street: Browse The Strips

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Lynn's Comments: (Continued from yesterday)--What we didn't know was that Annette could hear us in the attic. She had just entered her room when Teddy shifted his weight on the attic floor to get a better look. Suddenly, Annette looked up at the knothole and saw an eye looking back at her. We knew we had a matter of seconds to descend the outside ladder and escape. We just made it to the bottom when both Annette and her dad came roaring out of the house! Teddy and I ran as fast as we could, our legs pumping like mad down the lane and to temporary safety. It was exhilarating and well worth the tongue-lashing we received when we got back home. Teddy was sent to bed without supper. I was sent to my room until my dad came home.

Wednesday October 5, 2016

Lynn's Comments: A kid in my neighbourhood taunted us all with a bowl of ice cream--just the way Richard is doing here. I went home and asked for ice cream and my mother told me I should have something healthy instead. She gave me a big carrot. I went outside, chewing the carrot. When the kid came up to me to taunt me again, I spat my mouthful of pulverized carrot into his ice cream. I still feel good about that today.

Saturday October 22, 2016

Lynn's Comments: As I wrote and drew these strips, the angst and the fury came back to me. It's so hard to be in the body of a young adult, with the imagination of a child and the knowledge of an adult. I knew a lot more than my folks did, and yet, I was trapped, unable to drive or be out past 10 in the evening, or make important decisions on my own. I was also embarrassed when times got tough and I desperately needed my dad!

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."

Sunday November 27, 2016

Lynn's Comments: There were times when we lived in Lynn Lake that I just couldn't get warm. I wrote this strip as soon as I'd served the hot chocolate.

Sunday December 4, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My mom always had the sheers drawn. Heaven forbid that anyone should see into the front window of our little house on 5th Street. If we wanted to look out the window, my brother and I would kneel on the couch, press our faces to the glass, and see what we could through the sheers: the white, almost transparent drapery, which smelled of dust and cigarettes. I hated them. As a kid, I thought the curtains should always be open. Surprisingly, when I had a house of my own, I too was determined to have the curtains closed for privacy. This Sunday strip was, again, a true story!

Tuesday January 3, 2017

Lynn's Comments: When the content of the comic strip began to bore me a bit, I tried to introduce some angst into my writing. This story was based on a real situation, but I changed the details so that the people involved never knew it was their story.

Saturday January 28, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Here is when writing and drawing can take you away on an imaginary flight. You see others in turmoil as you fly over and around them in safety—trying to figure out what they are going to do next. I often wonder if, in reality, there is someone out there writing and orchestrating the comic strip I live in!

Friday February 10, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Moving to North Vancouver has given us a break from shoveling snow. Wet snow falls here, but few people shovel it because the rain will come and wash it away. The rain does come, but frost might come first. Dangerous and slippery sidewalks make going anywhere treacherous. Seaside living means bone-chilling cold. Long underwear (for me), is a necessity. You can't win in Canada!

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.

Friday April 14, 2017

Lynn's Comments: These characters were fun to work with. They gave me the opportunity to see into an older girl’s life. The problem was, my main characters drove the strip, so I really couldn't focus too heavily, or too often, on the secondary ones. In a TV sit-com, there can be a variety of situations all at once. A strip is too slow and too confining.

Saturday July 22, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Stories are made so much better when familiar characters share the same experience…so in the strip, Mike and Elizabeth went to camp with their best friends. Unlike the real world, a comic strip artist can make anything happen!

Sunday July 23, 2017

Lynn's Comments: Puns were a favourite punch line. They were untranslatable, however, which made it difficult for my syndicate to sell my work to non-English-speaking countries. I knew that word play limited my sales, but if I could come up with a good pun, I figured it was worth the loss.

Tuesday July 25, 2017

Lynn's Comments: This was another serious comment. I have always wondered how a mother would feel if she lost her child to war. In jest, I could voice an opinion in very subtle ways.