Editor/Webmaster Rina is a harrassed working mother of 4 who is married to Daniel Shelton, creator of "BEN". She posts regularly on, among other things, what's new with Daniel, his family life, and the world of "BEN".
The Meaning of Christmas
By Rina on December 15th, 2009

Usually it is that time of year when I feel exactly like Charlie Brown in his Christmas special. You all know what I mean. The endless barrage of materialism that runs rampant during the approaching holidays makes you question what Christmas is really all about. Yet you can't help but be caught in its wave and join in the running around and the shopping, and then it feels even more depressing. In past years I would attempt to go against this tide. Grinch-like, I grumbled about the importance placed on gifts and Santa. I gritted my teeth at the endless references to presents and toys and Boxing Day specials and what seemed like a lack of other holiday traditions.

Where I grew up, Christmas was all about midnight mass, caroling, visiting relatives and eating. I received one gift from my parents and sometimes an uncle or aunt would remember me. So when I had kids of my own, I was not prepared for the sheer attention paid to buying gifts and the pressure that came with that. For years I was bitter and snobbish about the whole thing.

Then somewhere along the way I realized that my refusing this part of Christmas made me no better than those who only saw Christmas as a chance to get gifts. It doesn't have to be one or the other. The materialism that is familiar and a tradition for many can co-exist with the spiritual and family values I remembered. I stopped trying to recreate my own childhood and started making our own traditions that married both Daniel's and my upbringing. Now I even appreciate the mayhem of gift-giving, I guess I have just accepted it and have a serenity about it now.

This year was even more meaningful because our family stumbled upon a production right here in our small town. Apparently thousands of visitors have been coming over the past 5 years to something less than 2 km away from our house. It is called "A Walk to Bethlehem". It is a re-enactment of the Christmas story by about a hundred members of a local church. This is from their website:

Walk To Bethlehem is a theatrical excursion back to the time just before Christ’s birth, two-thousand years ago. You will be escorted through Bethlehem by one of our friendly guides, who will protect you from Roman soldiers, beggars and thieves. You will meet Shepherds, Wiseman, and even Angels before finding the Baby Jesus in the Manger.

There were times when it felt a bit uncomfortable, almost like preaching, especially the final scene when they have you visit Jesus's crucifixion (empty cross, people mourning) and reminded you that the whole reason Jesus was born was so he could die for us. I felt it was a very literal interpretation. And yet, recalling Linus speaking to Charlie Brown, it's a kind of truth that makes you feel guilty, like your mom letting you know you forgot to call her on Mother's Day. Towards the end when our group reached the stable (complete with donkey and sheep), we were invited to sing "Silent Night" with the choir. It was poignant and touching. The kids (who like us hadn't known what to expect) were quite impressed and it was the perfect start to this holiday season to temper the materialism that is so tied in with the meaning of Christmas.
Japanese Internment Camp
By Rina on November 28th, 2009

In the archives section of our website we have a storyline about Nathan's father George Tokoname and how as a boy he was placed in a Canadian internment camp for Japanese-Canadians during World War II. Daniel chose the name "Tokoname" from a famous bonsai pot maker and in the comics he showcases his love for bonsai and suiseki (the art and display of viewing stones). Daniel has a collection of bonsai which he has been tending for 10 years.

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the backlash towards Muslim communities around the world, Daniel felt it important to look at a chapter in American and Canadian history when citizens were rounded up based purely on their racial background. The series was much praised by the Japanese community and we received many letters (as far away as Japan).
Star Trek
By Rina on November 25th, 2009

My two sisters and I were part of the wave that discovered Star Trek during its resurgence in the late 1980s when "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" was a big hit in theatres and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" made its debut on tv. We were impressionable teens who had never seen any of the classic show before and we started catching up big time on cable. My sister Miel was so impressed with William Shatner that she even watched "TJ Hooker" and loved to imitate him running in that funny chubby way he had and would...SPEAK...the way he...SPOKE... We called each other Bones, Scotty and Jim. We even (and I am a little embarrassed to say this) attended a convention in New York City where my sister Lisa's highlight was getting James Doohan's autograph.

