6. Mom before me: an album (Part V) – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

6. Mom before me: an album (Part V)

Lorraine sits next to Lynn’s dad, both looking like young twenty-somethings. They are both dressed in formal wear - Lorraine in a floral print dress, Lynn’s dad in a suit and tie - and they smile for the camera. Lynn’s dad is smoking a cigarette. They are sitting in a blue booth at a dinner table set with glasses of water and straws. The wall background is a peachy coral color. Lynn narrates, “Her charisma was legendary, so that has something to do with it. She certainly charmed my dad when they met in 1946.” In a smaller panel, a young Lorraine stands on a skinny pier in front of the ocean. There are rocks behind her and in the water. She is wearing a white jacket over a blue dress, along with white low-heeled shoes. Her curly hair is blowing slightly in the wind; she reaches back to touch it to keep it out of her face, and she gives a soft smile to the camera. The image is captioned, “Mom is Asbury Park, NJ in 1948 when Dad brought her home to meet her future in-laws.” Lynn continues narrating, “Having the 3 B’s meant the ability to marry well and she wanted out of that house on East 34th street. As independently natured as Mom was, she was still very much of her time and place. Women couldn’t do much without a husband in those days. It was nearly impossible to open a bank account or get a mortgage, for instance. Dad was a decorated WWII veteran and soon-to-be college graduate when they started dating. This handsome, exotic Italian transplant from New Jersey was a catch.”

A young Lorraine and Lynn’s dad stand next to each other holding onto a green pram baby stroller. They are looking at each other and smiling. Lorraine is dressed as usual in a stylish outfit of the times, including a hat topped with a large flower decoration. Lynn’s dad wears a gray trench coat over a suite shirt and tie, black trousers, and loafers. Lynn writes, “This was on the same trip to New Jersey in 1948, but at the family house in Newark. On one hand I find it adorable that they were already sort of playing house as an engaged couple. On the other hand, it foretells an empty pram, hopes and promises that would be dashed.”

A slightly older Lorraine and Lynn’s dad stand side by side, smiling widely for the camera in front of white and blue ornate doors. Lynn’s dad wears a gray suit with a burgundy tie; Lorraine wears a matching yellow blazer, skirt, and hat, with a large floral brooch on her blazer collar. She also wears blue gloves that match her blue purse and blue shirt, and beige and blue pumps. Her hair is shorter here, just about an inch or two below her ears with bangs. Lynn narrates, “Mom and Dad married on June 24th, 1950, the day before the Korean War began. As a result, they bought a refrigerator because metal would be in short supply again. (It was still running when it sold at the estate sale in 2019).) They spent the first four years of marriage in Newark, in the third floor apartment of the triplex my grandfather built in 1927.”

Published On: February 8, 2024

Tony is standing out his house in a large pot meant for a planted tree. He is shoveling soil from a wheel barrow into the pot. There is a pile of dirt behind him, and an already potted tree off to his side. “October 9. Worked. Planted the Venus mango tree.”

Jim sits up in his hospital bed. There is a book open in his lap, and a tray of food slightly raised above him. He is smiling.

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In the gray and white of Lynn's near-present day, Lorraine holds onto James's arm as they walk on a path from a house blanketed in snow. They are dressed in hats, scarves, and winter coats.

A close-up of young Emil's face drawn with vampire fangs and a ravenous expression: mouth open, eyes wide, brows bent in a scowl.

Enzo is standing next to a bed and bending down to reach something on the ground. “October 3, Sunday.”

Young Adam is hunched over, hands on knees, throwing up: "BLEH"

Kim is standing outside, using a fire extinguisher on what looks to be a bush in front of her. She looks calm. “September 26.”

A baby with glasses, smoking a pipe, wearing a violet bathrobe, and reading a Playboy magazine with an unimpressed expression. The background is pink.

Guy is relaxing on the couch watching TV with a pink-haired woman. His hand is resting on the woman’s thigh. They are both sitting in the same position, right leg crossed over left.

