About: "Holiday Phone-Call" originally appeared in Litmus Test 10, October 2000. Then I did the above colored version for Modern Tales: Longplay in the summer of 2003. Lastly, I reworded a few lines to put it next to "My Grandmother's Funeral" in Holiday Funeral, December 2006. I hadn't played with panels much since "The Raft" (in Litmus Test 6) and I was inspired to do it again. Part of that inspiration came from Lark Pien's mini Stories From the Ward #3. Usually stories unfold in my head over time, but this story fell fully-formed into my head one winter morning while I was taking a shower. Mrs. Herrick resembles my grandmother, but is not meant to represent her. While my mother did leave Iowa for California, she was always good about calling my grandmother. In this story, I intentionally looked for the least rigid nib that I could find. I wanted the story to look as if an old woman might have drawn it. My grandmother has since died. She never read this story. comix