Lisa’s Enduring Legacy
posted on September 5, 2019
This Saturday will mark the fifth annual Funky Winkerbean 5K put on by the Mentor Rotary for the benefit of the Lisa’s Legacy Fund. The weather should be beautiful with just a nip of Fall in the air. It’s great run, a great course put on by great folks. So if you’re a runner, or a walker, you’ll be able to get your run in early and still have your Saturday ahead of you. Hope to see you there.
Lisa’s Story Essay 2
posted on April 1, 2019
This is a second essay from Dr. Michael Dolzani’s graphic novel class at Baldwin Wallace University which read Lisa’s Story last Fall. It’s by Lydia Herpy who thoughtfully distills the essence of what I was going for in the work. I appreciate her allowing me to share her essay, and, once again, want to thank Dr. Dolzani for selecting Lisa’s Story to study in his class. The illo that accompanies this essay is another unused cover idea for the book.
Lydia Herpy
Love Over Tragedy
In Tom Batiuk’s graphic novel, Lisa’s Story, he shares the story of the character Lisa Moore. Although the character has grown up in Batiuk’s work, the part of her life that fills the pages of the novel consists of her coping with the reality of living with breast cancer along with the acceptance of the inevitability of her death due to the illness. However, there is more that meets the eye in a story that ends in the main character’s death. Batiuk expresses the beauty of the cycle of life through the power of love.
The novel begins with images of a young Lisa and Les Moore walking alongside mutual friends they know from working at Montoni’s Pizza. They are all looking forward to the upcoming Super Bowl, anticipating high sales, and celebrating with a game of football in a New York City park. After Lisa falls on her chest during the game, she feels a pain in one of her breasts that lingers in her thoughts after her and Les return home. Readers begin to feel a concern as strong as Lisa’s when she is pictured reading a pamphlet entitled, “Breast Self-Examination (BSE).”
The journey then begins when Lisa finds out that she has a malignant tumor in one of her breasts. From the beginning of this emotional journey of Lisa’s illness, the reader sees her husband Les close to her side. Les became a large help to the stability of Lisa’s mental health as she made strides in the hopes of curing the illness that fell upon her. Shortly after learning the state of her body, Lisa encounters a familiar face—that of Holly Budd. Holly is a former classmate of Lisa’s and the wife of Funky Winkerbean, the co-owner of Montoni’s Pizza. She becomes a major part of Lisa’s support group throughout her day to day life of living with breast cancer.
The underlying message of this story roots in the relationships one makes in their lifetime. Although death is inevitable, the connections we make and the love that grows from those connections make the struggles of life worthwhile when it all comes to an end. Holly Budd empathizes with Lisa, sharing the thoughts she had during her struggle with breast cancer. During their first encounter in the novel, Lisa begins to cry when thinking of the major changes and risks she will have to endure while fighting breast cancer. Holly lifts her up, saying, “I felt exactly the same way when I was diagnosed with breast cancer… look, we go way back and can share things… as friends…” (16). A strong friendship begins to bloom, making a more powerful foundation of support for Lisa that gives her the motivation, courage, and energy to face each day.
Times are rough between Lisa and Les, but that does not deter him from trying to keep reality a pleasant place for both himself and Lisa to be present. He usually manages to bring a smile to her face with his sense of humor and down to earth spirit. As the chemotherapy process begins though, that smile isn’t always so easy to earn. When Les can’t help Lisa as much as he can, however, friends and family never fail to stop by and help in any way they can. The support group begins to grow into a vast amount of faces, making even the smallest of gestures impactful in allowing Lisa to feel comfortable.
The reader is introduced to Cindy Summers, former wife of Funky Winkerbean, when she stops by Lisa’s home after being told that Lisa wasn’t feeling up for a day’s work. She encourages her to start wearing a wig to boost her confidence and allow her to feel normal again. Lisa tells Les, “Cindy took me shopping… she said a new look would give me a new outlook… and you know what? It worked!” (52). Along with this, Holly Budd introduces Lisa to a support group for breast cancer patients and survivors. When backing away from the focus of the story, the reader begins to see that every close friend and loved one in Lisa’s life brings their own kind of support; each of these helping hands serving Lisa in their own individual way.
After being in remission for seven years, Lisa gets a call from the doctor who requests that she returns to the hospital for more tests. After completing them, she anticipates the results while leaving for vacation with her husband. She receives the news that the cancer has returned and began to spread throughout her body. Once more, Lisa is faced with bad news. Holly and Les bring her to her chemotherapy sessions, not leaving her without support.
