Jan Eliot

I'm becoming quite fond of this extended-family strip; it seems to touch all the bases - humor, sweet and sardonic, real-life crises, minor catastrophes, small triumphs (rarely), sibling rivalry and friendship, awkward romance and a host of other family craziness. Through it all, Val remains a committed and often befuddled single mother, determined to do right by her children even if it kills her - or them. In this collection, next-door-neighbor's 14-year-old nephew Andy comes to live with show more him, but Andy and Joan (Val's sister) decide to go ahead with their wedding anyway. show less

The tenth book of what is becoming one of my favorite family strips. Wry, witty, funny, strong characters and good artwork. Occasionally "serious" topics such as body image in teen girls are explored. I especially like 9-year-old Alix and Gramma Evie, two characters that seem to have the important things in life figured out a bit better than the others. And Biscuit, their dog, almost merits her own strip.

The first collection of a strip that I've come to like quite a bit. Among other family strips, it's more inventive and realistic than Fox Trot, usually as funny (and edgier than) Baby Blues, and nearly as good as One Big Happy. It's the story of a modern sort-of blended family, with 40-ish widower Val as the sole support for her live-in divorced sister and toddler, widowed mother, and her own two daughters. The humor is wry, hip and clever, the characters have strong personalities, and the show more artwork is not bad (it improves over the course of the strip. With a foreword by Lynn Johnston, whose own strip bears only a slight resemblence to this one. show less

Joan and Wally are on their honeymoon, all too soon to return to the slightly askew but loving (and frequently at war) extended family that is Stone Soup. I think my favorite characters here are the under-utilized grandmother Evie, and 9-year-old Alix, both of whom seem to have a grasp on the important things in life - number 1 being to enjoy the ride. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite family strips. It's got heart, humor, and a quirky charm, and it often blends a funny strip with show more a subtle lesson. Artwork has come along nicely too, especially the expressions. show less