What REALLY was going on during the insane wedding-o-rama of 2008 July...
AKA an exercise in salvaging the Foobs (start through August 26)
AKA what happens when real life is allowed to intrude on the Foobs
Monday, November 10, 2008
23 Dec 2009: Enter Deanna
... and now I notice that I didn't draw Deanna's nametag when I had her at an angle. Drat. Not that I would expect a pharmacist to have a nametag on the clothes she'd wear home, but that's what FOOB did.
It figures that Deanna would halfway blame April for this and almost all the way let Mike off the hook. She's pretty much John in drag: aware that something is wrong but not quite aware of the cause. She doesn't really know April because she's not around her enough to see past the hype.
By the way, just what was in that column he wrote? It must have been pretty bad for April to react the way she did. Not, of course, that Deanna would see that she had a reason to be angry; she can't seem to see just how damaging Mike's oeuvre is. After all, she thought the hatchet job he did on the Kelpfroths was a lighthearted romp.
dc2 It wasn't anything horrifically embarrassing to April, but it definitely made her feel like she was just fodder for his writing. And that her desire for any privacy was irrelevant. He's an identified columnist - Michelle figured the connection out.
In-strip, Mike didn't even help April pack, but he used her experience to compare moving to college and moving grandparents to an assisted-living home. Mike gave April no warning - she didn't know he was getting this new column. And while I didn't put that in, I expect he used April's real name and real location.
I think April's reaction might have been as much about the attitude and wondering what he would expose next as it was about the details in the column.
DC2: I think the issue wasn't that Mike wrote anything "bad," but just that he used her, and her experiences for writing fodder while, in real life, having zero interest in what she does and thinks.
It wasn't anything horrifically embarrassing to April, but it definitely made her feel like she was just fodder for his writing. And that her desire for any privacy was irrelevant. He's an identified columnist - Michelle figured the connection out.
Like I said, it bothers me that Deanna doesn't seem to notice or care that the subjects of his articles aren't treated with more respect. If she were to be treated as if she were nothing but fodder for his work, she might start to realize that people have a right to be upset.
Yes, it's past time I chimed in to say how much I'm enjoying it, as well. Your ability to actually write the FBoFW that Lynn thinks she created never ceases to surprise and amuse.
Would not mind at all seeing a confrontation between tell-it-like-it-is April and anything-to-avoid-conflict Dee...
I wouldn't say Deanna's blaming April for what happened to Elly:
1st pict: Deanna Smooths Mike's feathers. I think that even if Mike hadn't used April's real name or location, she would have been found out based on Michael being a famous enough author to be recognizable.
2st pict: Deanna then reminds Michael that he should take the high road for once. Even if the reason is that it's the Holidays (gag...)
3st pict: Mike asks if he should apologize, almost ready to give in for household peace. Deanna reminds him that April had no way of knowing what was happening.
4st pict: Then she reminds Mike that he, too, had no way of knowing what would happen.
In short, she's stating that Elly's "sudden bend into insanity" could not have been predicted by anyone. As such, any grudge against April would be damaging without any real cause for it to be.
Remember, Deanna has to live with him. Even with her worshiping of him, she is her own person, and I'm sure would know enough to point out where she sees something different than he does.
As for Michael, my guess is that if he apologizes it will be a half-assed apology done more for Deanna than for April. Deanna will probably slip back into enabling mode by then and force April to accept it. Then Michael will probably write a column that could damage April in some way (instead of merely embarrass her from a blindside).
I do like the exploration of the feelings of those used as fodder for Mike's writing, as it expands upon the few comments which slipped through in Johnston family members' introductions to various collection books and special editions.
DC2--I get what you're saying. It bugged me that after Dee's accident, Mike learned this profound lesson about treating his subjects with respect (a lesson, by the way, he had already learned earlier when he interviewed a school janitor for a class and had to take his wishes not to have the story published), yet had no problem writing an article mocking the Kelpfroths, or gleefully looking down on the designer who dared to ignore him. Aren't they people, too? Aren't they deserving of respect?
