I like how Therese interacts with Francoise almost as much as I like seeing Tracey yell at the Anus. It shows us that Liz was right to have nothing to do with him; obsessing over nonsense like pastry sections in this economy marks him as a buffoon who isn't going anywhere.
I'm enjoying watching Therese' get schooled - and Francoise adjust - to the realities of being a kid with a working mom and a mom with a smart, put-together kid. Nice contrast to the Great Wall of Lynn, where the happly little SAHM families are on one side and the tragic broken homes of evil pants-wearing working mothers are on the other. Forever. Period.
And your penwork is a pleasant step up from the current mess of amateurish reprints and slapdash hackery of the original.
I love the way the second panel shows a less-than-ideal situation between two panels of sweeter stuff, because it shows the relationship between them is a normal mom/daughter one. I like that you end the sequence with one of Therese reading to Francie, which shows Therese being a parent who's making an effort to be a good mom.
I'm looking forward to learning more about what Anthrax has done (long term) to make Tracy that short and snappish with him.
Your drawings are so beautiful. I have followed this from the start, and I do love how you are creating this story... The facial expressions in the first two panels are so absolutely perfect, I would buy cells of them. Seriously.
I don't get it! I thought all current mommy/daughter interactions featured hot fudge sundaes and kids saying the darndest things!
Thanks especially for showing Liz reaching the breaking point with Anthony's pathetic obsessing-over-nothing. It is so easy to imagine Anthony boring Liz completely out of her mind with his strict attention to the mundane and pointless.
JFJ ... that's actually Tracy Mayes (shorter hair, rounder face, I tried for stockier body). We'll see how Anthony has managed to annoy people at his workplace.
I have to revisit and echo Kristyid: you have drawn Francie and Therese wonderfully in the first three panels. The expressiveness you've captured; from Therese's slightly anxious overwatch of Francie's happy curiosity in panel one, through the fight in panel two (are there really a Canadian snack called "Chiparoos"?), to the sleepy Francie and gentle Therese in panel three...delightful.
Chiparoos? Nah, I was just making up a name, and I have an affinity for -aroo (about as much as -o-rama) sounds (like the "Cafferoo: more jolt!" coffee April was getting out of the cupboard on Christmas Eve).
A Chiparoo is a comminuted rabbit and sweet potato dehydrated snack chip manufactured using a process suitable for underdeveloped regions of the world.
I love how in the third panel Therese is reading and cuddling with Francoise, but looking a little anxiously at her file folders on the table next to her. She's probably wondering how long it will take her to get all her work done after Francie goes to bed, but making a priority of the time with her daughter. It's quite touching.
...And I love how you let us see this sort of thing on our own with just your illustrations instead of bashing us over the head with too much exposition and some godawful pun... unlike another cartoonist we all know and loathe.
Jennifer- we all know that if it was Liz caring for Francie, she'd continue to look anxiously at the ungraded tests and thought-bubbling what a pain in the ass Francoise was being for failing to just go to bed already, and the final panel would show her grumbling with a cup of coffee in front of the stack of tests at the ungodly hour of 10 PM, with a black cloud hanging over her head, moaning that juggling career and motherhood is so haaaaaaarrrrd and unfulfilling.
Wow, this may be one of my favourite strips so far. Everyone's face is just so expressive, and I like the variety of situations you show. Is that the Métro in the first panel?
20 comments:
I like how Therese interacts with Francoise almost as much as I like seeing Tracey yell at the Anus. It shows us that Liz was right to have nothing to do with him; obsessing over nonsense like pastry sections in this economy marks him as a buffoon who isn't going anywhere.
Great stuff, as usual...
I'm enjoying watching Therese' get schooled - and Francoise adjust - to the realities of being a kid with a working mom and a mom with a smart, put-together kid. Nice contrast to the Great Wall of Lynn, where the happly little SAHM families are on one side and the tragic broken homes of evil pants-wearing working mothers are on the other. Forever. Period.
And your penwork is a pleasant step up from the current mess of amateurish reprints and slapdash hackery of the original.
