neckerchief and gives Elly a big smile; which you will note, all of which she seemed to be unable to do for Phil, the man she was supposedly interested in. Then she says, “New clothes, new hair, new everything!” Looking at Connie’s figure compared to this strip, it appears that “new everything” means “boob job”. Elly responds with “You look like a million bucks” as she offers her coffee. The combination of those two things (a compliment and coffee) from Elly Patterson is practically like an invitation to intimacy. Maybe this is what Connie expected Phil to do when she “threw herself” at him.

This strip has a few corrections in it. The misspelling of "terriffic" is corrected and Lynn drew in Connie's hand holding the previously self-supporting coffee cup. Personally, I kind of liked the "terriffic" because it supported the impression I get that Connie is high in the last panel, judging from her glazed-over facial expression.

The part I find the most amusing about this is that Elly is the last one to notice Connie; which means Elly did not let Connie in. Judging from this strip, Connie just walked in. It’s not unlike when Phil just walked in the house. I guess Elly doesn’t lock her front door. Of course Elly does say “Holy Cow” and “You look like a million bucks” when she sees Connie. Perhaps this is some kind of cloven hoofed animal reference.

17 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

The part I find the most amusing about this is that Elly is the last one to notice Connie; which means Elly did not let Connie in. Judging from this strip, Connie just walked in. It’s not unlike when Phil just walked in the house. I guess Elly doesn’t lock her front door.

We can chalk that up to Lynn's not realizing how odd it looks that small-town, old-fashioned behavior like that would end up looking in the 1980s...or the 2010s. It's of a piece with her characters casually exchanging addresses; she can't process the idea that times and customs have changed.

10:29 PM  
Blogger Holly said...

If she has had a boob job, it's just an enlargement. To judge from panel 2, they're still located at the bottom of her rib cage. Or is this supposed to remind us that Connie is a feminist and has burnt her bra? I mean, these reminders would come in handy, seeing as nothing else Connie does echoes anything remotely related to feminism.

11:05 PM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

We can chalk that up to Lynn's not realizing how odd it looks that small-town, old-fashioned behavior like that would end up looking in the 1980s...or the 2010s.

Maybe she saw Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling for Columbine where, to show that Canadians were much more open and loving than people from the States, Mr. Moore went through a Canadian neighbourhood opening people’s unlocked doors.

5:03 AM  
Blogger howard said...

forworse,

Or is this supposed to remind us that Connie is a feminist and has burnt her bra? I mean, these reminders would come in handy, seeing as nothing else Connie does echoes anything remotely related to feminism.

I could see Connie as braless. It certainly would fit this image of Connie.

5:03 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

The misspelling of "terriffic" is corrected and Lynn drew in Connie's hand holding the previously self-supporting coffee cup.

A-ha! I'd noticed that the misspelling had been corrected, but not the hand. Now that you point it out, the original to me appears to have a freefloating thumb holding that cup.

The part I find the most amusing about this is that Elly is the last one to notice Connie; which means Elly did not let Connie in. Judging from this strip, Connie just walked in. It’s not unlike when Phil just walked in the house. I guess Elly doesn’t lock her front door.

I was thinking the same thing--apparently people just walk right into the Pattermanse without anyone knowing until they suddenly notice that they are there.

5:16 AM  
Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

He didn't go through my neighborhood, that's for sure. I don't know of anyone that would leave their front door unlocked.

7:31 AM  
Anonymous dlauthor said...

Yeah, I saw Bowling For Columbine at the Toronto film festival, and when the unlocked-doors sequence came along, the response in the audience was equal parts laughter and looking at one another in bewilderment. Cripes, I grew up in the country and we locked our doors.

7:33 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

Now that you point it out, the original to me appears to have a freefloating thumb holding that cup.

Is it possible that Lynn drew the thumb with the intent of adding the hand, and then just forgot about it?

I was thinking the same thing--apparently people just walk right into the Pattermanse without anyone knowing until they suddenly notice that they are there.

That seems to be the case. “Howard Bunt. What are you doing in my bedroom?” “Well, Elizabeth. The door was unlocked, so I thought it was OK.”

8:35 AM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

He didn't go through my neighborhood, that's for sure. I don't know of anyone that would leave their front door unlocked.

