Wow, very nice. Reminds me of the episode of Buffy where her mom dies and they tell Dawn. Totally silent (since it was filed from the outside of the room through some glass) and sometimes that's much more powerful a creative choice, we all know what's being said, its the reaction that counts.
Like Pharmgirl said, this was nicely done; I too would rather see something like this than the horrid mess we all know Lynn would have made. Also, I like that you included Iris's daughter and son-in-law. It's sad that this is our first look at them but they needed to emerge from the shadows.
Man, I compare this to the cheap-ass one-panel brush-off it got in the FOOBocalypse..."well, at least he got to see the Magical Lizthony Spawn!" What a friggin' joke.
Thanks - I've thought for a while (since the wedding glurgey medical pseudo-drama) that the family reactions were the thing to show. And ... it was time.
However, I'm not sure if that's Iris' son-in-law or son (the bio vs strip issue again - she visited a son). In any case, her non-local family has come to support her.
Having both her children there in her time of need makes far more sense; she needs all the help she can get. I just hope that Elly doesn't end up using this as a club to beat April, who's feeling bad enough about this as it is, over the head with. I can hear the messed-up old egomaniac ranting about how she wasn't THERE already.
Not much to add except "what they said". If the strip was really important to the syndicate (and it was anything but a soulless ATM designed to reap cash) they'd be calling to ask you to replace Lynn and make these people seem worth caring about again...
The April panel hit home, hard. I started bawling. I lost my father a year and a half ago. My sister was living about 400 miles away, and my mother called her and told her. I could just imagine that being my sister. I didn't have the luxury to cry until 3 days after my father died, because I had to be there with my mother and help her make all the arrangements for my father. It is good that April at least has a close friend there with her, and is not surrounded by pure strangers in this time of loss.
I love the gentle nuances in Iris' expression alone; loss, bewilderment - maybe a touch of guilt, at also feeling relief. Just really, really well handled.
I felt compelled to comment for the first time (been reading since... early April, I think it was) just to say how well-done I thought the second panel was. Just seeing the thumbnail where you can't make out much detail was enough to make me flinch for April before I even click to see the full-scale strip.
I was actually kind of confused the first time I saw this. My reading of it basically went: "Ok, so, the first panel shows John on the phone with someone and Elly kind of crying. Second panel shows April, in what looks like a severe amount of pain, on the phone as well. She must be the one talking to John. Third panel shows a funeral and- oh no! April died!" But then I noticed Iris in the foreground and realized "Oh no! Grandpa Jim died!"
20 comments:
Wow, very nice. Reminds me of the episode of Buffy where her mom dies and they tell Dawn. Totally silent (since it was filed from the outside of the room through some glass) and sometimes that's much more powerful a creative choice, we all know what's being said, its the reaction that counts.
Once again, a complete departure from what LJ would do - she'd do something very maudlin and over wrought with a big wall o' purple prose.
Nicely done!
At the risk of sounding like a Lynnian, this strip literally brought tears to my eyes. Well done.
-jeneralissimo
Like Pharmgirl said, this was nicely done; I too would rather see something like this than the horrid mess we all know Lynn would have made. Also, I like that you included Iris's daughter and son-in-law. It's sad that this is our first look at them but they needed to emerge from the shadows.
Man, I compare this to the cheap-ass one-panel brush-off it got in the FOOBocalypse..."well, at least he got to see the Magical Lizthony Spawn!" What a friggin' joke.
This, on the other hand...nicely done.
Thanks - I've thought for a while (since the wedding glurgey medical pseudo-drama) that the family reactions were the thing to show. And ... it was time.
However, I'm not sure if that's Iris' son-in-law or son (the bio vs strip issue again - she visited a son). In any case, her non-local family has come to support her.
InsertMonikerHere,
Having both her children there in her time of need makes far more sense; she needs all the help she can get. I just hope that Elly doesn't end up using this as a club to beat April, who's feeling bad enough about this as it is, over the head with. I can hear the messed-up old egomaniac ranting about how she wasn't THERE already.
I agree, especially since we all know April's got to be seriously feeling the pain about not being there without her mother trying to guilt her.
Ohh, poor April! poor Iris too...and at least Elly is with it enough to shed a tear...
Very nicely done by the way. Really.
Not much to add except "what they said". If the strip was really important to the syndicate (and it was anything but a soulless ATM designed to reap cash) they'd be calling to ask you to replace Lynn and make these people seem worth caring about again...
Agree with everyone else, this is very well done. Lynn absolutely would have made it all about Elly. The April panel is my favorite.
The April panel hit home, hard. I started bawling. I lost my father a year and a half ago. My sister was living about 400 miles away, and my mother called her and told her. I could just imagine that being my sister. I didn't have the luxury to cry until 3 days after my father died, because I had to be there with my mother and help her make all the arrangements for my father. It is good that April at least has a close friend there with her, and is not surrounded by pure strangers in this time of loss.
Thank you for a job well done.
And with that, you stirred emotion. Real, unadulterated emotion.
Bravo. You are awesome.
Hi, lurker here.
Wow. I actually teared up. Well done!
Brava. :)
I love the gentle nuances in Iris' expression alone; loss, bewilderment - maybe a touch of guilt, at also feeling relief. Just really, really well handled.
I felt compelled to comment for the first time (been reading since... early April, I think it was) just to say how well-done I thought the second panel was. Just seeing the thumbnail where you can't make out much detail was enough to make me flinch for April before I even click to see the full-scale strip.
The April panel is my favorite.
Same here--that one makes me choke up.
I hope it is a consolation to April that her grandparents were the ones who really wanted her to make the trip.
I was actually kind of confused the first time I saw this. My reading of it basically went: "Ok, so, the first panel shows John on the phone with someone and Elly kind of crying. Second panel shows April, in what looks like a severe amount of pain, on the phone as well. She must be the one talking to John. Third panel shows a funeral and- oh no! April died!" But then I noticed Iris in the foreground and realized "Oh no! Grandpa Jim died!"
Beautifully done, I must say.
This is an awesome example of "show, don't tell". Great strip!
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