While Lisa’s battle for cancer goes on, the reader meets the character of Darin. Darin is the baby Lisa had in high school, but decided to give up because she was too young to care for a child. Knowing her time is coming to a close, she expresses to Les that she would like to let her identity be known to her child who she never got to know. All the while, Darin is searching for his birthmother after his girlfriend Jess suggests he meet his real parents. Although the relationship between Darin and Lisa doesn’t get to fully develop in the story, this part of the story speaks true to the purpose of the story—love and its powers. Lisa created a life that she wanted to meet before she lost her own. Darin and Lisa are brought together, bringing Lisa a sense of relief and joy even during the darkest times of her life.
I found love in even the most unsuspecting places in this novel. During the trip Lisa takes with Les to the Grand Canyon, they meet a man David and his daughter Natane who traveled there to take her graduation photos. They met after David told Les to warn Lisa not grab onto the branches on the canyon. After David told the couple that they didn’t have their camera with them, Les offered his while Lisa fixed Natane’s hair. After the photos are taken, Lisa’s hat blows off with the wind, leaving her bald head exposed. She is pictured with an insecure and sad face, which draws David’s attention. He offers her kind words, “Live with hope,” (119).
Throughout this novel, the connections Lisa has with other people is noticeably the main focus. Including the strangers she meets along the way. During one of Lisa’s chemotherapy treatments, she is sat next to an older gentleman who sparks up a lighthearted conversation about cancer. He brings a sense of humor to the unfortunate event of being diagnosed with cancer, “Cryogenics. I’m going to have myself frozen just like Ted Williams. Cryogenics is how you beat this cancer thing. You have yourself turned into a corpsicle so you can be thawed out when they find a cure” (100). Lisa and the man are both pictured smiling next to one another, sharing a moment of joy.
After Lisa finds out that she only has a few months to live, she chooses to stop the chemo treatments in order to better enjoy the remainder of her time. It doesn’t take long, however, before her body begins to give out on her, and she calls the hospice to send a team to her home to care for her more closely as her body begins to need more and more rest. A set of three panels stood out to me in the time of her beginning to sleep in a hospital bed with monitors. We see a medical professional speaking with Les about Lisa’s body, “Lisa’s systems are beginning to slowly shut down and the cancer spreads through her body. Our main job is to try to keep her pain free” (212). Les responds, “From your experience, what’s the last thing to go?” (212). In the last panel Les and the nurse are both looking back at Lisa lying on her hospital bed, and the nurse says, “Love” (212).
After Lisa’s passing, a walk is held in her name, “Lisa’s Legacy, Making Strides Against Cancer.” Pictured are all of the faces that filled her support group. The walk is held in her favorite park where a bench is now dedicated to her. This novel celebrates love in a unique way. Death will always be a sad subject, but when you honor the life that was once there, it is easy to understand that it is all worth it.
When looking at the panels of the novel, the reader is not left feeling isolated and sad. Instead, Batiuk emphasizes the feeling of having company. There is a sense of warmth in nearly every image even in the places that may remind you of the state of Lisa’s health. This novel celebrates life and love even when it seems that its main focus is that of death. It brings light to the topic of death, allowing the reader to view it from a new perspective—from a more accepting view. In the end, we see that Lisa lives on through the love from her husband, children and the people who were a part of her life.
Lisa’s Story Essay
posted on March 26, 2019
Last Fall I gave a talk at Baldwin Wallace University at the invitation of Dr. Michael Dolzani who taught a graphic novel course where they read Lisa’s Story. Dr. Dolzani recently shared with me some of the essays that were written in regard to Lisa’s Story, and I was very impressed with the work. So much so that I decided to share one of them with you. The first essay is by Jackie Lamb who graciously gave me permission to share her work. The illo that accompanies the piece was an alternate title and cover for the book that was obviously never used.
Jackie Lamb
Dr. Dolzani
Eng 129
27 November 2018
Coping Mechanisms in Lisa’s Story
The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Statistics state that: “Approximately 38.4% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime” (National Cancer Institute). And according to a CBS news poll, 54% of Americans report that they or someone in their family has been diagnosed with cancer (CBS News). If over half of Americans lives are affected in some way by cancer, then why is genuine representation so rare and even taboo? If popular television and film address this topic at all, it tends to be in corny after-school-specials or histrionic medical dramas. The media displays a narrow binary of cancer patients as either happy-go-lucky Race For the Cure poster women, or miserable, resentful people who have lost all hope. Tom Batiuk’s, Lisa’s Story serves to correct some of those tropes. Lisa’s Story, a bold deviation from the author’s previous repertoire of “high school humor,” Explores the life of the protagonist, Lisa, and her friends and family after she discovers that she has breast cancer. Batiuk provides a realistic narrative of lives touched by cancer and through the large cast of his comic strip “Funky Winkerbean” examines how people cope with the tragedy of terminal illness.
