| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 |
Lynn's Blog Entries
Letters from the Pattersons
General Comments
About The Hybrid Strips
From the FBorFW Team
Lynn Answers Your Mail
About Shannon Lake
Monday
I have a small suggestion. Perhaps Lynn can post a statement on whether her "Eh" in the following "Q & Eh" item still stands:
Q: Hi, now that FBOFW has had a reboot, what year is it supposed to be taking place?
Eh: It's taking place in the modern day.
Often, there are "Coffee Talk" comments that criticize a practice in the strip, and usually others write in to suggest that the practices reflect the way things were in 1979-1981. Lynn weighing in on this issue would go a long way toward settling these disputes.
Happy 2010 everyone! I hope Coffee Talk continues to be a place where people with divergent opinions can have their say.
Katje B, Albany, NY, USA
The strip is running as a "hybrid" (I hate this term!) wherein both original artwork, done in 1980 and 81 and new work is mixed. My reason for doing this was to improve the work.When I started, I was not as comfortable with the writing as I am now. I introduced people who never really had an identity ( John's friend, Ted, for example) and storylines that never had a purpose ( reference to Connie's cousin in Montreal was removed and the girl who answers the door to Uncle Phil's apartment will soon be explained). This has never been done before, so it is a real experiment and I'm very grateful to my editors at Universal Press Syndicate for allowing me to do it.
Because the original strips ran in the 80's, certain things will be out of date. Elly's concern about working outside of the home, for example is not an issue, now, but I've left this in. People do not use cell phones. Other things, not so obvious, have been updated, like the use of seatbelts.
I'm glad you are taking the time to analyze this and to figure it out- and to be honest, you're putting more thought into it than I am! I just want to make the story better than it was! Soon, there will be no more curious questions. I am almost ready to let the work run on its'own again. Thanks for your input and your interest! You keep me on my toes. Lynn J
I am really enjoying the brilliant strip catalogue feature. I can see that the current strips, with Mike and Lawrence somehow smoking Phil's pipe, originally ran in January 1981 but weren't published in any collection books. I have all the collections so was a bit surprised to see just how many strips weren't published. Could Lynn explain a bit about the process which led to strips not being published? I had thought my collection was complete! :)A few months ago Lynn mentioned that plans were moving ahead for a treasury edition. Will this include these strips currently showing as not published in the collections? Will this also include things like the character biographies in the Who's Who and the monthly letters? I know all of these are available online, but am asking because I get the impression that quite a lot of readers didn't find the website until very late in the strip's original run, and the monthly letters and biographies often explain events which weren't otherwise clarified or even mentioned in the daily strips. It would be really useful if the treasury edition stated which events are canon (i.e, the Pattersons' "official" history), for example, the way the early years were portrayed originally, or the way they are being re-done in the newruns, or whether the weekly letters Elly did on the Coffee Talk blog for a few weeks last year tie in with the genuine timeline, for example, she mentioned starting and then dropping a writing course in her on-line weekly letters but made no reference to this when she started the (now-dropped?) writing course nearly a year later in the strips.
Holly M, Cambridge, UK
Hi Holly- when strips were selected for the collection books, often the publishing format was a factor. We could only fit so many strips into the book, so a small number were left out of some collections. The process for selecting the strips to leave out was not very scientific but sometimes they were left out because the subject matter was considered offensive. We've been putting together a list of strips that were never published in books - you can view it here . We haven't worked out the plans for the treasury editions yet, but we will definitely keep these continuity items in mind when we're working with the publisher. I'll pass your message along to Lynn - thanks for your long-term interest in FBorFW!Stephanie, AloeRoot Web Services
I really enjoyed today's dog strip. As a highly visual artist I often like the ones with no words. My favorite frame was of the dog in the dog bed looking totally dejected. I have solved this problem with my two Afghan Hounds, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. They have their own Disgusting Dog Couch (DDC). It is parked upstairs overlooking the two main streets in our town, affording many opportunities for barking. They have eaten portions of this couch, and broken off one of the couch feet. I try to disguise the destruction with fleece throws, but the dogs, appropriately, just throw them around. I do not get upset. "It's your DDC, so eat the whole thing if you want, but then you two must drive yourselves to the furniture store."Christine K, Lynnfield, MA, USA
And Elly thinks that Farley is "a handful" ?? “Bandit” was a half grown, grey and white tabby that I was elected to foster when a friend who had rescued him from the local shelter got transferred overseas. Bandit was a sociable, curious little creature: when he wasn‘t trying to take apart his toys to find out what made them squeak, he typed paperless “memoirs” on my battered Olivetti, strummed my acoustic guitar until the strings all rattled on the frets, and literally “butted into” every telephone conversation I tried to have. He also appointed himself my Lifeguard, patrolling the edge of the tub every time I took a bath, laddered drawer after drawer of nylon hose, learned how to distribute a roll of toilet paper over every inch of a 3-room suite, and developed an alarming addiction to saucers of milky tea. I eventually found him a home with a Flying Club that had just lost its Chief Mouser, and watched saw him grow up, spoiled shamelessly by all the pilots, before I too had to move away.Anna M, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Hats off to the Lynn Johnston team for running the "smack" strip and all of the other "past" strips that are bringing so much comment and debate! What a shame it would have been if these strips were modified. I liken it to flipping through a photo album and seeing Uncle Harry at his desk at work with a cigarette in his hand. Look how far we've come!
