Brian: Browse The Strips

Monday, May 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My dad managed a jewellery store. My friends imagined us to be rich, but nothing was farther from the truth.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I sat with a friend today; someone I've known since kindergarten. I asked Laurel what her first job was and she said, "washing hair in a salon. My mom got me the job." Mine was in my dad's store. At the time, we didn't think much of the work our parents arranged for us, but in reality, these jobs were the gateways to our futures.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I once offered local kids some money to clean up the road between my house and my mom-in-law's. It was a country road, so there was no way to cheat! The funny thing was that once they got going, they went from resenting the uncool side of cleaning a rural road, to being fanatical about it. They went down the road, far beyond our property--just because there was so much to pick up. I was so impressed!--And they say kids these days don't know how to do a job well!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Lynn's Comments: In my elementary school, baseball was a big deal. When players were being selected for the teams, I was last to be picked.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Lynn's Comments: There were no dogs out there to spar with, just a few trees and the schoolyard fence. I was on my own.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Even the scenario here with the baseball glove really happened. I will clearly remember this day forever--no matter how much it's embellished!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This was, and likely still is, a contentious issue. By opening the door to conversation on the topic of "when does life begin?" I was rattling a few cages. Knowing I was treading on thin ice, I made sure the punch line was innocuous, but I got the angry mail anyway. In the end, I was glad I had drawn this strip. It was something we were talking to our kids about and I knew other parents were struggling with this question as well. This shows you how much freedom I was given by my syndicate and many editors to write and say things that were sensitive and not easily mentioned in a comic strip.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Lynn's Comments: While writing this short vignette, I remembered very clearly the vigils we made in our cherry tree. I could feel the branches, smell the leaves, sense the movement of the tree, and anticipate the pummeling my mother would give us if she caught us up there. A cartoonist has to have a good memory and an even better sense of "what if?"

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This vignette had its roots in another story from my childhood: Across the lane from our house on 5th Street, lived the Doucette family. Their back yard faced ours, and Teddy Doucette was one of my adventurous buddies. His sister, Annette, was a teenager a few years older than we were, and everything she did was of great interest to us. The Doucettes had a small wartime house much like ours, but their attic had an outside access with a ladder going up to it--a wonderful place to play and hide. The floors in their house were thin and made of painted wooden slats. The attic was directly above. In the ceiling of Annette's bedroom, a small knot had been carefully pried open, and from inside the attic, Teddy and I could spy into her room. We could see only a very small area, but the thought of watching her unseen was great fun. (Continued tomorrow).

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Once, at the Winnipeg Airport, Aaron, who had been given a plastic squirt gun, decided to aim at the guard as we went through security. We were all immediately taken to a secure area and searched. Everything was opened, screened, examined and set aside. We were questioned, and sternly let go just before our flight boarded. We thought the guards had been a bit extreme. After all, it was just a toy squirt gun. Still, we made sure our kids never had weaponry of any kind when we went through security.

Friday April 28, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Six 10-12 year olds fit themselves into our basement with one more sharing the bunks in Aaron’s room. I was surprised by how many brought their own pillow. Each pillow was a treasured object not to be trifled with!

Saturday April 29, 2017

Lynn's Comments: We all hear complaints about young people; how disrespectful and inconsiderate, how noisy and unruly they can be. The kids who stayed with us for the hockey tournaments, however, were the easiest kids I'd ever had the pleasure to deal with! So the story running here was more about creating an interesting cartoon than it was about telling the truth!

Tuesday May 2, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Every mom has heard this line…and every mom responds the same way. I got a lot of satisfaction out of drawing the expression on Elly’s face here, knowing it would be felt by so many!

Saturday July 15, 2017

Lynn's Comments: I heard from readers whose kids created "no girls aloud" forts because of this storyline. Good thing. Not only did it get them out of the house, it created serious discussion. TV can’t provide that kind of entertainment!

Tuesday July 18, 2017

Lynn's Comments: This is an observation from my childhood. The neighbours next door were building their house and had left a big wooden box in the yard. My girl friends and I claimed it as ours, telling my brother and his friends to keep out. We managed to hold our position, but it was a hot day and we nearly died of the heat. It wasn’t the victory we had hoped for…but then, war is full of disappointments.

Thursday July 20, 2017

Lynn's Comments: This series of strips is based on the wonderful and dilapidated "Camp Tillicum" just outside North Bay, Ontario.

Saturday July 22, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Stories are made so much better when familiar characters share the same experience…so in the strip, Mike and Elizabeth went to camp with their best friends. Unlike the real world, a comic strip artist can make anything happen!