It was around this time that Daniel and I met and as usual, he was bemused by the whole thing. We were both attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey and while he was sharing a house with some other students, I was renting a room in a pretty seedy part of town. I wasn't allowed to use the kitchen or have visitors by the cranky old lady who rented me the room so made do with cans of Chef Boyardee and a hot plate and on Friday evenings my dad would pick me up for the weekend and I would gorge on my mom's cooking. Star Trek reruns were my constant companion during this lonely time until I was able to get a place in a house with other students. Throughout that whole year I managed to watch each episode a number of times. But "The Next Generation" looked very dull by comparison and we never got into it till years later.
Getting a Dog (part 2)
By Rina on November 20th, 2009

ANYWAY after all that stress in August, we returned Brock much to the dismay of the kids, who were crying in the driveway when the foster people came to pick him up. I cried too (sniff) and then I thought, that was that. I mean, other reasons, apart from the snarling, was he was scratching up all our floors and peeing all over the house and even when he was behaved, he was just this intense presence - just not what I wanted in a dog. I thought, that's it, forget a dog, it's too much work. But the kids kept asking and I really do enjoy them, having always grown up with one, so I told Daniel that basically, the kind of dog I always imagined having was a Great Dane with a calm, quiet and loyal presence, whom I can go for long walks with and who will sit beside me quietly while I work, not have a demanding or hyper temperament but a relaxed and companionable one. Dan said I don't need a Great Dane for that as I already have a Great Dan! hahaha...

But then he saw the appeal in the kind of dog I meant. We did our research and it seemed like they were such a lot of work, apart from being very large of course, but their temperament was ideal and exactly what we wanted. But I had resigned myself to not getting one since it seemed so impractical (not to mention expensive in regards to food and vet bills!) We saw a couple more small dogs from the rescue and then Saturday went to a pet fair. When we told the rescue person we were thinking about a Dane, she said a kennel she knew had just received an 8 month old stray and we could go take a look. This time it was Daniel who kept pushing to see her (Nelly) and so after the pet fair we continued on, through lots of traffic and driving through what seemed like the middle of nowhere. But as soon as we met her she seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. She was calm and behaved even while meeting the kids at the pound, and she was so sweet. So we made this snap decision right there - talk about a leap of faith!

We brought her home and so far she has just been a total sweetheart, so calm and gentle and dainty and elegant in her manners. She follows us around but not in a demanding or needy way, just companionable. She's big (29 inches at the shoulder, she will probably grow another 2-3 inches) but doesn't seem it because she isn't crazy or hyper. She's naturally submissive - right after we got her I damaged my acl playing soccer and was on crutches for a while but no matter how slow I was hobbling she would always wait for me to go through doorways or up and down the stairs instead of barreling on ahead - apparently the sign of a well-mannered dog who recognizes I am the pack leader. She has responded very well training her to walk with the leash, she heels when asked, doesn't pull (basically I give her a long leash and as soon as she feels some tension she catches up or slows down to make it slack again) and sits quietly when we stop to talk to people. Even the kids can walk her, she is that behaved.
I said a few weeks ago I'd give the full story behind getting our Great Dane Nelly...(part 1)
By Rina on November 19th, 2009

Well, here it is! But first i have to tell it from the beginning...

9 years ago we adopted our then 4 year old Golden Retriever named Max. He was a sweetheart of a dog - gentle, patient, loyal and so good with the children. This is the famous Max now immortalized by Daniel in newspapers and in this very website. Max died of a tumor last August 2007 at the age of 11.

Two years later, we decided we would try another rescue dog. As soon as we put out a request at the local rescue group, they said they had Brock, a 5 year old black lab/golden retriever mix, he basically looked like a black Max only was a lot bigger (almost 80 pounds), friendly and energetic but also hyper and displaying lots of dominant behaviors. When people rang the doorbell he would go crazy and bark and scratch on the windows and jump on them when they came in and if we scolded him or made him back away he would snarl at us. If he was playing with a ball and we tried to take it away he would snarl. A friend of mine came over with her baby and he jumped on her and when I got in between them to shoo him off, he would just persist and go around on her other side and start jumping. We were hoping it was just an adjustment period and tried it for 4 weeks, much longer than the normal 2 week trial period, but in the end he was still doing these behaviors. We were walking him 3 times a day, brisk walks sometimes as long as an hour to release his energy, and giving him lots of attention, but there was no change and it was just so stressful. So with much deliberation and reluctance (and GUILT) and after making sure he would not be put down or anything like that, we gave him back to his foster home.

