Gordon: Browse The Strips

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My husband actually admitted to me once that he put the dishes in the dishwasher "the wrong way" on purpose! It meant that I did it all the time so it would be done "right!"

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I thought that in time there would be a return to uplifting family friendly films--stories that left you feeling hopeful, the music rich with cadence and meaning; music that would repeat in your mind for hours afterwards. "The Lion King" has been a recent one, but to my mind there just aren't enough.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Because Aaron was four years older than Katie, she was left out of a lot of activities. She couldn't race away on her bike or cross the street alone or camp out with the boys in the backyard. She became attached to her dad (since I was working full time in the house) and spent hours with him in his workshop learning how to glue things and make stuff. I think this is why she is so comfortable with tools and to this day can build or fix just about anything!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The thought of not allowing my kids to dress like punk rockers makes me smile. Unlike some other moms, I encouraged my kids to dye their hair and wear crazy outfits. They wouldn't go for it. Perhaps it's because I insisted, or maybe they weren't into that kind of stuff. Either way, they never did the punk thing, and I'm OK with that, too!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Not so long ago I was wandering around one of the local high schools--waiting for the robotics team to run one of their competition models (I am such a fan!) when someone opened a locker. The familiar smell sent me back in time to days of lunch bags, gym strip, foolscap and gum. They say that you don't forget smells, so test yourself: think of new Pink Pearl erasers, a doll's saran hair, pencil shavings, crayons and wax lips--do they bring back memories?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lynn's Comments: For the new release of this strip, the dialogue was changed to read, "Hey, guys, what's short and round--" I knew I would still get negative mail but perhaps fewer complaints than when it was first printed. People don't want to see derogatory remarks of any kind, even if it's exactly what two little boys would say. I could have deleted the strip, but I rather liked the gag!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: In Lynn Lake, we would walk the kids to school. When we moved to rural Ontario, even though Kate's school was close by, the bus would pick her up and drop her off at our mailbox everyday. Aaron, too, caught the school bus, and because he went to a different school, he had to transfer to another bus in town. For both of them, it was a whole new experience, in a very different place.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Growing up in North Vancouver meant we lived on "the rain coast," where it was rumoured that some of us had webbed feet. Despite the fact that rain was inevitable, I was well into my teens before I agreed to use an umbrella!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Science projects for me were always a lot of fun. Both my parents were so keen to get involved, that all I had to do was know the facts and write an essay.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Katie asked to have her ears pierced as soon as she saw other little girls with earrings. We said she could have pierced ears for her fifth birthday. We took her to the local jewellery store, and she was almost too excited to sit still; however, she didn't expect piercing to hurt so much and refused to get the second one done. It took a while to make a decision: Either take the one out or have the second earring put in. She decided to go ahead with the second one--as long as her brother couldn't watch!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I first started to "notice" boys when I was in 3rd grade. I had a real crush on Jimmy Thompson--he lived near me, and I'd walk home from school with him whenever I could. One day I told him a story about my grandfather (my dad's dad) and how he had been in a terrible accident at the shipyards, where he worked in Collingwood, Ontario. I said his head had been crushed and he had a metal plate put in where his skull had been removed. I said you could attach stuff to his head with magnets, and this got Jimmy's attention. He walked home with me--straight to my house where he demanded to see my mother. He said I'd been lying to him, and when he told her my story, she said, "you know, Jimmy, it's actually quite true." He was duly impressed and agreed to be my friend. I had learned that a good story was a great way to get attention--and I also learned that (for the most part) it had to be true!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Every time I did a Halloween strip, I based my ideas on what I remembered as a kid. Nobody bought costumes then--the kinds of disposable, commercial costumes just weren't available. Our get-ups were entirely original. I wonder how many folks still make their own stuff?

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was a kid, my friends would come to my house to talk to my mother. She and I didn't always see eye to eye, so it surprised me when my friends considered her advice worth seeking. I accepted her relationship with them with admiration and jealousy: admiration for her, jealousy because I couldn't confide in her the way they did.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: One of the best costumes my folks ever made for my brother was "the mad scientist." It consisted of a lab coat, an Einstein-style wig, a black moustache, pipe, and granny glasses. In the pockets of the coat Dad had placed severed fingers, a tube of fake blood, and a stethoscope. The bag Al carried was covered in mathematical formulae--a real nod to Dad's ability to do research. I don't recall what I wore that year, so--Al was a hit and I was a miss.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm) tells a story about how upset his girls would get if he embarrassed them in public. Now, Mike just can't help himself--he's a wonderfully theatrical guy with a prankster's edge. When one of his girls left her school lunch at home, he delivered it in person by leaping into her classroom dressed as Superman. This strip reminds me of that day, and how Marci still winces when she thinks of her dad in that costume.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Nope. Nobody in our family ever made a talking head on a table as a Halloween costume. This was another descent into the "writer's mind" where silly ideas lie. The prospect of sustaining such a monstrosity made me think about how a small group of boys would treat their experimental pal; whatever they did, it would be messy!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I wanted Brian to be someone who felt a bit alienated by his intelligence. He would rather work on a school project than join in team sports or hang out at the corner with"the guys." Gordon was on the "outside"because he was mechanical. Academic subjects were a waste of time for someone who preferred to be under a car or taking apart a machine in his mother's kitchen. Michael was frustrated by his inability to concentrate. Even though he was a bright kid, he never achieved top marks in class--he was a dreamer! These three boys all felt inadequate for different reasons, and yet, they all had something in common: they lived in the same neighbourhood, and they got along with each other. Friendship ultimately overshadowed their differences.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: In the comic strip, Michael was old enough to understand what had happened and could talk about the adventure with his friends. At the time of the accident, however, our children were not aware of the seriousness of the situation. All they knew was that Daddy had gone for a trip and big planes had come to town to look for him.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I was told by a number of readers that I was stereotyping Brian (whose family background is Japanese) by making him a smart kid. The funny thing was that none of the complaints came from Japanese families! Is there such a thing as a complimentary insult?

Friday, August 28, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Wordplay is something I really love. The trouble is that gags like this will not translate easily into other languages. I have spoken to translators who must change the gag completely so that a punch line will make sense to their readers. A translator of comic art must therefore be a humourist and a wordsmith as well.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I kept my father-in-law's hard hat for a long time after he died. It was so much a part of him. For many years, he was an important part of my life, and I felt it kept him close by as long as I had it. Strange how something cold, plastic, and ordinary can have so much meaning. Divorce estranged me from his sons and his daughter. I returned his hard hat to them before I moved from Ontario. This strip was to honour the memory of Tom Johnston. He was one of a kind.