Friday, May 7, 2010

Where Dee finds herself upon returning to 2010

Click to enlarge.
This is an actual continuing education program for pharmacists.  :)

I hate to admit this, but I can kind of see Lynn's point about her not-changing-characters'-hair rule in the later years.  This is supposed to be Dee with her hair grown out from that awful bowl haircut Lynn stuck her with.  I referenced a couple of strips from December 1999, when Dee had just returned from Honduras and her hair was grown out a bit.  Only I thought her hair looked almost mullet-ish in those strips, so I tried tweaking it, and now she doesn't look like Dee.  ::sigh::  Let's just pretend she does!

23 comments:

DreadedCandiru2 said...

I like the with the new hairdo; she looks less like a Romulan. I also like that she doesn't blindly follow Elly's stupid suggestions any more; she's less pathetic that way.

Godozo said...

I would have had her try the "Sewing Business" for six months, then jump back into pharmaceutical work. But this also works.

April Patterson said...

I also like that she doesn't blindly follow Elly's stupid suggestions any more; she's less pathetic that way.

Not blindly following Elly's suggestions can only be a step in the right direction. :)

April Patterson said...

I would have had her try the "Sewing Business" for six months, then jump back into pharmaceutical work. But this also works.

Heh. Now that you mention it, there might have been some merit to her finding out the hard way what a bad idea that would have been. But I guess she applied reason instead. :)

howard said...

What you are dealing with Deanna's appearance is that Lynn Johnston made little effort to make physical distinctions in the shape of characters' faces at a certain age. She was better with older Anne and Connie; but, as we have pointed out many times, there were a number of strips where you could easily exchange April, Deanna, Elizabeth and Michael's face, if you just changed the hair style. This was especially true in the "April after 16" strips where April started growing the same big lips as Deanna and the shape of her face changed to the standard young girl heart-shaped chin line of virtually every young woman in the strip. Hair style made it easier for Lynn to make distinctions. However, a better artist would have varied other little details like the nose, eyes, etc. to make each character unique, even the young ones.

April Patterson said...

What you are dealing with Deanna's appearance is that Lynn Johnston made little effort to make physical distinctions in the shape of characters' faces at a certain age.

You've hit the nail on the head, howtheduck. I was a little horrified after I'd carefully drawn that face, added the modified hair and.... April! Where'd YOU come from? ;)

Anonymous said...

I wonder where Elly got the idea into her head that Deanna should open a sewing school. Just because she spent so long adjusting that dress...?

Or did Elly feel threatened by somebody else having a successful career? Michael was allowed to succeed because he was living HER dream (until she tried to snatch it for herself); Liz... did she ever really approve of her becoming a teacher? I know Liz was inspired by one of her own teachers, and Elly felt somewhat threatened by said teacher for some silly, self-centered reason...

That must have been awkward, though. I can just see Elly harping on Dee every time she saw her: "Have you decided to open that sewing school yet? I think it'd be perfect for you! Much better than playing with pills all the time. That must be so boring! Not like sewing! Sewing is riveting! And you can make all sorts of useful things like... um... sewing... stuff? It's such a good skill to have, since no guys ever do any sewing, like, EVER! Have to mend those pants now! Mend mend mend! Ahahaha... So, seriously, you should dump the pills and get some needles and thread and whatever else you'd need for a sewing school! It'd be great!"

By the by, I think Dee looks nice without the bowlcut. :)

Unknown said...

What a great idea for Deanna, something new and challenging that pays well and is in her field. Imagine that.

April Patterson said...

I wonder where Elly got the idea into her head that Deanna should open a sewing school. Just because she spent so long adjusting that dress...?

I wouldn't put it past Elly to have such a frivolous reason.

Michael was allowed to succeed because he was living HER dream (until she tried to snatch it for herself); Liz... did she ever really approve of her becoming a teacher?