After her diagnosis, Lisa and her friends process the shocking news in multiple different ways. One of the prominent coping mechanisms featured in the book is performing selfless acts. Friends of Les and Lisa exemplify this by helping them out in small ways, like making them dinner, or in one man’s case, even washing their car because he didn’t have any food to bring (19). Lisa’s girlfriends, who Les describes as “wonder women” arrive at their house near the end of the book, announcing that they are “house cleaners, caregivers, babysitters and shopping assistants at [Les and Lisa’s] service” (213). One of the “wonder women,” Holly Budd, even happens to be Lisa’s ‘Reach to Recovery’ volunteer who helps her understand her illness from a survivor’s point of view. In an act of kindness and vulnerability, she shows Lisa what her own mastectomy looks like when she notices how frightened she is about her upcoming surgery (16). Another friend of the couple, Cindy Summers, even breaks from her former self-centered, “shopaholic” ways to give her time to Lisa. Noticing how depressed Lisa is about losing her hair, Cindy turns to what she knows best and takes Lisa out wig shopping to lift her spirits (48-53). Even Lisa herself finds healing in helping others. The second half of Lisa’s Story, “The Other Leaf,” takes place seven years after the diagnosis when Lisa is in remission. she is shown participating in the ‘Reach to Recovery’ program again, but this time as a volunteer giving advice to a patient just like Holly did for her 7 years prior (82). The characters in Lisa Story exemplify that when unable to help in any other way, people will give of their own time and effort as much as they can.
As the leader of Lisa’s breast cancer support group says: “Laughter can be a pretty strong medicine for dealing with cancer” (79). Lisa, Les, and friends often lighten the weight of her adversity through humor. Les and Lisa make light of the depressing situation in nearly every panel from playfully referring to their HMO as “Denialcare” (55-7), to making jokes about serious medical procedures like Lisa’s mastectomy (35). Lisa even laughs in the face of the grim prognosis that she has mere months left to live by sarcastically saying that she was “kind of looking forward to a midlife crisis” (93). Lisa’s tenacity and zest for life help her to cope with her illness. After her first Chemo session, Les says to Holly that she is “attacking this like one of her legal cases” and she replies that “her cancer doesn’t know how much trouble it’s in” (97). Lisa gets through her many exhausting treatments by making sarcastic quips and jokes, about herself and her cancer, so much so, that the doctors marked “feisty” on her chart (171). She even envisions herself as a superhero, fighting off cancer-cell-monsters with laser beams (136, 155). The characters are not making mean-spirited jokes at Lisa’s expense, or belittling the patients who go through hell every day just to stay alive. Humor is simply their way of, taking something uncontrollable and controlling parts of it. Humor allows people to distance themselves from adversity, and to understand and process it in a completely new way.
While Batiuk wrote jokes into many of its strips, Lisa’s Story contains a balance of humor and seriousness. Lisa and Les are humans after all, and sometimes they process the terrible news through anger, hopelessness, and fear. Les and Lisa are both terrified of what’s to come, and try to be strong for each other whenever they can be, but there is always an underlying fear in their interactions. In one strip the two are on a walk and Les assures her that even though her diagnosis is scary, “[they’ve] lived through stuff like this before, and [they] can do it again.” reassured, Lisa tells him that he’s convinced her, but in his head, Les is wondering how he can convince himself that everything will be okay (10). Lisa experiences similar fear and guilt. In one strip Les wakes up from a nightmare frightened and disoriented. Lisa sadly says: “I wish I could help…but I can’t be strong enough for both of us!” (22). In another strip, Les comes home to pick Lisa up for their date but she doesn’t feel well enough to go. Lisa, exasperated, yells “What do you want from me!?” and Les thinks to himself “I want things like they were!” (47). Lisa’s Story does not shy away from scenes of Lisa breaking down in tears, feeling angry about her diagnosis (55), or guilty because she thinks about her illness so much, or even in total shock (88). These raw scenes reveal the reality of coping with terminal illness. sometimes the illness is too overwhelming, or painful, or frightening, and people often cannot cope in ways other than through expressing their visceral emotions.
