home: Browse The Strips

Friday August 2, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I was a kid, my bed could fly; I was convinced of it! With the covers over my head, my imagination took me everywhere and I sometimes fell asleep dreaming about flying. It's no wonder that many years later, I found myself marrying a pilot and learning how to fly!

Monday August 12, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I was 16, I went to Montreal to visit my mom's sister Monica and her family. It was the time of greased hair and Elvis wannabes. My cousin Marty had the best hair. He wore it in a perfect "duck tail" with a suave curl on the forehead. He looked like he was right out of "West Side Story." His dad, my uncle Maurice, owned a Cadillac convertible and was happy to load all of us kids into it. I was surprised when Marty complained that his dad was putting the top down—the rest of us were thrilled. My memory of that drive to the country is Marty crouched in the back trying to keep his hair straight while the rest of us enjoyed the wind.

Sunday August 18, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I had done this cartoon and was looking at it in the paper, I realized I had missed the most important part of the joke. The sun should have been much more noticeable, and the last panel should have been a much more colourful sunset.

Saturday August 31, 2019

Lynn's Comments: The whole time the "Michael and Martha" theme ran in the strip, my son was asked if it was true; if he was really seeing someone called "Martha." Usually, his friends were able to get past the hype and see that FBorFW was "just his mom's imagination," but this story caught fire. Aaron's friends were sure there was more to this than a comic strip. It was one of the rare times when my work made one of my kids really uncomfortable.

Sunday September 1, 2019

Lynn's Comments: I'm looking back at these drawings from a grandmother's point of view now...and the first thing that came to mind was, "Why is Elly criticizing the kids when they have actually mowed and raked a lawn?!—For heaven's sake, girl, leave the complaints for bigger misdemeanors!"

Thursday September 19, 2019

Lynn's Comments: In reality, my husband and I did talk about having a third child. Our son and daughter were growing up, I did miss "my baby," and we had room in our home and our hearts for another. The sobering truth was, we just didn’t have the time.

Sunday September 22, 2019

Lynn's Comments: This was done at a time when several people I knew were dealing with serious health problems. The "rainbow day" remark came from my dad. My parents lived in Hope, BC. Dad and I were coming home from visiting mom in the hospital and it was raining. Set in the Fraser River Valley, Hope is surrounded by mountains. When it rains, the slanting rays of the sun always seem to make a rainbow. Dad said, "Look, it's a rainbow day!" Since we had both been in tears, it was a lovely observation. I saved it for a later time when I could use it in the strip.

Tuesday September 24, 2019

Lynn's Comments: In order to be up to date, I read books on pregnancy. I became very aware of how many weeks along Elly was and how she would be feeling. If you start to think about these things, you start to feel them yourself. The idea of cravings made me want to buy stuff I didn’t ordinarily buy.

Wednesday September 25, 2019

Lynn's Comments: A flashback in time: I once saw my mother at a party (after a few drinks) put a green grape up her nose and ask for a Kleenex. You never know when a flash from the past will come into your head and become a comic strip. This is what cartoonists rely on: a memory bank full of crazy scenes!

Friday September 27, 2019

Lynn's Comments: Whenever a serious story was on the rise, I always had to remember there were other things going on in the Pattersons' lives. There were other characters to include. In real life, there so many facets to every day…we don't focus on just one topic. Here, Farley comes in to break up the pregnancy storyline.

Monday September 30, 2019

Lynn's Comments: Now that I live on the West Coast, I see these images of an Ontario winter through different lenses. I miss the beauty of the autumn leaves, the warmth and the smell of a wood fire…but I sure don't miss the snow!