Martha: Browse The Strips

Saturday February 17, 2018

Lynn's Comments: When the "Mike and Martha" series was running for the first time, my son was being asked at school who the heck Martha was. He told everyone there was no Martha and that his mother had just made her up. Nobody believed him—even though they were with him every day and could see that Martha didn't exist. Strange how closely my kids were compared to the kids in the strip—even though I had changed their ages, their names and their circumstances.

Tuesday April 17, 2018

Lynn's Comments: There were about a dozen of us at the party, all dressed up and giggling. What I remember most, besides being hot and sweaty and dancing cheek to cheek, was a burping contest. Pop was expensive. None of us had it at home very often and Carolyn’s mom had bought us a real variety.

Wednesday April 18, 2018

Lynn's Comments: Somebody (might have been me) suggested we shake up the bottles of pop, drink them and see who could burp the loudest. The guys thought this was a good idea, so they and I got the contest underway. Carolyn and the rest of the girls didn't want to get involved, but they didn't want to tell on us either–in case it was a cool scene.

Thursday April 19, 2018

Lynn's Comments: It wasn't a cool scene. The pop went down and came right back up again. It came out our mouths and out of our noses. I’d chosen cream soda and I was covered in it. My dress was soaked up the front, the guys were also wet and embarrassed, but we laughed anyway. The audience was silent, and I had learned something: It’s of utmost importance to practice a gag before you try to pull it off. When a gag goes wrong, the troops are called and the night ends quickly. I wasn't invited back.

Tuesday April 24, 2018

Lynn's Comments: Behind the scenes, I knew that Gordon Mayes’ family life was very difficult. His dad drank and was abusive, his mom was too tolerant and too fearful to defend Gordon from blows and belittling. I rarely talked about this in the strip. Just alluding to it gave Gordon an extra element of reality. It made him someone for whom I felt compassion and concern. His character grew after this.

Thursday February 21, 2019

Lynn's Comments: This didn’t happen to me until I had graduated and was in art school…but it happened. Disposing of one's lunch in a public space is never gracious, but we all seem to need this experience. Mine happened in Stanley Park near the zoo—an appropriate location.

Thursday February 28, 2019

Lynn's Comments: I've shown the kids ballroom dancing, which was what we did…we had to learn how! It was part of our gym class curriculum. Ballroom dancing allowed us to lean close together, to allow one person to lead the other, to feel motion, rhythm, pattern and style. Things have changed. People don’t ballroom dance anymore, but I'm guessing it will become such a novelty that young people will see how romantic it is and bring it all back. YES!!! …But first, they'll have to come up with some danceable tunes.