People also may eventually process their grief through acceptance. As shown in Lisa’s Story, The patient almost always comes to accept their (fate) more easily than their friends and family. At the end of the first half of the book, Lisa takes a contemplative walk in the park. In the beginning she is frustrated that this is the direction that her life is taking, but throughout the sequence of her walk she comes to the conclusion that: “Life isn’t a walk in the park…but that fact shouldn’t keep you from enjoying a walk in the park!” (65-7). Lisa keeps this attitude even as her condition worsens and especially when her life expectancy is cut drastically short. Like many cancer patients when they understand that their time on Earth is running out, Lisa decides to quit chemo; to “live the time [she] has left, not just be alive” (175). Lisa lives up to this declaration.she takes walks outside with her husband (208), She make snow angels outside with Les even though she’s extremely ill (126), she eats as much junk food as she can at the country fair (205), and she even testifies before congress about cancer research funding (197-200). Les finally accepts the reality of the his wife’s condition and tells her that it’s okay for her to let go (204). Although this is one of the most difficult ways, people can eventually cope with cancer when they work up the strength to accept the diagnosis. So many patients and families face the difficult decision between staying on treatments and prolonging a life of pain, or ending treatment and enjoying what life they have left. When people accept the grim reality of the cancer diagnosis, they can appreciate their time with their loved one and even feel more emotionally prepared for their death.
Amongst all of the overdramatized representations of cancer patients, Lisa’s Story stands as a true ode to survivors, those currently battling cancer, and their loved ones. Lisa’s Story highlights all of the familiar trials that patients and families endure. The comics strips make the large, daunting subjects of cancer and death understandable and even humorous without trivializing the subject or the millions of people who are living through their own version of “lisa’s story.” Lisa’s Story is not only a source of comfort and solidarity for people suffering through similar situations, but a useful resource to help people understand how people cope with the tragedies of terminal illness and early death.
Works Cited
“Cancer Statistics.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics.
CBS News. “CBS News Poll: Majority of U.S. Families Touched by Cancer.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 12 Mar. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-majority-of-us-families-touched-by-cancer/.
Tags
Calendar
- ►2019 (199)
- ►December(2)
- ►November(18)
- Cover Me - 85
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #239 February 1976
- John Darling - Take 194
- Cover Me - 84
- Match to Flame 112
- Lisa's Legacy in Spain
- John Darling - Take 193
- Cover Me - 83
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #238 December 1975
- Match to Flame 111
- John Darling - Take 192
- Cover Me - 82
- Fall Two
- Akron Comicon 2019 Part 3
- Akron Comicon 2019 Part 2
- Akron Comicon 2109 Part 1
- John Darling - Take 191
- Cover Me - 81
- ►October(21)
- Halloween in the Studio
- The Pizza Monster
- John Darling - Take 190
- Match to Flame 110
- Cover Me - 80
- Music Box Wrap
- Fall in Color
- Music Box Talk
- John Darling - Take 189
- Cover Me -79
- Ripples in the Fall Part Two
- The Music Box 2019
- John Darling - Take 188
- Cover Me - 78
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #237 November 1975
- Ripples in the Fall
- Kent Book Festival 2019
- John Darling - Take 187
- Cover Me - 77
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #236 September 1975
- Match to Flame 109
- ►September(17)
- John Darling - Take 186
- Akron Marathon - Lisa's Legacy Relay Team 2019
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #235 August 1975
- Cover Me - 76
- Match to Flame 108
- John Darling - Take 185
- Son of on the Road Again
- John Darling - Take 184
- Cover Me - 75
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #234 June 1975
- Match to Flame 107
- Rip in the Pipeline
- Funky Winkerbean 5k 2019
- John Darling - Take 183
- Cover Me - 74
- Lisa's Enduring Legacy
- Rubber City
- ►August(20)
- John Darling - Take 182
- On the Road Again
- Match to Flame 106
- Ripples in the Summer 3
- John Darling - Take 181
- Cover Me - 73
- Match to Flame 105
- A Pipeline Peek at Research City
- Ripples in the Summer 2
- John Darling - Take 180
- Cover Me - 72
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #233 May 1975
- Comic-Con Confidential Seven
- Comic-Con Confidential Six
- Comic-Con Confidential Five
