August’s Valentine

Sorry. Can’t believe I forgot to finish up my comments on the “Mrs. Yannes gets coupon valentine” series, which you can read here. (You might want to read the strips first because “here thar be spoilers”.)

So Morty Muffler was not just a ridiculous mascot, he was based on a real person – a long lost (and now deceased) love of Mrs. Yannes. Once you get toward the end of the series, you see that Mrs. Yannes was the basis for an anthropomorphized spark plug. You’d have thought I had that tidbit in my head as the ending all along…and you’d be be wrong. It wasn’t until I started writing it out (this is way before drawing), that this visual joke occurred to me. A really stroke of luck.

Thursday is the new Sunday – Fish story

I like the Sunday strip rerunninng on Gocomics.com today. It’s not that the gag is that strong – but the pacing is nice. Pauses that act as build-ups, a chance to draw more, it opens it up. I was usually too wordy to do that. (Isn’t that right, long-suffering editor Amy?)

Please note that Bo has a collection of rubber ducks…as his biographer does.

The above never-seen drop panel is supposed to be Bo as a goldfish, but he looks more like a chicken leg. (It’s like an old Warner Brother’s cartoon where one character is very hungry and pictures another character as a piece of food.)

Thursday is the new Sunday – Inside out

 

Take a look at the Sunday strip rerunning on Gocomics.com today. Can you tell me what’s wrong with it? Here’s a hint: it has to do with an error with one of the conventions of cartooning.

Yep, in the fourth panel Mrs. Yannes is speaking, but the “pointer” is pointing to Bo. I had forgotten that this had happened until somebody commented on it.

And I’m not sure what I was thinking with the little-seen drop panel above. Something about a picture frame being a window frame? If anyone has a better idea, I’d be happy to hear it.

Saturday is the new Sunday – Clothespin Peek-a-boo

 

Guess what? Here’s yet another probably-never-seen drop panel, featuring a “tail peek.” This one is for the Sunday strip rerunning today on Gocomics.com.

They say that you should be able to draw your characters from all different angles. Well, my character designs tend to be rather exaggerated in an unrealistic way, and this can cause some problems. From a side or 3/4 front view of the head, I usually draw the ears way back, seemingly coming off the  back of the head. In this strip I did pull off a 3/4 back view of Mrs. Yannes (in the second panel) but when she’s on her back (panel #4) it looks like her ear is buried in the turf.

The end…again

If you hadn’t seen the way I ended Bo Nanas way back in the summer of 2007, it’s rerunning today on Gocomics.com. If you want to see what leads up to it, start here at the beginning of the end.

Thursday is the new Sunday – Balance!

The Sunday strip that’s rerunning on Gocomics.com today is one where the verticalness of the gag meant turning doing one big panel and turning it on its ear.

The unseen-until-now drop panel (above) is a 40-watt “tail peek.”

Sightings

In the strip today there are some trinkets from our own house on the table next to Mrs. Yannes – and both were wedding gifts. The vase was from our friend Gavin and Felicia, and the pig, which is made of rusted metal, was a gift to ourselves.

And I forgot to point out that I used my friend Kay’s name in the “purse confusion” series of strips. Anytime I needed to use a first and last name, I tried to used a friend’s.

Thursday is the new Sunday – Bathtime

The Sunday strip that’s rerunning on Gocomics.com today reflects on my own personal philosophy on bath reading. (You gotta read. If you don’t, baths are too uneventful.)

The unseen-until-now drop panel shows off the James Bond-ish tail periscope.

Thurday is the new Sunday – Hot! Hot! Hot!

The Sunday strip that’s rerunning on Gocomics.com today asks the age old question: what crazy engineering skills does Mrs. Yannes have anyway?

Palling around with Mrs. Yannes

In the strip running on Gocomics.com today concerning Mrs. Yannes, you’ll see a reference to a Mrs. Duncan. I only used Mrs. Duncan a couple times and only off-panel. She was meant to me a friend that Mrs. Y’s kookiness could be shared with. I figured since I used my mom’s maiden name for Mrs Y. I’d use my late mother-in-law Nancy’s maiden name for Mrs. D. She was indeed a great lady, but she could, on occasion, bring the kooky.