Talented caricaturist, illustrator, and art director (recently retired) for Mad Magazine, Sam Viviano is one of my favourite cartoonists and New York friends. When Paul and I go to the city to enjoy jazz and the shows, we love to include Sam and his wife, Diane Bloomfield.

After knowing each other for over 40 years, Sam and I realized we had never exchanged original art! Exchanging originals is a great thing to do and over the years, I’ve traded with Charles Schulz, Bil Keane, Jim Davis, Will Eisner….but I hadn’t traded with Sam! When he suggested we make the long overdue exchange, I looked through my most recent work—all “spot art” for the website—and chose something I thought he might like. In return, I did not expect Sam to send me a caricature of Paul and myself—playing tunes at the Eagle’s Pub! A caricature, done by a Mad Magazine alum? That is gold, my friends! That is better than wonderful!!!

Sam has just sent me the pencil rough, which I love! He said he had planned to ink it in when he got back from holiday…but I like the rough! A pencil rough often has more life and depth than the finished art, which can be too tight and polished. So, here is a gift from a good friend—an image worth sharing. This is something I’ll treasure and frame. It’s us!

Sequential Tart is a Web Zine about the comics industry, published by an eclectic band of women, dedicated to providing exclusive interviews, in-depth articles and news, while working towards raising the awareness of women’s influence in the comics industry and other realms.

The beloved nationally syndicated newspaper comic strip, For Better or For Worse, chronicles the daily lives of the middle-class suburbanite Patterson family – Elly and John and their children, Michael, Elizabeth, and April — in real time over three decades. It ran every day for almost 30 years, and now reprints of these strips continue to run in newspapers across the country. The current storyline is from 1993, which includes Lawrence’s coming-out story; that storyline created a lot of controversy at the time, but saw Johnston nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994.

We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to talk with her over Zoom.

Thanks to Sheena for this great conversation with Lynn. You can read the entire interview here on the Sequential Tart website!

A couple of weekends ago, my partner, Paul, and I went to see friends who live in in the mountains. It’s a long drive, up switch-back dirt roads with the most beautiful views imaginable. We arrived to great fanfare, and a wild greeting from their dog. After some long-overdue conversation, they told us that the bears were coming out of hibernation and to look carefully, because we might see some black bears near their garden. They live in harmony with the wildlife in the area, and take great care to keep their property a safe place.

Late in the afternoon, Mary called us to come to a picture window overlooking the meadow next to the house. A grizzly was happily eating grass, just a few yards away. Bears eat grass after they come out of hibernation – to clear out their gut. They especially like dandelions! This bear was chowing down on the new, spring grass as if it was a giant salad. Not expecting to see him for long, I began to take a video. He came closer and closer to the window – so close we could hardly believe we were seeing a wild grizzly bear from just a few yards away. I wanted to share this wonderful experience with you!

Since she retired from drawing For Better or For Worse®, Lynn has been having fun doing small, cartoony paintings. We’re making them available as prints so everyone can enjoy them!

Our prints are signed by Lynn on heavyweight, acid-free paper. They can be personalized and are ready for framing. These prints are 10″ x 10″ in size.