- Comical-Con Confidential Four
- John Darling - Take 179
- Cover Me - 71
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #232 March/April 1975
- Comic-Con Confidential Three
- ►July(17)
- Comic-Con Confidential Two
- Comic-Con Confidential One
- John Darling - Take 178
- John Darling - Take 177
- Cover Me - 64
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #231 January/February 1975
- Match to Flame 104
- Funky/ Cranky Cross
- Johnny D is in the Building
- John Darling - Take 176
- Cover Me - 70
- Match to Flame 103
- Ripples in the Summer
- John Darling - Take 175
- Going Mad
- Cover Me - 69
- The Best of OMEA All-State 2019
- ►June(14)
- John Darling - Take 174
- Cover Me - 68
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #230 November/December 1974
- Match to Flame 102
- John Darling - Take 173
- Cover Me - 67
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 229 Part 2
- Studio Races
- John Darling - Take 172
- Cover Me - 66
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 229 September/October 1974
- John Darling - Take 171
- John Darling - Take 170
- Cover Me - 65
- ►May(16)
- Funky Fathers
- Match to Flame 101
- John Darling - Take 169
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #228 July/August 1974
- John Darling - Take 168
- Cover Me - 63
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #227 May/June 1974
- Spring Cleaning
- Cover Me Extra
- Cover Me - 62
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #226 March/April 1974
- Match to Flame 100
- Ohioana Book Festival 2019
- John Darling - Take 166
- Cover Me - 61
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #225 January-February 1974
- ►April(17)
- Free Comic Book Day
- John Darling - Take 165
- Ohioana Book Festival
- Rip Tide Rough 2
- John Darling - Take 164
- Cover Me - 60
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #224 November-December 1973
- Pipeline - Rip Tide
- Match to Flame 99
- John Darling - Take 163
- Cover Me - 59
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #223 September/October 1973
- John Darling - Take 162
- John Darling - Take 161
- Cover Me - 58
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #222 July-August 1973
- Lisa's Story Essay 2
- ►March(19)
- John Darling - Take 160
- Cover Me - 57
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #221 April-May 1973
- Butter Brinkel
- Lisa's Story Essay
- John Darling - Take 159
- Match to Flame 98
- Match to Flame 97
- Old Hollywood.
- John darling - Take 158
- Cover Me - 56
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #220 February-March 1973
- To Every Season
- John Darling - Take 157
- Cover Me - 55
- Ripples in the Winter
- John Darling - Take 156
- Cover Me - 54
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #219
- ►February(18)
- The Pipeline 2019
- John Darling - Take 155
- Cover Me - 53
- Return to the Road Part 2
- Return to the Road
- John Darling - Take 154
- Cover Me - 52
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #218 October-November 1972
- Volume 8 Drops
- Match to Flame 96
- Match to Flame 95
- John Darling - Take 153
- Cover Me - 51
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #217 August/September 1972
- Stuf' Said!
- Match to Flame 93
- John Darling - Take 152
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #216 June 1972
- ►January(20)
- Dinkles Clock
- Match to Flame 92
- John Darling - Take 151
- Cover Me - 50
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #215 May 1972
- Winterlude
- John Darling - Take 150
- Cover Me - 49
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #214 April 1972
- Way Back Wendy
- Match to Flame 91
- John Darling - Take 149
- Cover Me - 48
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #213 March 1972
- Match to Flame 90
- John Darling - Take 147
- Cover Me - 47
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #212 February 1972
- Match to Flame 89
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 13
- ►2018 (230)
- ►December(25)
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 12
- John Darling - Take 146
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 11
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 10
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 9
- John Darling - Take 145
- Cover Me - 46
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #211 December 1971
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 7
- *Sigh*
- A Crankshaft Christmas
- John Darling - Take 144
- Cover Me - 45
- A Funky Christmas
- Match to Flame 88
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 6
- Ye Old Taboret
- A Lisa Christmas
- John darling - Take 143
- Cover Me - 44
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 5
- Miss American
- Match to Flame 87
- John Darling - Take 142
- Cover Me - 43
- ►November(22)
- A Crankshaft Christmas