That seems to be the Michael Moore style. He finds a few homes with unlocked doors and hints the whole nation is a lock-free zone. I’m not too surprised this one isn’t true.

8:36 AM  
Blogger howard said...

dlauthor,

Yeah, I saw Bowling For Columbine at the Toronto film festival, and when the unlocked-doors sequence came along, the response in the audience was equal parts laughter and looking at one another in bewilderment.

That part did not ring true to me; but I remember it very well. The part of the movie with the NRA and Charlton Heston is a different story. Shortly after the movie came out, there was a Nursing student at the University of Arizona who went nuts and shot some of the Nursing professors. Within 2 days, the NRA had a rally in the Tucson area, which they claimed had already been scheduled before the shooting occurred, and none other than Charlton Heston showed up at the rally. The part of the documentary where Michael Moore talked about the NRA rally after Columbine was right on the money.

8:37 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

Is it possible that Lynn drew the thumb with the intent of adding the hand, and then just forgot about it?

Either that or, at the time, she somehow imagined that the thumb could be visible in front and that the rest of the hand would be implied but not visible behind the mug. We know how freaky the foob hands can be.

“Howard Bunt. What are you doing in my bedroom?” “Well, Elizabeth. The door was unlocked, so I thought it was OK.”

"Oh, well, in that case, it must be fate that you're here. Which side of the bed do you prefer?"

8:58 AM  
Blogger Holly said...

"Oh, well, in that case, it must be fate that you're here. Which side of the bed do you prefer?"

You beat me to it: I was going to post almost exactly the same thing, except that Elizabeth would likely just lie back and thought-bubble this.

9:29 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

Either that or, at the time, she somehow imagined that the thumb could be visible in front and that the rest of the hand would be implied but not visible behind the mug. We know how freaky the foob hands can be.

I can see that with Connie’s left hand; but not really with Connie’s right hand. As you say, foob hands can be freaky, especially with that left / right thing.

"Oh, well, in that case, it must be fate that you're here. Which side of the bed do you prefer?"

LOL. The funny thing is that as nasty as Howard Bunt was, he was still more affectionate than Anthony.

9:43 AM  
Blogger howard said...

forworse,

You beat me to it: I was going to post almost exactly the same thing, except that Elizabeth would likely just lie back and thought-bubble this.

That or something like, “If Constable Paul Wright truly supported me, he would be here right now to save me. After all, the door is unlocked.”

9:43 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

You beat me to it: I was going to post almost exactly the same thing, except that Elizabeth would likely just lie back and thought-bubble this.

We are tapping into a scary collective foob unconsciousness.

Oh, and John would poke his head into the bedroom and thought bubble, "What a nice chap! He sure is there for her!"

I can see that with Connie’s left hand; but not really with Connie’s right hand.

Wait a minute--isn't that supposed to be her left hand? I don't think it works as her right in either version.

10:03 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

Oh, and John would poke his head into the bedroom and thought bubble, "What a nice chap! He sure is there for her!"

And Elly says to Elizabeth, “Howard may seem like a dangerous stalker now, but when you go to your high school reunion, you’ll be the envy of all the other girls with Howard on your arm. I know he has clown red hair now, but a lot of people think clown hair makes you look like a millions bucks.”

Wait a minute--isn't that supposed to be her left hand? I don't think it works as her right in either version

It all depends on the patented Patterson pinky finger extension. Is that the one finger seen in the original strip or not?

2:00 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

“Howard may seem like a dangerous stalker now, but when you go to your high school reunion, you’ll be the envy of all the other girls with Howard on your arm. I know he has clown red hair now, but a lot of people think clown hair makes you look like a millions bucks.”

And don't forget "He'll knock the socks off the jocks!" (Which to me translates to "The jocks will all be attracted to him.")

It all depends on the patented Patterson pinky finger extension. Is that the one finger seen in the original strip or not?

I read that as a thumb. I thought it was a left thumb wrapped around to the front with the rest of the hand on the other side of the cup. Elly does seem to have a semi-extended pinky, though. I guess she is trying to set an example for Connie, and Connie is probably failing miserably. (We can't know for sure, since her pinky would be one of those fingers that is on the other side of the cup.)

2:32 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home