Monitoring The Barn
While I have never been a comics reader, early in our marriage, we received The Chicago Tribune newspaper on Sundays as Hubby enjoyed the comics. He often would read some out loud, and Lockhorns was a perennial favorite. This particular comic was run on 8/23/1997, and its humor spoke so clearly to our approach to “projects” around the house. The piece amused me so much, I reached out to the artist to purchase the original panel as a birthday gift for Hubby for 1998.
Those of you paying attention will notice it is signed by Bunny Hoest in 2017. When Bunny Hoest personalized the original strip, she used a non-permanent pen, and a number of years ago I realized her signature and inscription were faded away. I disassembled the framing and mailed the original art back to her to re-sign the piece. It seems with another non-permanent pen as that writing is ALSO beginning to fade. As the woman is now 93, I will leave her be.
The Lockhorns cartoon was started by Bill Hoest (1926-1988) in 1968, before their marriage (her second). It ran in over 500 newspapers, and was syndicated by King Features. The comic is done as a “panel” not a “strip”, with a scene presenting the “the ups and downs of committed relationships through the lens of the married couple Loretta and Leroy Lockhorn. The two exchange witty barbs and sarcastic quips all while demonstrating their deep love and affection for each other. Through thick and thin, couples counseling and Leroy's occasional trips to the bar, Loretta and Leroy exemplify the enduring nature of their relationship” (1).
Upon Bill Hoest’s death in 1988, Bunny took over the cartoon design, working with artist John Reiner, who came to work with the couple while Bill struggled with cancer. After researching, I learned Bunny used “gag writers”, a process the couple started in the 1970s. She says: “ I look at everything that comes in and I literally hand pick the one or two I will use from the ideas people send in. If I use the idea, even if I have to do a lot of editing, we used to say it comes in as gem or a germ. If it’s a germ of an idea it means I can rework it so that it’s perfect for the LOCKHORNS. If it’s a gem of an idea means it comes in perfect and I burst out laughing -this is it. So, we pay 10 dollars for every idea used. It’s not a living, I have 100 gag writers and I use 11 ideas a week, 6 daily and 5 on Sunday. So if a gag writer gets a couple in a month, he makes twenty dollars.” (2)
I also discovered, in this same 2012 interview, why the piece I own has taped lettering attached. The process of creating the comic involves Bunny developing the design, John drawing the artwork, and a typesetter using the “Hoest font”, typing up the needed words and pasting them onto the original piece. This piece would then be mailed in to King Features to complete the color placements, and distribute to the syndicates. In 2017, Bunny donated all the archives of the Lockhorns work (among other cartoon work she created) to Adelphi University. This piece hangs on my kitchen wall instead of residing in the Adelphi archives.
I am a bit of a “let’s tackle something new today…and finish it NOW” type person, while Hubby is sure a bike ride or some other relaxing option is a better choice. 37 years into a marriage, we remain the same. Now, though, it is not a garage he needs to clean, but a huge barn -literally, as our property has a few barns. Still waiting for him to tackle the piles in the area daughter and I aim to hold a “barn sale” in a few weeks. Sigh. To be fair to Hubby, my daughter -in-law refers to me as “Hurricane Erica” so it is possible I am a tad over-busy. It’s safe to say I am monitoring the barn very carefully.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lockhorns
(2) https://www.raymondpalma.com/bunny-hoest-interview-current-writer-of-the-lockhorns-comic-strip/