11 comments:
It figures that Deanna would halfway blame April for this and almost all the way let Mike off the hook. She's pretty much John in drag: aware that something is wrong but not quite aware of the cause. She doesn't really know April because she's not around her enough to see past the hype.
By the way, just what was in that column he wrote? It must have been pretty bad for April to react the way she did. Not, of course, that Deanna would see that she had a reason to be angry; she can't seem to see just how damaging Mike's oeuvre is. After all, she thought the hatchet job he did on the Kelpfroths was a lighthearted romp.
dc2 It wasn't anything horrifically embarrassing to April, but it definitely made her feel like she was just fodder for his writing. And that her desire for any privacy was irrelevant. He's an identified columnist - Michelle figured the connection out.
In-strip, Mike didn't even help April pack, but he used her experience to compare moving to college and moving grandparents to an assisted-living home. Mike gave April no warning - she didn't know he was getting this new column. And while I didn't put that in, I expect he used April's real name and real location.
I think April's reaction might have been as much about the attitude and wondering what he would expose next as it was about the details in the column.
DC2: I think the issue wasn't that Mike wrote anything "bad," but just that he used her, and her experiences for writing fodder while, in real life, having zero interest in what she does and thinks.
Weird--the author's comments didn't show for me when I posted my comment. Sorry to repeat what you said!
insertmonikerhere,
It wasn't anything horrifically embarrassing to April, but it definitely made her feel like she was just fodder for his writing. And that her desire for any privacy was irrelevant. He's an identified columnist - Michelle figured the connection out.
Like I said, it bothers me that Deanna doesn't seem to notice or care that the subjects of his articles aren't treated with more respect. If she were to be treated as if she were nothing but fodder for his work, she might start to realize that people have a right to be upset.
Deanna's implied that Mike doesn't always know everything about everything. Isn't that grounds for divorce for a Delicate Genius?
I love your strip, by the way.
Yes, it's past time I chimed in to say how much I'm enjoying it, as well. Your ability to actually write the FBoFW that Lynn thinks she created never ceases to surprise and amuse.
Would not mind at all seeing a confrontation between tell-it-like-it-is April and anything-to-avoid-conflict Dee...
I wouldn't say Deanna's blaming April for what happened to Elly:
1st pict: Deanna Smooths Mike's feathers. I think that even if Mike hadn't used April's real name or location, she would have been found out based on Michael being a famous enough author to be recognizable.
2st pict: Deanna then reminds Michael that he should take the high road for once. Even if the reason is that it's the Holidays (gag...)
3st pict: Mike asks if he should apologize, almost ready to give in for household peace. Deanna reminds him that April had no way of knowing what was happening.
4st pict: Then she reminds Mike that he, too, had no way of knowing what would happen.
In short, she's stating that Elly's "sudden bend into insanity" could not have been predicted by anyone. As such, any grudge against April would be damaging without any real cause for it to be.
Remember, Deanna has to live with him. Even with her worshiping of him, she is her own person, and I'm sure would know enough to point out where she sees something different than he does.
As for Michael, my guess is that if he apologizes it will be a half-assed apology done more for Deanna than for April. Deanna will probably slip back into enabling mode by then and force April to accept it. Then Michael will probably write a column that could damage April in some way (instead of merely embarrass her from a blindside).
I do like the exploration of the feelings of those used as fodder for Mike's writing, as it expands upon the few comments which slipped through in Johnston family members' introductions to various collection books and special editions.
DC2--I get what you're saying. It bugged me that after Dee's accident, Mike learned this profound lesson about treating his subjects with respect (a lesson, by the way, he had already learned earlier when he interviewed a school janitor for a class and had to take his wishes not to have the story published), yet had no problem writing an article mocking the Kelpfroths, or gleefully looking down on the designer who dared to ignore him. Aren't they people, too? Aren't they deserving of respect?
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