Aaron Johnston's essay for Suddenly Silver notes that Lynn had suggested to him that he become a writer. When he rejected that idea, she had Michael go into writing. Later, she suggested that Kate become a teacher. Kate rejected the plan, and hey presto, Liz wants to be a teacher! Based on that, I suspect Elly approved of both career paths. ;)

That must have been awkward, though. I can just see Elly harping on Dee every time she saw her: "Have you decided to open that sewing school yet? I think it'd be perfect for you! Much better than playing with pills all the time.

I can definitely imagine Elly doing that. 0_o

April Patterson said...

What a great idea for Deanna, something new and challenging that pays well and is in her field. Imagine that.

Thanks--I liked the idea of actually showing Dee as caring about her career.

howard said...

I wonder where Elly got the idea into her head that Deanna should open a sewing school.

Deanna’s sewing school was sad moment for me. With the character of Thérèse Caine and with Lynn Johnston’s own career, I had thought Lynn Johnston was in favor of women having financially successful careers, so long as they also were responsible mothers. I felt that Thérèse Caine was vilified in the comic strip, not because she had a career, but because she did not want to be the primary caretaker of her child. One of the main reasons I believed this was because Deanna was a manager at her pharmacy. No one took Deanna to task for having a successful career, because she was also portrayed as being an attentive, if incompetent compared to Elly, mother. The sewing school destroyed that whole argument, and made it apparent Deanna’s pharmacy work was only a stop-gap until such time as Michael was able to support the family with his writing career. It also shed a whole new light on the Lynn / Rod relationship. Rod probably did not make as much money in dentistry as Lynn did with her comic strip, and considering how the relationship between Michael and Deanna’s jobs played out in the comic strip, I have the feeling Rod was very aware of Lynn’s beliefs on the matter.

April Patterson said...

Deanna’s sewing school was sad moment for me.

I felt the same way.

No one took Deanna to task for having a successful career, because she was also portrayed as being an attentive, if incompetent compared to Elly, mother.

On top of that, it was Elly who encouraged Dee to go back to work when Meredith was five months old instead of waiting until she was ready for pre-school.

Rod probably did not make as much money in dentistry as Lynn did with her comic strip, and considering how the relationship between Michael and Deanna’s jobs played out in the comic strip, I have the feeling Rod was very aware of Lynn’s beliefs on the matter.

It raises an interesting question. If Rod could have out-earned her, say by becoming a dentist to the stars, would Lynn have quit her strip? Or would the lure of fame have been too strong?

DreadedCandiru2 said...

howard,

It also shed a whole new light on the Lynn / Rod relationship. Rod probably did not make as much money in dentistry as Lynn did with her comic strip, and considering how the relationship between Michael and Deanna’s jobs played out in the comic strip, I have the feeling Rod was very aware of Lynn’s beliefs on the matter.

As I've said before, it also helps explain her belief that Rod took her money after he left her when all that really happened was that he stopped paying her an allowance. It probably still confuses him that she thought that he had to pay her an allowance when she brought more to the table.

Pharmgirl said...

Just want to say that I LOVE this strip! The "sewing school" thing made me absolutely livid!

howard said...

It raises an interesting question. If Rod could have out-earned her, say by becoming a dentist to the stars, would Lynn have quit her strip? Or would the lure of fame have been too strong?

I would say the last few years have answered that question pretty thoroughly, with her multiple retirement dates and her "I realized I had problems in my marriage, but I was waiting to deal with them after I retired" comments.

Anonymous said...

On top of that, it was Elly who encouraged Dee to go back to work when Meredith was five months old instead of waiting until she was ready for pre-school.

Well, yeah. How else was she going to feel like she was a superior mother compared to her? Elly sets her own bar low-low-beyond limbo low; sure, she used to recognize on some level that she sucked as a mom, but over time she convinced herself she was BEST MOM EVER. And to hold onto that title in her head, she's got to make sure the competition doesn't hold up, right?

As for whether she would have retired if Rod made more money... I doubt it. She's addicted to the fame and the feeling of being the most important person in the world. Actually, I wouldn't have put it past her to be jealous if he'd made more money. Your standard Catch-22: anything he did was going to piss her off and get picked to pieces.

