I've been getting a number of emails here at the cartoon castle about the Alzheimer's story arc which is wrapping up in the current Crankshaft strip. It's been very gratifying to have people take time from their busy lives to say how much Lucy and Lillian's story has meant to them and how they've been touched by the way that's it's being resolved.
For a long time there has been a bit of unfinished business hanging out there in regard to that particular story. It revolved around the letter from Eugene that Lillian hid from Lucyand the guilt that Lillian carried because of it. From time to time I had thought about dealing with that, but I never found a particularly elegant way to bring closure to the story. Then one Saturday I went out to the derelict and shuttered Chippewa Lake Park to wander through and take some pictures. By the way, a number of sharp eyed readers spotted Chippewa Park as the visual stand-in for Summit Beach Park which is the setting for the nominal setting for the story in the strip, but which has long since disappeared. As i wandered through the melancholy detritus of the former playground, I suddenly came upon a collapsed building and there in the rotting remains was a bit of lattice work that was similar to what I had seen in pictures of the Wisteria Ballroom at Summit Beach Park. All at once I knew how the story was supposed to end and why I had taken time off from a Saturday (my best work day because nobody ever calls) to visit the blighted remains of the old park. I couldn't get home fast enough to write it all down.
A number of readers have asked if there would ever be a complete collection of the Alzheimer's story and I'm pleased to let you know that The Kent State University Press has plans to publish just such a book down the road a bit. I'll be providing more details as that time draws closer.