Working Daze by John Zakour and Scott Roberts for July 14, 2012

I needed to do a little photo research to remind myself how insane 80’s big hair could be. Rita’s is hardly even an exaggeration. Ed probably didn’t keep the Flock Of Seagulls hair for long. Once it was styled, it would have been too much bother to maintain. Roy was even hairier in his employee ID photo, which was shown a couple of years ago.

I have worked at places where low level employees jump past the people who once trained them. It all depends on the circumstances, the individual person, and the reasons for the promotion. Rita was furious a year or so ago when it was implied that she was promoted because of her legs. She got revenge.

Well, the original strips are drawn by a different artist, Andre Noel, with a different take. But they’re not from the 80’s- so they don’t reflect what we see here. Ed was about the same- Roy was less chubby, and sometimes had stubble on his head. Rita was sort of a Miss Gulch type. After Andre, Kyle Miller took over, and for a short time drew Rita rather as pleasant looking, before dumping that approach and transforming her into a steely martinet. I started out doing her as a caricature of real life Rita’s I had known. She used to have her hair pulled back in a pony tail, until John wrote a gag wherein she hires Steve Wozniak to give her a makeover. Ever since, I’ve done her with bangs and a bob.

And though it’s hard to tell in that panel, Rita is in a pants suit, with the 80’s padded shoulders.

I don’t think I ever owned a mesh shirt. Nor did I ever have a Flock Of Seagulls hairdo.

We’ll all remember our own decades most fondly. Well, most of us. There are bound to be those who weren’t happy with the time in which they were young. But the early 70’s is me as well. High school class of ‘74. Chris graduated in the 80’s, so she has lots of memories of that decade. She even had the 80’s hair!