Inside the Pattertonic Head

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Well, howtheduck totally called this.  Yes, Elly, in her catatonic state, is thinking the reprints.  This is an image I've had in my mind for more than a year--ending* FOOBAR with Elly catatonic, John wondering what she's thinking about, and the last panel showing Elly with that day's reprint in her thought bubble.

I of course didn't know what reprint would be running on that day.  I think the one that this landed on is oddly appropriate.  It seems to fit in with the theme of never having appreciated what she had when she had it.  (Not that John was such a prize, but you know what I mean.)

*But I'm not quite ready to end--there will be some epiloguey goodness to follow.

Pattertonia

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Flat Stanley as Michael

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Maybe because of the way I drew the table, I couldn't get Michael not to look flat in panel one (and yes, I did erase, redraw, erase redraw).  Oh, well, maybe it's symbolic of the way Elly tried to steamroll him.  ;)

And Elly STILL unhinges that jaw!

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Elly's little chat with Liz

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Elly, Connie, and Anne have coffee

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Welcome to 2010

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Fear not--we'll also be checking in with other characters, and there will be more follow-up/aftermath.  This is pretty much the moment after the ::poof:: of the spell, in which we see where the characters find themselves (kind of like when your pre-empted TV show comes back "in progress").  :)

Farewell, 1981

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Some commenters here had such interesting ideas about Elly using her stated desire to do one more "Yammersons" strip as a pretext that would allow her to engage in subterfuge that I feel a bit bad that I didn't have anything like that planned.  I really did just have her doing one more strip to get her digs in before the move "Back to the Future."

One for the time-road....

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There's a bit of a meta-joke here, since using my "Yammersons" template does allow me to churn them out quickly once I've written the script.  :)

The memories will remain

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"Oblivious" is such a poor excuse

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I know these two have been having this conversation for a small eternity--I'm almost in grad/zits/vacuuming territory here!  But...  just one two more strips devoted to this conversation, and then we'll mix things up a bit.

Non-perseverance

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Confrontation

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 Note:  I will be away on a work trip Thursday through Saturday this week, so my commenting is likely to be sporadic.  Never fear, though--Friday's strip is already uploaded and scheduled to self-post.  :)

Not detail-oriented

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It's Cliffhanger, hanging from a cliff, and that's why he's called Cliffhanger!

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Okay, so I decided that between panels one and two, Elly removes her Nizziepack, releases Nizzie, and removes her coat.  I am so done drawing the pack.  I was kind of baffled as to how exactly it's supposed to be constructed, and then I found that it's clearer here.

I realize that those are a couple of big, honking books in the last panel.  I was initially planning to make April larger in relation to them.  I'd considered erasing and resizing the books, but then I thought, "WWLD?"  And the answer was clear.  "No erasing!  No correcting!  No resizing!"  Hee.  :)

The end begins

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Whenever I need to draw Anne, I find myself staring in disbelief at the reference strips I'm using--that hair, that face--the floating heads and partially drawn features.  Poor Anne.

Completely OT

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Will the real story please stand up?

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Of course, I am probably guaranteeing that LJ will make with a new-run that renders this invalid and impossible.  Oh, well...  We're to understand that the straight reprints are right around the corner.

That face

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Absent knowing where Lynn is going with the 'Allo-girl discussion between Elly and Anne, I give you a little riff on that face clench of overreaction Elly does.

Elly's non-passion

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Yeah, I know I made Elly's right hand disturbingly small and spindly.  I am pretending it's an intentional homage. ;)