- Ephemera - George Kennedy - Crankshaft 4
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 4
- John Darling - Take 141
- Cover Me - 42
- Goodreads Giveaway
- Wally Winkerbean
- Ephemera - George Kennedy - Crankshaft 3
- John Darling - Take 140
- Ephemera - George Kennedy - Crankshaft 2
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 3
- Last One for the Road
- Stan Lee
- Ephemera - George Kennedy - Crankshaft 1
- John Darling - Take 139
- Cover Me - 41
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 2
- Ephemera
- A last look at the Akron Comicon
- John Darling - Take 141
- Cover Me 40
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #210 November 1971
- ►October(25)
- Match to Flame 86
- Ripples - The Daba Mystery 1
- Akron Comicon 2018
- John Darling - Take 138
- Cover Me 39
- Ruby Lith
- Match to Flame 85
- In the Rearview Mirror
- Funky Winkerbean 5k Recap
- John Darling - Take 137
- Cover Me 38
- Match to Flame 94
- Run for Lisa's Legacy 4
- Match to Flame 83
- John Darling - Take 136
- Cover Me 37
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #209 September 1971
- Run for Lisa's Legacy 3
- The Boys of Summer
- John Darling - Take 135
- Cover me 36
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #208 August 1971
- Run for Lisa's Legacy 2
- Kent Book Festival
- Akron Marathon 2018
- ►September(19)
- John Darling - Take 134
- Cover Me 35
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #207 June 1971
- Run for Lisa's Legacy
- Match to Flame 82
- John Darling - Take 133
- Cover Me 34
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #206 May 1971
- Match to Flame 81
- John Darling - Take 132
- Cover Me 33
- Flash Fridays - #205 May 1971
- The Atomic Bomb Ring
- John Darling - Take 131
- Cover me 32
- Flash Fridays - #204 March 1971
- Studio Stuff - OMEA CD 2018
- John Darling - Take 130
- Cover Me 31
- ►August(17)
- Russ Heath
- Match to Flame 80
- John Darling - Take 129
- Cover Me 30
- Flash Fridays - #203 February 1971
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2017
- John Darling - Take 128
- Cover Me 29
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2016
- John Darling - Take 127
- Cover Me 28
- Flash Fridays - #202 December 1970
- Match to Flame 79
- John Darling - Take 126
- Cover Me 27
- On the Shelf
- Match to Flame 78
- ►July(17)
- John Darling - Take 125
- Cover Me 26
- Flash Fridays - #201 November 1970
- Pix from the Road
- John Darling - Take 124
- Cover Me 31
- Flash Fridays - #200 September 1970
- Artists Archives
- John Darling - Take 123
- Cover Me 25
- Flash Fridays - #199 August 1970
- Yet Another Ripples Effect
- John Darling - Take 122
- Cover Me 24
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #198 June 1970
- Odds and Book Shelf Ends
- John Darling - Take 121
- ►June(18)
- Cover Me 23
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2015
- Match to Flame 77
- John Darling - Take 120
- Cover Me - 22
- Anatomy of a Cover Eleven
- Match to Flame 76
- John Darling - Take 119
- Cover Me - 21
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #197 May 1970
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2013
- Match to Flame 75
- John Darling - Take 118
- Cover Me - 20
- Anatomy of a Cover Ten
- John Darling - Take 117
- Cover Me - 19
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #196 April 1970
- ►May(15)
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2014
- John Darling - Take 116
- Cover Me -18
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #195 March 1970
- Match to Flame 74
- Anatomy of a Cover Nine
- John Darling - Take 115
- John Darling Take -114
- Cover Me 17
- Match to Flame - 73
- Studio Stuff - Stan Kenton Alumni Band CD - 2013
- John Darling - Take 113
- Cover Me 16
- Jerry's in the Studio
- Match to Flame 72
- ►April(16)
- John Darling - Take 112
- North Coast Writers Showcase
- John Darling - Take 111
- Cover Me 15
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #194 February 1970
- Match to Flame 71
- Son of On The Road
- John Darling - Take 110
- Cover Me 14
- Match to Flame - 70
- Ohioans Book Festival
- John Darling - Take 109
- Cover Me 13
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #193 December 1969
- Studio Stuff OMEA CD - 2012
- Ohioana Panel
- ►March(21)
- John Darling - Take 108
- Cover Me 12
- Match to Flame - 69
- Match to Flame - 68
- John Darling - Take 107
- Cover Me 11
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #192 November 1969
- On The Road Again With Vol. 7
- Match to Flame - 67
- John Darling - Take 106
- Cover Me 10
- Studio File
- Match to Flame - 66
- John Darling - Take 105
- Cover Me 9
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #191 September 1969
- In The Pipeline - Rana
- Match to Flame - 65
- John Darling - Take 104
- Cover Me 8
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #190 August 1969