I look forward to the pipe smokin' debates. Heck, Coffee Talk is just about the first thing I read in the mornings!
Cheers! :)
Kate, BC, Canada
I see that besides Phil's pipe, Michael found some matches lying around for him to play with. That's some stellar parenting, all right.Nate R, Washington, DC, USA
How did Michael learn to light a pipe? That's not an easy skill for adults, let alone a six-year-old.Chris P, Boston, MA, USA
How old is Connie supposed to be? Because she seems to behave very child-like with regard to Phil. I'm a little surprised to read the new storyline as I have never met a grown woman who has experience in relationships to behave that way.Doutzen, Montreal, QC, Canada
People thought hitting children was wrong back in 1980, too.Ed T, St. Paul, MN, USA
Thank you there are still some normal people in this world who enjoy the strip for what it is...a look at life & raising a family on the light side. My daughter just today said "Mom, it's confusing to know how to disipline your kids, because if you yell at them or give them a slight spanking in public people give you a dirty look, yet if you just let them run wild & don't say much of anything to them...you still get dirty looks. What are you supposed to do???" It's this do nothing society that has lost the respect kids have for their parents & older people in general. Correction in public or private, whether a firm scolding or a light slap on the bottom gets their attention after you told them what not to do & they persist. Some kids act up for attention, some to see how far they can push you, But you are the adult it's up to you to give them guidance & correction. If you remember the Patterson kids all turned out just fine with love & respect for their parent!
Bobbi S, South Bend, IN, USA
Just got my Farley doll today, he is the cutist thing ever!! I love it!! My grandson loves it too although he said "awww kitty kitty"!!hahahaha!it was cute!! thanks for making him and for giving part to the farley foundation, also thanks for the note cards they are awesome too!! Your the best!! love to you!!
Cynthia B, Princeton, IN, USA
I just got my plush Farley on Saturday and he is great. It was worth the wait to have him so perfect!Kate S, Chicago, IL, USA
I'm so sad to see that the Anchorage Daily News has this week stopped carrying FBOFW. Probably it was a budget decision; the ADN, like all of our newspapers, is dying,and it probably couldn't afford you anymore. I know I can keep following FBOFW on Yahoo comics. But it won't be the same. When you made the decision, last year I think it was, to stop, and turn back the story line to an earlier, simpler time, when everyone wasn't so grown-up, and it wasn't all so enmeshed and entangled, and there weren't so many characters and story lines, all with histories and mortalities and horizons ... I can't decide if I think that was prescient and wise and I love it, or if I think that was ... less. Really, I mostly think it was just less. I wanted to see how those lives played out. I still love the strip, though. And I am sad that the simpler past you turned back to ... the one with the morning paper on the Pattersons' breakfast table ... is fading so fast.Barb C, Anchorage, AK, USA
I am loving your strip each and every day. Forget those who complain. I start each day off by reading your strip and I am thankful that the strip is still going strong even if we are looking back at past strips. I had to laugh at today's strip as Michael announces that he and Lawrence will not be caught. I can't wait to read what happens tomorrow! Bless you Lynn for continuing your strip!!!!Michele, OH, USA