John: Browse The Strips

Thursday October 20, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I wanted to be a teenager so badly. Ten wasn't good enough, and twelve was agonizingly close. When I finally added the "teen" to my age, I felt I had achieved something wonderful. I know I had an attitude. Like all my friends, I suffered the ups and downs of fitting into a new body with all the hormones raging. But it was a time of great positivity as well. I guess it was confidence that made being thirteen so wonderful. I had a supportive and loving family, I was doing well in school, I had confidence, education and security. I never knew how lucky I was.

Sunday October 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When you are writing material for a comic strip or for any other dialogue, be it a stage play or even stand-up comedy, you create a situation in which there is sentiment, a reason to question, observe or pontificate. Then you write a possible exchange of views as you see here. Sometimes the exchange is within yourself, but there is always a path to the punch line. In writing with the voice of a child, I wrote a question I thought would be realistic using the right turn of phrase. With luck and a little guidance from the "muse," I got a funny response. On days when the writing goes well, you feel like a genius. On days when the writing goes badly, you feel like a jerk. The roller coaster of this job sure made life interesting!

Friday October 28, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I was glad that the fireworks tradition wasn't part of an Ontario or Manitoba Halloween. On more than one occasion, we were threatened by big kids who wanted to ignite our paper costumes with "lady fingers" (small, red, tube-shaped fireworks) or sparklers. Every year, someone got hurt.

Monday November 21, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My husband often came home exhausted. Working with sensitive people, using tiny instruments and fidgety materials in an awkward space, takes endless patience. Added to this is the management of staff and copious paperwork. I think dentistry is one of the most tiring jobs there are.

Wednesday November 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: In order to inject a little intrigue into the story, I made John's Doctor friend, Ted, a very bad influence. Although he was completely fictional, I was often asked who he "really was."

Wednesday December 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My husband once bought a very sporty little convertible; a replica. I forget the brand name, but it was a classic two-seater with leather seats and big googly headlights. He bought the hat, the gloves, and even shoes to go with it.

Saturday December 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have always looked at a vehicle as something that would transport a family of four, with a load of groceries and a sheet of plywood, if necessary.

Friday December 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Some of the funniest strips have no words at all. My son did put Christmas balls on the dog's ears and this was the result. I see in the second panel that I only drew Elly in part. Strange how the eye fills in the details that aren't there. In my later work, I meticulously drew everything clearly, and I think I lost this fluid spontaneity.

Sunday December 25, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is what I do and have always done: I carefully remove wrapping paper from a gift and fold it gently for reuse. I then try to use it as packing material, if possible. I also keep the bows. Good ones I do reuse, especially the ones I make myself. Both my daughter, Katie, and I have a wrapping space in our homes--complete with paper, tape, ribbon and cards. It drives me crazy to see someone scrunching up and discarding a perfectly good bow. I have launched myself across a room to grab a bow before the gift recipient casually crushed it into a ball! I love gift-wrapping and I prefer to make my own bows. I learned how to do this when I was about 8. Before the introduction of commercially-crafted gift toppers, the making of an attractive bow was an art. At the back of our jewelry store on Lonsdale, we had a gift-wrapping table. My mom did gift wrapping as a courtesy to our customers and she taught me how to make her famous bows. If you'd like to learn how, you can watch my quick video tutorial here.