So long. Thanks for all the fresh tomatoes.

Turns out Jan Eliot was, reluctantly, hiding some news this past week in Kenosha, honoring a pledge to her syndicate not to announce her (semi)retirement until yesterday.

Stone Soup will continue as a Sunday-only strip, but, after 20 years, the last daily will run Saturday, October 17.

I am happy for Jan, completely bummed out for me and sorry she's going but impressed that she's actually doing what more cartoonists ought to be doing: Making space on a shrinking page for new talent to emerge.

A couple of points:

A. If she weren't so damned ethical, the strip wouldn't have been so damned good in the first place. 

B. If she handed it off, or simply started cranking it out on autopilot, it wouldn't be worth a damn anymore anyway.

C. Damn damn damn damn damn.

It is completely consistent with who she is. As she notes in her announcement, she fought for her place on the page, and, as she told the crowd in Kenosha, she turned down her first syndication contract because they wanted to own the copyright.

I'm reminded of the title of Shirley Chisholm's autobiography, "Unbought and Unbossed," and going back that far (1970) also prompts me to add a reminder that those of us who believed back then did not "sell out" simply by moving into homes with plumbing and finding ways to earn the money to pay our bills.

We simply began subverting from within, and she's done a terrific job of that so far. I would also add that you may not get daily strips from her anymore, but I'm pretty sure some people are going to have houses because of her, and I can't really criticize that.

Anyway, she's not stopping; she's just cutting back.

Remind yourself: This is a retirement party, not a funeral.

I'll have more to say in about three weeks, when she brings the curtain down on the dailies.

For now, here is a look back at some of what I've snatched for this blog, with links to the commentary I wrote then:

 

 

These four ran with a reposting of this 2003 interview, which was when I first met Jan, though only by phone.

 

I'd also recommend a look at this fairly complete analysis of the strip and of story-strips in general, "The Heart of Holly Stone." It ran on the occasion of the end of Brenda Starr.

"Stone Soup" is certainly not the only comic strip taking up the slack as more traditional "story strips" fall by the wayside, but its deceptive simplicity is key to its ability to string along sustained story arcs like this one over what is, in the modern world, a relatively long period of time. Neophyte cartoonists, whether they aim for print or web success, could do worse than to study Eliot's approach. 

I stand by that.

 

Here's another lengthy analysis, this one from 2012 and prompted by a pretty substantive story arc.

 

This one is more frivolous, but there's nothing wrong with frivolity.

 

I have always liked the way Jan portrays men in her strip. Sure, there are still clueless men in the world. There are also still women who can't pull into the garage without wrecking the car and who can't balance a checkbook. And there are cartoonists who like to celebrate that stuff.

Me, I prefer to see this stuff celebrated.

 

Not to say you can't poke a little fun now and then.

 

"There's No Such Thing As Dress Flipflops" could have been the title of one of Jan's collections. Maybe it will be. Meanwhile, here's the blog posting that went with this pair.

 

So anyway, Jan isn't disappearing entirely, though I suspect her love of South Africa may mean it will be awhile before she sees another winter.

She did mention at Kenosha that, over the 20 years, she has transitioned a bit from Val to Evie, and I even saw her quaff a thimbleful of gin with Mark Tatulli.

So she may have to file a Sunday strip now and then from Cape Town, but that's no barrier, and, as noted before, if she weren't who she is, the strip wouldn't be what it is and so we can't really complain, can we?

Don't answer that. You'll spoil the party.

Actually, I have a couple of questions to ask. I'll try to catch up with her before the last daily runs.

Meanwhile, you may want to poke around in that Amazon widget on the right rail and pick up a collection or two or 10. You won't be getting your daily Stone Soup fix much longer.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Mary in Ohio]

Well shoot ! I just read the sudden end of one of my favorite blogs and now THIS ! As Charlie Brown would say: "Rats!" - I wish the retirees well, but - "Rats!"

[Mary in Ohio]

And then Yogi Berra died. AUGGGGHHHHH!