Lynda Barry blogs about the amazing feels she got when she discovered that she'd been given a guest-appearance in The Family Circus by Jeff Keane, Bill Keane's son and successor.
I was a kid growing up in a troubled household. We didn't have books in the house but we did have the daily paper and I remember picking out Family Circus before I could really read.
There was something about the life on the other side of that circle that looked pretty good. For kids like me there was a map and a compass hidden in Family Circus. The parents in that comic strip really loved their children. Their home was stable. It put that image in my head and I kept it.
I'd always heard that great art will cause people to burst into tears but the only time it ever happened to me was when I was introduced to Bil Keane's son, Jeff. As soon as I shook his hand I just started bawling my face off because I realized I had climbed through the circle.
And how I did it was by making pictures and writing stories. To me the Family Circus has always been my wished for family. My soul family in the image world.
That's why if you say a word against Family Circus to me if I've had a few drinks I will slug you so hard.
Know this: Love is ALWAYS cool.
[Lynda Barry/The Nearsighted Monkey]
(via Metafilter)