A view of a classroom from Kim’s perspective. A man with a goatee wearing a button down shirt stands behind a podium with a desktop computer, speaking to the glass. There is a projector on a stool in front of him, displaying an image of a rocky formation and body of water on the screen on the back wall. Two men sit in the desks in front of Kim, leaning in and listening. “September 20. Our group had its first presentation today. I had dreaded it, but we did well and now it’s over with.”

Enzo is standing in the kitchen, holding Tonks the cat in his arms like a baby in a front-facing carrier. He is smiling softly. “September 14. Made turkey meatballs before work. Crappy work day. Class after with quiz.”

Stylistically rendered with bright, flat colors, simplified shapes, and no line work: a man faces the reader across a cyan background with pink buildings and peach clouds. He stands on a pink road between cyan sidewalks. He is wearing aviator sunglasses and has a thick mustache with a stubbly chin. He wears a blue and black coat over a white Armani t-shirt; his hands are in his jacket pockets, to his side. We see down to his knees before the image cuts off. He is rendered with blue hair, peach skin, and a pink nose. He has an air of intimidating confidence.

Lorraine sits next to Lynn’s dad, both looking like young twenty-somethings. They are both dressed in formal wear - Lorraine in a floral print dress, Lynn’s dad in a suit and tie - and they smile for the camera.

Kim is reading from a book opened to a page full of pictures of different kinds of mushrooms. She is lounging, wearing comfy pants and sitting with her knees up. “September 8. Ordered mushroom cultivating supplies after doing some research. Worked until 7 p.m.”

Kim tends to a rack of bananas hanging from a rod in her house. “September 7. Felt crappy again. Made a big wall calendar to help manage time. Had class today.”

A zoomed in view of hands holding a plant’s steam with a leaf attached. In the background are more leaves and plants. “August 27.”

A sepia-toned family photograph, showing five people in formal wear posing stiffly for the camera.

Kim stands among banana trees outside. She is looking down, where a rack of bananas lies at her feet. “August 21. Worked. Blue java rack fell prematurely.”

From behind, we see Kim bend over as she steps into her bathtub. She is naked. “August 15. Sunday. Painted. Bath.”

Derek is in bed lying on his stomach. He holds the pillow over his head, pencil in hand, so he is buried under his blanket and pillow. In the background, the word "FLUSH" is written in large block letters. Derek asks, “What’s the point?”

1. Rory sits in the corner of a large sectional couch, holding her phone close to her face. She is covered in pillows. “August 9. Worked. I had planned on meeting Mom and Rory at the pool after but it was closed. Told my work I’ll need Mondays off (class).”

Close up of Lorraine's hand aggressively crushing her cigarette in her blue ash tray, surrounded by dramatic lighting and jagged lines.

Jasper sits on the foot of Derek's bed, elbow-deep in a bag of popcorn, which he munches on. He stares ahead blankly while chewing.

1. From behind, we see Kim sitting at a desk in a swivel office chair. She is bare foot. She sits in front of a keyboard using a computer mouse. A dog stands behind her, looking to the side. A dark, round table takes up the left foreground, balancing out the panel. “August 2. Worked. Went to UTC Mall after class to get school clothes for Enzo. August 3. Class down in Naples. Finished my journals at 7p.m. Sammi and Carlye took Enzo to registration at school.”

Young Lynn, in full color, looks at herself in an oval-shaped mirror, smoking a cigarette. Her head is tilted slightly to the side and she is smiling with her lips puffed out a bit. She thinks to herself, "I look so cool."

Derek is lying in bed, completely covered by his comforter and the pillow on top of his head. He huffs a “(muffled) SIGH” (drawn in big block letters). From off panel, one of his kids calls, “Dad?”

1. A man, who is only visible by the torso, holds a black and white kitten in his arms like he’s cradling a baby. The kitten’s head is smaller than his hand. He is petting the cat’s head with one finger. “July 27. Class in Naples, more food forest install. Met up with Tony on campus and had a meeting with my advisor. Then we went to the FGCU FF. Tony’s parents got a new kitten.”

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