Spouse was in the hospital last week, and I happened to peruse the free newspaper he was given.
I saw one of the "retro" FBOFW cartoons.
I thought, Dang. I need to get back to Foob's Paradise, because this stuff sucks.
Great strip today.
I love the way the second panel shows a less-than-ideal situation between two panels of sweeter stuff, because it shows the relationship between them is a normal mom/daughter one. I like that you end the sequence with one of Therese reading to Francie, which shows Therese being a parent who's making an effort to be a good mom.
I'm looking forward to learning more about what Anthrax has done (long term) to make Tracy that short and snappish with him.
This gets better and better. Excellent drawing, terrific juxtaposition of scenes, totally believable characters. Really admirable.
Anthony smackdowns always make me happy. :)
Very nice drawings in the wordless panels, very evocative.
I'll say it again: this is the strip Lynn Johnston thinks she's writing. :)
Loving the slightly wistful tone in this one - you've done a brilliant job of conveying the simple realities of parenting.
In the end, it's never so much about how well you succeed as how hard you try...and Therese is trying hard. Beautiful.
Your drawings are so beautiful. I have followed this from the start, and I do love how you are creating this story... The facial expressions in the first two panels are so absolutely perfect, I would buy cells of them. Seriously.
I don't get it! I thought all current mommy/daughter interactions featured hot fudge sundaes and kids saying the darndest things!
Thanks especially for showing Liz reaching the breaking point with Anthony's pathetic obsessing-over-nothing. It is so easy to imagine Anthony boring Liz completely out of her mind with his strict attention to the mundane and pointless.
I also really appreciate how much Francois looks like Therese; that kid didn't deserve to have any Anthony passed down to her.
JFJ ... that's actually Tracy Mayes (shorter hair, rounder face, I tried for stockier body). We'll see how Anthony has managed to annoy people at his workplace.
I have to revisit and echo Kristyid: you have drawn Francie and Therese wonderfully in the first three panels. The expressiveness you've captured; from Therese's slightly anxious overwatch of Francie's happy curiosity in panel one, through the fight in panel two (are there really a Canadian snack called "Chiparoos"?), to the sleepy Francie and gentle Therese in panel three...delightful.
Chiparoos? Nah, I was just making up a name, and I have an affinity for -aroo (about as much as -o-rama) sounds (like the "Cafferoo: more jolt!" coffee April was getting out of the cupboard on Christmas Eve).
Actually, Chiparoos do exist...
http://www.nonuttin.com/shop/peanut-free/choco-cherry-chiparoos.htm
Or...
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14551804
Quoted from the second source:
A Chiparoo is a comminuted rabbit and sweet potato dehydrated snack chip manufactured using a process suitable for underdeveloped regions of the world.
*hehe* So, unwittingly, you used a real food >.>
This is really quite nice! I like your backgrounds, and I love how much is crammed into those four simple panels.
This is so sweet. I love Francie. I can see her as a totally chic geek, with fashionable glasses, when she gets older.
I love how in the third panel Therese is reading and cuddling with Francoise, but looking a little anxiously at her file folders on the table next to her. She's probably wondering how long it will take her to get all her work done after Francie goes to bed, but making a priority of the time with her daughter. It's quite touching.
...And I love how you let us see this sort of thing on our own with just your illustrations instead of bashing us over the head with too much exposition and some godawful pun... unlike another cartoonist we all know and loathe.
Jennifer- we all know that if it was Liz caring for Francie, she'd continue to look anxiously at the ungraded tests and thought-bubbling what a pain in the ass Francoise was being for failing to just go to bed already, and the final panel would show her grumbling with a cup of coffee in front of the stack of tests at the ungodly hour of 10 PM, with a black cloud hanging over her head, moaning that juggling career and motherhood is so haaaaaaarrrrd and unfulfilling.
Wow, this may be one of my favourite strips so far. Everyone's face is just so expressive, and I like the variety of situations you show. Is that the Métro in the first panel?
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