Friday, December 5, 2008

Did you know that Farley is a DOG?

Clicks for to make big.

Scary kid, eh?

I'm not sure how it happened, but I think Michael in panel two was on his way to morphing into a young Funky Winkerbean. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than growing up to be the Delicate Genius so many of us have come to know and loathe. ;)

15 comments:

DreadedCandiru2 said...

Well, you've certainly captured the stalker-with-a-crush vibe that New-Run Mike seems to have. It's sort of sickening to see that Lynn learned nothing from the Anthony debacle. Once again, we have an appalling idiot willing to do any stupid thing to impress someone who isn't who he thinks she is.

April Patterson said...

LJ doesn't seem to have any idea how creepy she's made him. Once again, her obliviousness to child development shines through.

howard said...

The original strips with Mike rhyming Deanna with pianna were more realistic, but just barely. Considering how obsessed Mike was with young Deanna, it is interesting how he didn't even notice when she moved away. Of course, new-run Michael will probably wear a sackcloth and sit in ashes and refuse to eat when he finds out young Deanna is moving.

April Patterson said...

Of course, new-run Michael will probably wear a sackcloth and sit in ashes and refuse to eat when he finds out young Deanna is moving.

Probably. And chances are, the reason for their moving will be related to Mira being EBOLLLL. ;)

howard said...

That could be. We have not yet seen new-run Mira, and we never saw her back in 1980. It should be an interesting contrast. Back in 1980, Elly may have disapproved of different aspects of Annie and Connie, but she did not have any characters that she out-and-out despised like she did Mira. The closest she came was Ted McCaulay. If Elly learns she dislikes Mira even back in 1980, this will be a striking difference in story-telling style.

DreadedCandiru2 said...

Back in 1980, Elly may have disapproved of different aspects of Annie and Connie, but she did not have any characters that she out-and-out despised like she did Mira. The closest she came was Ted McCaulay. If Elly learns she dislikes Mira even back in 1980, this will be a striking difference in story-telling style.

The selective memory Lynn has of the early years disguises the fact that life with John and Mike was not one of unrelieved misery and opression so seeing Mira presented as a Complete Monster for the same specious reason as obtained during Deanna and Mike's Big Fat Fake Wedding would be a direct violation of the premise of the Early Years: an average family dealing with everyday life. One of the rules of the genre is that no over-the-top, redeeming-quality-free villains are allowed.

Anonymous said...

A couple of other things I think I can tell:

1) Mikey doesn't seem to be aware of himself. Too many stilted references to the dog (would a kid refer to Farly (from Travels with Farley, I happen to believe) as "Farley The Dog?"

2) I wonder if Elly is aware. The fact that she would attempt to test her would seem to hint to as much.

3) As for Lynn, I wonder if her putting Anthony as a stalker character sort of echoes her wish of being so loved by her husband that he couldn't help but think of her only? In short, they probably had a post-sexual, strictly business relationship through much of the nineties and she found out about what he thought about her (and the relationship) when he dumped her.

Anonymous said...

Ha...what you did with Farley was brilliant! He looks and acts like his stuffed dog counterpart with those stick-straight legs! By the way, I actually like the sketchy ink work on these strips, so I think you should keep it that way...

April Patterson said...

godozo, the "Farley the dog" is my snarking on Lynn for insisting on referring to him that way in every recent interview and "Coffee Talk" post. Elly's "what do you know" to Liz could be innocent or not. Ambiguous! :) (Hard to say about the Lynn/Anthony/Rod stuff.)

Thanks, lectrice. I'm going to have to do some experimenting with pen/ink. One problem I'm having with the brush markers is that the more I use them, the more frayed the tip gets, so it's getting more difficult to get the lines the way I want them. And I can't afford to keep buying new ones!

Muzition said...

Your dog drawings are so much better than Lynn's.

April Patterson said...

Thanks, Muzition. :)

Jana C.H. said...

Are you using those brushes that look like felt-tip pens but have a brush-tip instead? I use those a lot, and I've taken to marking a new brush with a piece of tape and using that one only when I need fine detail, like faces or hands. The tip still gets frayed before you run out of ink, but it lasts longer because you're not using it as much as the brushes you use for bigger strokes and for filling in areas.

Also, have you seen the ones that come in different shades of grey? They're really good, if used judiciously. I remind myself that if I use greys to substitute for color, I should use no more than two or three shades. I more often use one of the pale shades for touches of supplementary shading.

Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith: Arnold Edinborough: Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.

April Patterson said...

Jana C. H., it's a brush marker by Pigma. Looks like an ordinary marker except the tip is flexible and tapers to a fine point. It's probably what you're thinking of. :)

Jana C.H. said...

April-- Mine are from Faber Castell. I do a lot of on-the-spot sketching, and these are really good for that. I can't very well carry brushes and a bottle of ink around to Democratic Party functions and Gilbert and Sullivan rehearsals.

My usual way of drawing is with a pencil and a lot of erasing and correcting, so the brush is discipline: it forces me to be more spontaneous and to work with whatever I put on the paper. When the results are too horrible, I can always tear it out of the notebook and throw it away, but I've gotten some drawings that have turned out really well.

Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith Fridtjof Nansen: Fram!

April Patterson said...

Jana C. H., I definitely need to get the sketching habit going. I have a little sketchbook for that purpose, but haven't been carrying it with me, as I should. I know exactly what you mean about erasing. :)