Elly: Browse The Strips

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Lynn's Comments: When the first Cabbage Patch dolls came out, I was caught up in the frenzy like everyone else. I managed to score one for my daughter just before Christmas, but then my sister-in-law called to say there were no dolls available in Winnipeg until after Christmas, and could I find just two more. Word came that a shipment of dolls was to arrive at a local store in North Bay, and it would be first come first serve. I ran to the store and stood in line hoping to get a doll that wasn't too ugly. They were ALL ugly! I bought two blonde C-dolls, and mailed them off to Manitoba just in time for the great glut of Christmas. Apparently, I had saved the day. Looking back, it's hard to believe that such a strange looking doll could have made such an impact, and that I waited crazily in line for two of them! This series of strips was my "revenge."

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I remember this feeling. I remember going to bed and wishing so hard that it was Christmas, my teeth ached. I still love Christmas--but nowadays, it comes too fast!

Friday, December 25, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This was me exactly; standing in the early hours of the morning staring at all the gifts under the tree and wishing they were all for me. I wonder when greed changed to giving? Somewhere between the ages of 5 and 15, I became someone who thinks about others. Whenever it was, I'm grateful.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Lynn's Comments: It was hard to introduce a new character into the strip. I had to make a number of sketches: front, side, three quarters. I drew the character laughing, frowning, shouting, and calm--all in an attempt to keep him or her consistent whenever they were in a scene. I didn't always succeed. "Greg" changed from time to time, and readers would quickly tell me when I made errors.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Bringing Lawrence and his mother back into the strip was a good idea. They were already part of the Pattersons' extended family and I didn't want to lose them! I came up with a plausible scenario; something that would allow them to come back to the neighbourhood, and the result was a much needed boost to the storylines.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Little things stay in your memory, for example, I remember when my mother and dad finally allowed me to drink out of real glass. I felt so grown up. It was as though they were saying, in a significant way, "We trust you."

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My son, Aaron, really did stick his tongue to the school flagpole. A frantic teacher called me and I ran to the school in time to see one of the staff trying to pour hot coffee down the flagpole to warm it up. Another said to just pull him off, so I worked at his tongue, which was stretched like an elastic, and his teacher pulled him. With an "OUCH!" he was finally free. I thought he'd be upset, but Aaron was quite proud. When he'd stopped nursing his sore tongue, he happily pointed to the pole where a number of small, fuzzy spots marked battles with other frozen tongues. "Here's Cathy, and here's Bryan, and here's--" I guess it's a rite of passage: every kid has to see if the warning has merit--and every generation discovers that it does.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Writing for Lawrence was much more difficult than writing for Connie. As a single mother, I had gone through the same situation. I had a strong sense of what she was going through. Coming up with light-hearted quips while dealing with a serious situation, saved this storyline from becoming maudlin and preachy. As in all great personal upheaval, a sense of humour is essential--the best tool in your survival pack!

Friday, January 8, 2016

Lynn's Comments: You can say something serious if the punch line is light. This was my way of keeping the characters "cartoons," while covering a sensitive topic.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I went to visit Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm) in Florida. He had a "NordicTrack" in his rec room and it was covered with coats and other clothing. I asked him if he ever used it and he said, "Of course!" and he pointed, theatrically to the elaborate clothes rack it had become. That was the inspiration for this strip.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This idea was given to me by a male friend. It was his observation that women's conversations were much more serious and meaningful than men's. What do you think? Was he right?

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I was once part of a study in which single women were being asked what it was that attracted us to certain men. My answer was fairly complex, but when I asked the counselor what gave her the right vibes, she said, "he has to smell right."

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Talking about a parent who is no longer a part of the family is really difficult. My first husband was never there for my son. Over the years this has all been resolved, but when Aaron was young, it was important to talk openly and honestly about what had happened without prejudice and without assigning blame. I used to wonder when I'd feel like a grown up. Handling this issue made me grow up fast.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I went to visit Farley Mowat not long after the movie "Never Cry Wolf" had been released. It was based on a book Farley had written about his experience in Canada's north where, as a naturalist, he lived with wolves to see if they truly were the menace man believes them to be. He lived the way they live. He ate what they ate. In one scene, he is eating raw, wild mice; one of the most memorable parts of the movie. When I asked Farley if he really DID eat mice, he smiled and said, "My dear, I'm a writer. If something didn't happen, it SHOULD have."

This is the long way of telling you that what Elizabeth is doing in this Sunday strip never happened but it should have. Watching Katie open and pour a can of apple juice, I thought: If she'd made multiple openings, the scene might just have gone just like this.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I had no idea how hard it was for smokers to quit. My brother tried time and again and finally succeeded. It was a real triumph.