Michael: Browse The Strips

Monday February 6, 2017

Lynn's Comments: This was an opportunity to make an important observation, I hoped, without sounding preachy. There are serious things a cartoonist wants to say; the challenge is in choosing the right time and the right way to say them.

Tuesday February 7, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Some of our best family times have been when the electricity was out. Not only did it make us creative and prepared, it gave us a break from sound. Until the appliances are off, we have no idea how much ambient sound we live with!

Wednesday February 15, 2017

Lynn's Comments: I had so much fun with the English language. These strips won't translate, so my work was generally only in English language papers. The good thing is that folks are using comic strips like mine to teach ESL. Seems the puns and wordplay are a great way to get right into a language, and what better way to learn than through funny words and pictures.

Friday February 17, 2017

Lynn's Comments: As a hockey mom, I saw some interesting stuff. Parents who dropped off their kids and left never knew how important it was for those young players to see supporters in the stands. Some of the parents who did attend were so determined to see their kid be a star that they also ruined a great game. Kids were shouted at and bullied from the stands, and volunteer coaches were criticized. I'm hoping things have changed since I was a hockey mom.

Sunday February 19, 2017

Lynn's Comments: I didn't learn to skate until I was over 35! What gave me the courage to try was a really good pair of skates and the lure of a rink made by the neighbours on Trout Lake outside of North Bay, Ontario. It was one of those perfect days. The ice was thick and the snow was fresh. Just a few passes of the snow blower and a small private rink was cleared. The kids both had skates that still fit, and my mom-in-law had borrowed skates for the rest of us. She’d made hot chocolate in a big thermos and the Harrisons, whose house we were visiting, had built a fire in the pit down by the dock.

For the first time since I was a kid, I strapped on skates (dull rentals) and shoved off from the snow bank. To my surprise, I discovered the bite of a sharp blade and was actually scraping my way forward. That’s it. I never went again, past those surprising few turns around the ice, but it was enough to let me know how it’s done and why some people become champion skaters. You just have to experience this exhilaration when you're young!

Tuesday February 21, 2017

Lynn's Comments: After the strip became second nature to me, I began to look past the main characters to the Pattersons’ neighbours and friends. I was so immersed in the neighbourhood that I wanted to know what was going on in their families, too. I began to introduce strange new characters; people who would be interesting for the readers, and a challenge for me.

Wednesday February 22, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Molly is Elly’s best friend Connie’s step-daughter. I was getting into some convoluted relationships and I only had four panels a day in which to tell a story. Four panels and one statement a day. This was hardly enough time to develop a character—especially one outside the familiar ones already established.

Sunday March 5, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Man, I was happy with this punch line. Now and then a great one comes along, and when it does, you kinda look around to thank the spirit that handed it to you. I rather think the line came from a famous player–someone who played hard but played fair. I wonder who it was.

Saturday March 11, 2017

Lynn's Comments: The problem with this strip is that it wasn't clear who did the "YEAAGHH!" Some readers thought it was Michael and didn't understand. I had hoped that the old adage, "Ignore something and it will go away." would be obvious and carry the joke, but not so. We're running it again anyway!

Wednesday March 15, 2017

Lynn's Comments: There was a guy we knew in Lynn Lake, Manitoba who had a front tooth missing. Into the gap, he would push a cigarette so he could talk and smoke at the same time. I liked this guy. Some folks disappear into the pit of your subconscious. Others you remember for the rest of your life!

Saturday March 18, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Right now, my grand daughter is living with a fairy in her house. The fairy is happily waiting for a second tooth to be hidden under Laura’s pillow. The first tooth was replaced by a two dollar coin! Fairies are more generous these days.

Sunday March 19, 2017

Lynn's Comments: This strip began with the Garfield pin. We had gone to visit Jim Davis (creator of Garfield) and his family, and had returned with some treasures–one of which was a tiny Garfield pin. I can't remember if I ever told Jim that the pin had been lost and found, and that a Sunday page had been the result. Thanks, Jim!

Tuesday March 28, 2017

Lynn's Comments: I got a few letters from exhausted hockey moms when this came out. We all needed as much support as we could get!

Monday April 3, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Aaron made some wonderful friends during his short-lived hockey career. Truly the best part of the game was the camaraderie. I just wished the coaches and the parents weren't so determined to win!