November 19th, 2016

Fall Foliage #9

by Brian Walker, Greg Walker and Chance Browne

Hi and Lois Sunday page, October 3, 1999.

Most of the leaves are on the ground in New England now, so it’s clean up time. This is one of Hi Flagston’s least favorite household chores. When I was a young boy, my father made me help with the leaf raking, so I dread this job as much as Hi does. Many years ago, I hired my neighbor’s son to clean up my yard every year. This has saved my balky back.

We have showcased many of Dik Browne’s outstanding seasonal Sunday pages from the 1960s in this series, but the episode above is a good example of Chance Browne’s artistry. The aerial shot in the drop panel after the logo helps establish the setting. The drifting leaves provide atmosphere in all of the outdoor scenes. The expressions on the faces of Dot, Ditto, Chip and Hi in the final panel shows their suffering as Lois, Trixie and Dawg watch from inside the house. Sacrifices have to be made in order to teach the kids valuable life lessons. In spite of Hi’s final words, the Flagstons will never move to a condominium.

Stay tooned for more fall foliage episodes.

– Brian Walker