- ►February(18)
- Tom Corbet Space Cadet
- John Darling - Take 103
- Cover Me 7
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #189 June 1969
- Parlor
- John Darling - Take 102
- Cover Me 6
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #188 May 1969
- OMEA 2018
- Winter
- John Darling - Take 101
- Cover Me 5
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #187 April 1969
- Studio Stuff - The Dinkle Bag
- Match to Flame - 64
- John Darling - Take 100
- Cover Me 4
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 186 March 1969
- ►January(17)
- Match to Flame - 63
- John Darling - Take 99
- Cover Me 3
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #185 February 1969
- John Darling - Take 98
- The Complete Funky Winkerbean Vol. Seven
- On the Studio Shelf
- John Darling - Take 97
- Cover Me 2
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #184 December 1968
- Golden Dinkle Award
- The Flash is in the Studio
- John Darling - Take 96
- Cover Me
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #183 November 1968
- Match to Flame - 62
- In The Pipeline - Adeela
- ►December(25)
- ►2017 (204)
- ►December(13)
- ►November(24)
- John Darling - Takes 87 & 88
- Match to Flame - 58
- John Darling - Take 86
- Match to Flame - 57
- One More from the Road
- John Darling - Take 85
- B & N - San Diego
- Elliott Bay
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Ten
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Nine
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Eight
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Seven
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Six
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Five
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Four
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Three
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Two
- Countdown to Heritage Auction One
- Back on the Road
- Batty Batom Bullpen - John Byrne & Joe Giella
- John Darling - Take 84
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Tom Palmer
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #182 September 1968
- Son of Akron Comicon 2017
- ►October(20)
- Match to Flame - 56
- Akron Comicon 2017
- John Darling - Take 83
- Left Bank Books
- Buckeye Book Fair 2017
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Tom Lyle
- Deep Vellum
- Rothko Chapel
- Brazos
- John Darling - Take 82
- Fox 8 in the Morning
- Lisa's Legacy Run
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #181 August 1968
- Philly
- New York ComicCon
- John Darling - Take 81
- Kent Book Festival
- John Darling - Take 80
- Match to Flame - 55
- John Darling - Take 79
- ►September(19)
- The Thurber Attic
- Lisa's Legacy Trilogy on the Road
- John Darling - Take 78
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Russ Heath - Redux
- Akron Marathon Lisa's Legacy Relay Team
- Launch Signing Nears
- Superman and Cleveland
- John Darling - Take 77
- Batty Batom Bullpen - P. Craig Russell
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #180 June 1968
- More Ripples
- Thurber House Part 3
- John Darling - Take 76
- Batty batom Bullpen - Russ Heath
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #179 May 1968
- Summer's Story
- John Darling - Take 75
- Match to Flame - 54
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #178 April/May 1968
- ►August(19)
- The Last Leaf
- Thurber House Part 2
- John Darling - Take 74
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Rick Burchett Rides Again
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #177 March 1968
- Match to Flame - 53
- Prelude
- John Darling - Take 73
- Ripples Redux Redux
- Thurber House Event
- The Cat Exits the Bag
- John Darling - Take 72
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Rick Burchett
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #176 February - 1968
- Match to Flame - 52
- Match to Flame - 51
- Flash Fridays - Superman #199 The Flash #175 December 1967
- Match to Flame - 50
- Match to Flame - 49
- ►July(18)
- John Darling - Take 71
- Ripples Redux
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #174 November 1967
- Match to Flame - 48
- Even More New in the Studio
- John Darling - Take 70
- The Ripples
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #173 September 1967
- Son of Odds and Ends
- Match to Flame - 47
- John Darling - Take 69
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Don Perlin-Encore
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 172 August 1967
- John Darling - Take 68
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Neal Adams
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #71 June 1967
- Match to Flame - 46
- John Darling - Take 67
- ►June(18)
- More New in the Studio
- The More Things Seem to Change...
