As an artist with Hallmark since 1970, John Wagner created Maxine in 1986 as a new character line for the Shoebox Greetings card division. He created a brazen older woman with a stooped back, a mop of curly gray hair and abrasive personality. Wagner’s mom, grandmother and unmarried aunts provided inspiration for the comic creation.
He attended the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts and began work as part of a new Hallmark artists’ group following graduation.
71 pages of Maxine's Guide to Life and how she lives it and not so politely tells everyone else how to live! She makes me chuckle, laugh out loud and just plain happy! A daily dose of Maxine should make most people happ9y!
Don't Worry, Be Crabby by John M. Wagner - I found this in a bookbag from college, so it was a nice surprise! Aunt Maxine is everything I aspire to be as I age! Happy Reading!
Got this little book given to me, and read it with many chuckles; sarcastic quotes by Maxine, everyone’s favorite curmudgeonly senior citizen, complete with housecoat, bunny slippers, sunglasses, ubiquitous cigarette and Floyd the Dog. Here are a few examples:
“Somewhere over the rainbow – that’s where the airline will find my luggage.”
“Love is like a roller coaster. When it’s good, you don’t want to get off, and when it isn’t…you can’t wait to throw up.”
“It’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness – Yeah, cursing is better when people can see you do it.”
…And my favorite: “Men are like buses. They have spare tires and smell funny.”
I must admit that I have been impatient with some more recent Internet postings in which Ms. Maxine has been a sort of spokesman for an ultraconservative agenda. Nonetheless, I can still like the basic humor and outlook of Maxine, much like Ray Stevens (“Ahab the Arab;” “The Streak;” “Git Your Tongue Outta My Mouth ‘Cause I’m Kissin’ You Goodbye”), for whom I can appreciate his musical and satirical talent without agreeing with his politics.
I'm going to put this under 'M' for 'Maxine': I'll never remember to look under 'S', and anyway, I have too many 'S' books, and not so many 'M's.
I've always liked Maxine. She kind of reminds me of Phyllis Diller, except not quite as funny. I don't remember which cards are in this one, so it'll be fun rediscovering it.
None of the really good ones are here, but there are some that are better than adequate. I like the detailed bits--the dog who's clearly just living its own life, the rarely appearing cat, the furniture and other appliances of everyday life. I've always been a sucker for that sort of thing.