Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Connie's thought bubbles, continued

 
Click to enlarge.
This is supposed to be what happens right after the strip that originally ran on 2/16/1981 (to find it at the search catalog enter the text follow it in the "punchline" search field).  I am gambling on Lynn reprinting this strip, but I've been wrong about these things before and expect to be again.

13 comments:

DreadedCandiru2 said...

The problem Connie has is that she doesn't know about that damned journal and how it's making a puppet of her. If she were to destroy it, she'd be free.

howard said...

Your prediction turned out to be correct and moreover, leaving out the cousin is an even odder thing to do, if Lynn is going to keep in the family visit part. Why did Lynn get obsessed with removing that reference?

April Patterson said...

The problem Connie has is that she doesn't know about that damned journal and how it's making a puppet of her. If she were to destroy it, she'd be free.

She's consulted with April, so I am thinking that she is aware of it. She hasn't devised a non-risky plan to get to it. Also, it seems to me that she was expecting that being about six hours or so away could weaken Elly's hold on her thoughts and actions, but she's learning the hard way that this is not the case.

April Patterson said...

Why did Lynn get obsessed with removing that reference?

This puzzles me, too. I suppose it could be that when she originally conceived of the arc, she thought that she was going to show the cousin in one or more strips. Then it took her more strips than she might have been expecting to tell her story (her first four-week arc?) and she decided that she didn't have time to work in the cousin. And perhaps in her quest to "improve" the old arcs, she figured if she isn't showing the cousin, she should remove the references to that cousin?

This is all guesswork, of course. I don't think I am as familiar with Lynn's brain as, say, forworse is. ;)

howard said...

And perhaps in her quest to "improve" the old arcs, she figured if she isn't showing the cousin, she should remove the references to that cousin?

I suspect this is the case. "Family" is OK, because it doesn't mention a specific character, but "cousin" is no good, because it does. In my mind, both are fairly generic terms and it doesn't make any difference. Although it does point out that the removal of "cousin" was not for the purpose of making Connie's journey to Montreal more single-minded in her pursuit of Phil.

Joe England said...

I'm new to this. So, to clarify... Lynn Johnston is planning to return to straight reprints of the original "For Better or For Worse" comic, and this will correspondingly initiate the end of Foobar as the "time warp" is somehow defeated, yes?

April Patterson said...

Although it does point out that the removal of "cousin" was not for the purpose of making Connie's journey to Montreal more single-minded in her pursuit of Phil.

Possibly--though it could be a case of "I'm here anyway--might as well visit with some family."

April Patterson said...

I'm new to this. So, to clarify... Lynn Johnston is planning to return to straight reprints of the original "For Better or For Worse" comic, and this will correspondingly initiate the end of Foobar as the "time warp" is somehow defeated, yes?

Yes--LJ has said that she plans to go to straight reprints in "early spring" of this year. It's not entirely clear what she considers "early spring," but whenever that is, I intend to wrap up Foobar.

Joe England said...

Hmm, sounds slightly uncertain. But if Lynn should change her mind and go on like this, I'm sure you'll figure something out so as to end the project. You're creative.
Like, perhaps someone steals the journal and plays Fry's gambit from the Futurama episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid," trapping Elly in a carefree dream world where she only thinks all her regrets were solved while the rest of her family gets on with their lives and she's left in a happy coma.
I'm sure no one would complain... what she's done is really nothing short of monstrous. She left the grandchildren in the cold, broke legs, stole intellectual property and tried to retroactively assassinate her own youngest child, for goodness' sake! If there were laws for this sort of thing, I'd say she'd be up for parole in about a hundred years...

Holly said...

This is all guesswork, of course. I don't think I am as familiar with Lynn's brain as, say, forworse is. ;)

Sorry to be so late to the party. Since you sent in the rescue team yesterday, I've been in intensive therapy. I can have only supervised visits with my kids until the doctor confirms that there aren't going to be any lasting side effects.

Oh, and...great strip today! I agree that "family" is even more generic than "cousin" so references to one remained while the others were exised.

I suspect we'll get at least one more Montreal newruin, possibly replacing the one where Phil walks Connie out of the jazz club and says he'll drop her off at her cousin's. He'll explain about the girl at the apartment being the landlady or confirm that Connie had the wrong address all along, but Connie will decide that they're better parting as friends. That way there aren't any hard feelings when the reruns get around to Phil's move to Milborough and romancing of Connie in the third year of the original continuity. (Although she never did have "the girl" explained in the first place and still agreed to get back together with Phil, so...who knows?)

April Patterson said...

If there were laws for this sort of thing, I'd say she'd be up for parole in about a hundred years...

I'd love to be a witness for the prosecution in that trial. ;)

April Patterson said...

I can have only supervised visits with my kids until the doctor confirms that there aren't going to be any lasting side effects.

That sounds very prudent. After being in Lynn's brain, you could have a sudden urge to throw your children into a snow bank or give them some money and tell them to go to the grocery store by themselves and pick up a few items.

Oh, and...great strip today

Thanks. :)

He'll explain about the girl at the apartment being the landlady or confirm that Connie had the wrong address all along, but Connie will decide that they're better parting as friends.

I'm hoping for at least one new-run that would cover this material.

Anonymous said...

But Lynn ALREADY covered the material! She was an evil French Canadian MAN-STEALER!!!11!One!