- John Darling - Take 66
- Heritage Consignment
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #170 May 1967
- Match to Flame - 45
- John Darling - Take 65
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Full Disclosure
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #169 April-May 1967
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Randy Reynaldo
- Match to Flame - 44
- John Darling - Take 64
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Neil Vokes
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #168 March 1967
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Norm Breyfogle
- John Darling - Take 63
- Return to the Road
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Bob Layton
- ►May(10)
- ►April(14)
- John Darling - Take 60
- The Pipeline
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #164 September 1966
- Match to Flame - 42
- John Darling - Take 59
- The Radar
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #163 August 1966
- Band Calendar - April
- John Darling - Take 58
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Frank Brunner
- Match to Flame - 41
- Les and Cayla
- John Darling - Take 57
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #162 June 1966
- ►March(19)
- The Secret Sauce - The More Things Change
- John Darling - Take 56
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Ron Frenz
- Flash Fridays - #161 May 1966
- Match to Flame - 40
- John Darling - Take 55
- Magic
- The Pipeline
- Flash Fridays - #160 April 1966
- The Secret Sauce - Roses in December
- John Darling - Take 54
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Paul Gulacy
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #159 March 1966
- Match to Flame - 39
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Michael Gilbert
- John Darling - Take 53
- Flash Fridays - Green Lantern #43 March 1966 - The Brave and the Bold #65
- The Secret Sauce
- Band Calendar - March
- ►February(13)
- ►January(17)
- Superman Crayons
- John Darling - Take 47
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 157 December 1965
- John Darling - Take 46
- Match to Flame 38
- Match to Flame 37
- Volume Six is in the house.
- John Darling - Take 45
- Match to Flame 36
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #156 November 1965
- Sunday News
- John Darling - Take 44 1980
- Studio Stuff - Cleaning the Studio
- Son of Superman Crayons
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #155 September 1965
- The Pipeline 2
- Band Calendar - January
- ►2016 (146)
- ►December(14)
- John Darling - Take 43
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #154 August 1965
- John Daring - Take 42
- John Darling - Take 41
- John Darling - Take 40
- Match to Flame 35
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #153 June 1965
- John Darling - Take 39
- Match to Flame 34
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #152 May 1965
- Match to Flame 33
- Home for the Holidays
- Flash Fridays- The Flash Annual #3 April 1965
- Band Calendar - December
- ►November(11)
- ►October(14)
- On the Road Again - Akron Comicon
- John Darling - Take 36
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 11
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #148 - November 1964
- On the Road Again - Buckeye Book Fair
- John Darling - Take 35
- Match to Flame 31
- Flash Fridays - The Flash Annual #2 October 1964
- Autumn
- Match to Flame 30
- John Darling - Take 34
- Flash Fridays- The Flash #147 September 1964
- Match to Flame 29
- October
- ►September(12)
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #146 August 1964
- John Darling - Take 33
- Match to Flame 28
- The Pipeline 1
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 145 June 1964
- John Darling - Take 32
- Match to Flame 27
- Lisa's Legacy Run 2016
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #144 May 1964
- John Darling - Take 31
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #143 March 1964
- September
- ►August(10)
- ►July(12)
- SDCC 2016
- Flash Fridays - The Flash Annual #1-1963
- Anatomy of a Cover Seven
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #140 November 1963
- Match to Flame 25
- John Darling - Take 28
- Studio Stuff - Wood-burned Starbuck
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #139 September 1963
- Match to Flame 23
- Match to Flame 24
- July
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #138 August 1963
- ►June(11)
- ►May(7)
- ►April(8)
- ►March(17)
- Match to Flame 20
- John Darling - Take 20
- Anatomy of a Cover Four
- Flash Fridays #131 September 1962
- Studio Stuff 4
- Studio Stuff 3
- Studio Stuff 2
- Studio Stuff 1
- Match to Flame 19
- ANATOMY OF A COVER Three
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #130 August 1962
- John Darling - Take 19
- Match to Flame 18
- John Darling - Take 18
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #129 June 1962
- John Darling - Take 17
- Match to Flame 17
- ►February(15)
- John Darling - Take 16
- Anatomy of a Cover Two
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #128
- Match to Flame 16
- Anatomy of a Cover - One
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #127
- On The Road Again
- Blast from Funky's Past
- Flattop Junior's Final Act
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 10
- Match to Flame 15
- John Darling - Take 15
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 9
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #126
- John Darling - Take 14
- ►January(15)
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 8
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 125
- John Darling - Take 13
- Match to Flame 14
- Match to Flame 13
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #124
- John Darling - Take 12
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 7
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #123
- Match to Flame 12
- John Darling - Take 11
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 6
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #122
- Match to Flame 11
- John Darling - Take 10
- ►December(14)
- ►2015 (72)
- ►2014 (19)
- ►2013 (5)
- ►2012 (12)
- ►2011 (8)
- ►2010 (5)
- ►2009 (6)
- ►2008 (8)
- ►2007 (10)
- ►2006 (1)