Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Another longform strip filled with gooey exposition

 
Click to enlarge.
Chantal was one of the friends at the slumber party April had to celebrate her 10th birthday, in April of 2001.  I don't think she was seen before or since.  Chantal had the distinction of being the only girl who had kissed a boy, and the other girls pressed her to share every detail.  In case you are curious about looking up the strips at the strip catalog, they are ID numbers 8986 through 8991.  What strikes me about Chantal is that, to me, she looks kind of like a blonde version of April, though with a different nose.

Not only did I not mean to dress them up like waitstaff (white tops and black pants), I actually meant to match Mike and Lizzie's night clothes as shown in the current strips.  Oops.

A shout-out goes to forworse.  Her comment about the first babysitter shown in the strip--Karen--growing up to be Becky's mother got the wheels in my brain going about other babysitters growing up to be the mothers of April's peers.

12 comments:

DreadedCandiru2 said...

Good thing for all that Connie remembers how suggestible Elly is; that way, they can speed alone something I think of as being inevitable. Elly is too damned lazy to keep this up forever so I would assume that she'd have quit out of exhaustion eventually anyways.

howard said...

I think this is the trickiest part of your FOOBar story, because you don't know how long it is going to take Lynn Johnston to end this, if she ever does. I think a key ingredient will be the first reprint strip after the parent-teacher conference strips and whether it is also the first strip after them in the original publication. That will give us a clue as to whether she is still hopping out-of-order around the original print schedule.

April Patterson said...

Elly is too damned lazy to keep this up forever so I would assume that she'd have quit out of exhaustion eventually anyways.

Her laziness must certainly be a huge factor. Kind of reminds me of a cartoonist who prioritizes vacation time above all else.

April Patterson said...

I think this is the trickiest part of your FOOBar story, because you don't know how long it is going to take Lynn Johnston to end this, if she ever does. I think a key ingredient will be the first reprint strip after the parent-teacher conference strips and whether it is also the first strip after them in the original publication. That will give us a clue as to whether she is still hopping out-of-order around the original print schedule.

The uncertainty is really bugging me lately. It'd be nice to know for sure.

howard said...

It would be nice to know for sure. Unfortunately, judging from the e-mail you got recently from Lynn, the person who should know for sure, also doesn't seem to know.

Holly said...

Cool! This also suggests that young April probably had a better time at the houses of her friends, since they all had first-hand experience what her parents were like. I can just imagine Elly offering to pay Karen after picking up April from Becky's and Karen replying, "I can't believe you haven't changed your rates since 1979!"

Joe England said...

If this plays out so that Elly voluntarily pops the bubble, it'll be fairly awkward for her afterwards, won't it? Hell, it'll be extremely awkward. For everyone. I mean, it'll be awkward no matter how this ends, but this way the confrontation won't be so overt and therefore will be less cathartic. Everyone will know that they had to use stealth tactics and subterfuge to suggest to this woman that maybe she shouldn't use her godlike powers to steal the lives of her family members for her own personal validation. And what Elly might not realize is that doing something reprehensible isn't really excused if you decide to undo it on a whim. It's like saying... "Gee, maybe I shouldn't throw this baby to the wolves. Yeah, that'd be bad. I think maybe I won't. Good for me."
Think of it... She'll decide to put an end to the charade, deactivate the journal, wake up in the present day and everything will be back to normal and she'll be just so gosh-darn proud of herself for making the mature decision and leaving the past behind. But while she's busy feeling moral and selfless she'll notice that everyone at the breakfast table is giving her really dirty looks...
I think it'd almost be kinder for something more straightforward to occur, some kind of climax where all the cards are laid out on the table. It can be easier to see when you've done something wrong when it's thrown in your face rather than tucked under your pillow.

April Patterson said...

Unfortunately, judging from the e-mail you got recently from Lynn, the person who should know for sure, also doesn't seem to know.

True--and there's always also the possibility of her changing her mind. ::sigh::

April Patterson said...

I can just imagine Elly offering to pay Karen after picking up April from Becky's and Karen replying, "I can't believe you haven't changed your rates since 1979!"

LOL--I can definitely imagine Elly not keeping up with the going babysitting rates. "Why should I pay more for someone to watch April than I did for someone to watch Mike and Liz? It's not like she's worth more!"

April Patterson said...

I think it'd almost be kinder for something more straightforward to occur, some kind of climax where all the cards are laid out on the table. It can be easier to see when you've done something wrong when it's thrown in your face rather than tucked under your pillow.

I do have a particular ending in mind.... I'm hoping it will be a satisfying one.

Destroyer of Worlds said...

Yay, the endgame begins! I'll be sad when it all ends though. :(

April Patterson said...

Yay, the endgame begins! I'll be sad when it all ends though. :(

Thanks--I'll miss it, too, but it needs closure. :)