Sometimes I wonder if that was part of why Elly wanted a career of her own, despite the whole "Female Success Is Family even if you hate the little worthless brats" theme. Maybe she wanted to prove she was 'better' than John, even while still expecting him to spend 'his money' supporting the family. (I don't support his 'my money' viewpoint, mind, but I can easily see Elly calling any money she brought in 'HER money'. Since, you know... hypocrite.)

April Patterson said...

Just want to say that I LOVE this strip!

Thanks. :)

The "sewing school" thing made me absolutely livid!

I can't blame you. I detested it too, and I can only imagine that for someone who's chosen a career in pharmacy, it would be all the worse.

April Patterson said...

I would say the last few years have answered that question pretty thoroughly, with her multiple retirement dates and her "I realized I had problems in my marriage, but I was waiting to deal with them after I retired" comments.

Too true. I can't help imagining that she might have been waving "retirement" plans in front of Rod like a big ol' carrot. "Just wait until we retire! We'll go on cruises every other month, volunteer on medical missions once or twice a year, and do the sexy-sexy every once in a while."

April Patterson said...

Elly sets her own bar low-low-beyond limbo low; sure, she used to recognize on some level that she sucked as a mom, but over time she convinced herself she was BEST MOM EVER. And to hold onto that title in her head, she's got to make sure the competition doesn't hold up, right?

Good point. Sure, she'd trained Connie to praise her on what an awesome mother she was, but surely that wasn't enough for Elly.

As for whether she would have retired if Rod made more money... I doubt it. She's addicted to the fame and the feeling of being the most important person in the world.

True. She's even acknowledged in some of her essays that there were times when she'd let her fame go to her head and make her arrogant--but like a Patterfoob, it seems she was constantly unlearning her hard-earned lessons.

Actually, I wouldn't have put it past her to be jealous if he'd made more money. Your standard Catch-22: anything he did was going to piss her off and get picked to pieces.

I do get a no-win vibe from the whole situation.

I don't support his 'my money' viewpoint, mind, but I can easily see Elly calling any money she brought in 'HER money'. Since, you know... hypocrite.

I could definitely imagine Elly thinking this way. Men are supposed to provide for the family, so everything they earn goes into the communal family pot. If the "wifey" picks up any money, it's "extra" and it's all hers.

Anonymous said...

What the shit? Lynn had Rod pay her an allowance every month?! I'm...speechless. Why? Is she really that screwed up?

Godozo said...

What the shit? Lynn had Rod pay her an allowance every month?! I'm...speechless. Why? Is she really that screwed up?

I know, hard to believe. I have some trouble believing it myself.

But knowing artists, it makes sense. Let him worry about the money, she just needs to draw (or, as happened in later years, organize).

That probably explained why her post-marriage cartoons went the way they went – now having to worry about money and other stuff, how can she make a plot or something like that? Hence the slow-shift to retirement and the retracing of the old-runs.

Interesting coincidence: word verification was sulffa. Not exact, but aprapos.

Cedar said...

Kinda late to the game here, but. . . my theory involving the stupid "sewing school" is that LJ as trying to retroactively defend Dee's mad sewing skills befoer the wedding. I know at the FOOBiverse and elsewhere, we were al verY "WTF!?!" over this major character suddenly having professional level sewing skills, despite the fact that she hadn't even been portrayed as a hobbyist before (making Hallowen costumes or the like). So LJ was like, "See? Dee's a very talented sewer. Didn't you remember she has a sewing school?" "But. . .that happened. . . after. . ." "SHE HAS A SEWING SCHOOL!"

And the "school" part I imagine before LJ has such a weird fetish for teachers.

April Patterson said...

Kinda late to the game here, but. . . my theory involving the stupid "sewing school" is that LJ as trying to retroactively defend Dee's mad sewing skills befoer the wedding.

Considering some of the odd lengths Lynn has gone to in order to deflect criticism, you may be onto something with this.

And the "school" part I imagine before LJ has such a weird fetish for teachers.And the "school" part I imagine before LJ has such a weird fetish for teachers.

She does seem to have a peculiar fascination toward them--a kind of love/hate thing in some ways.