Match to Flame 86

Another milestone contained in this volume is the marriage of Ann Randall and Fred Fairgood. As I mentioned in the last volume, their relationship was one of my earliest attempts at a longer form narrative, and this story arc brought it to its natural conclusion. The part in the story where Fred forgets to get the marriage license was based on a real event (ahem, mine). Instead of having to have someone hack the courthouse records like Fred does, I was able to take advantage of the fact that our landlord’s husband was a judge in Elyria who had the power to waive the usual seven-day waiting period. Sometimes it just pays to be lucky. It also shows how a comic strip forces you to strip-mine your past for material, no matter how embarrassing.

From The Complete Funky Winkerbean Volume Five