After doing all kinds of research, I now know the way we went about it with the rescue people was wrong. First of all I had specified a CALM and QUIET dog and they ended up bringing a boisterous, high energy one. They came to our house late at night (9 pm) and as soon as Brock came in he was turned loose from his leash and ran all over the house, claiming his territory (which we didn't know at the time). Basically in his mind, he must have decided he was the pack leader in our family and forever after if we challenged him on a behavior, he had a problem with it.

Now I didn't know anything about this Cesar Millan stuff prior to this experience because all my dogs growing up and especially Max were naturally submissive to me, so I never had to learn anything about the whole pack mentality, but thanks to our experience with Brock I read up on a lot of stuff like a fiend and I can tell you it's fascinating. Basically the literature says that a lot of undesirable behavior is a result of poor training, lack of exercise and a dog not knowing who is the pack leader in his household and therefore assuming that role, but since it is stressful to a dog to do this, he acts out in all kinds of ways (like incessant barking, jumping, growling, chewing etc.). It is basically like having high energy children who have no outlet for their boredom and run around in restaurants and interrupt people and jump on the furniture and the parents have no control over them - not just once in a while but all the time. I was never crazy about dogs with bad manners, those who pulled and strained on the leash and jumped and slobbered all over people but always thought the ones I saw walking calmly on the street beside their owners had all gone to expensive obedience school. Even Max was not the best behaved of dogs in that he constantly pulled during walks and would be over-excited when meeting people, pulling and straining and jumping to greet them, not crazy-like but excited. But he would always stop or calm down when we told him to, unlike Brock who would snarl at us.

To be continued
Mother-in-law jokes and puns
By Rina on November 18th, 2009

One has completely disappeared from the strip, and the other is used in very small portions!
New additions to the website!
By Rina on November 13th, 2009

We have created a mirror site in French for all our French readership. It might also be a great way for those learning le langage de l'amour to practice and compare the two comic strips!
Today is Remembrance Day
By Rina on November 11th, 2009

Please remember all the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedom and those who continue to do so. In particular, Daniel's grandfather, Arthur Shelton Sr. and his great-uncle Bill McDonald, who served in Europe in World War II, are remembered on this day.
Upcoming Event: Montreal Book Convention
By Rina on November 10th, 2009

Please join Daniel as he will be signing copies of his books at the Salon Du Livre de Montreal on November 20, 21 and 22. His schedule at Stand #100 is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 20: 8-9 pm
Saturday, Nov. 21: 2-3 pm
Sunday, Nov. 22: 12-1 pm
Eggs over hard
By Rina on November 9th, 2009

Today's comic strip reminds me a bit of how, when Daniel and I go out for breakfast, we always end up going to the same place and ordering the same thing. It's slightly embarrassing that the server doesn't even have to take our order of bacon and eggs (over hard, broken), potatoes, white toast and baked beans. She just sees us coming in, pours our coffee and rattles off our order. I always swear I'll order something different like bagels and smoked salmon or waffles and fresh fruit but we only go once a month (when the kids are in school) and it is such a routine that in the past when I've ordered something else I always wished (while I was eating) that I hadn't!

I think bacon is just too powerful a food to ignore.

But it is alarming when I find myself stuck to a certain routine like that. Daniel doesn't care, he's been an old soul since he was born, but I feel more like that Joe Jackson song "Nineteen Forever" (if you've not heard it, give it a listen - it's a great song). I sometimes try to fight the routine thing just for the principle of it, it's good to shake things up and get out of our comfort zone, right? I'm tempted to do something totally different at the hairdresser or to dress in a completely different way. (In the end I always chicken out.) But Daniel has drily observed our whole lives are so unpredictable with the daily drama of four children, not to mention our careers not exactly being your standard 9-5 desk jobs, that we actually need all the routine and the dullness that comes with it that we can get. Of late I have been agreeing with this sentiment more and more so in the end it seems I too am a creature of habit.
VCR? What's that?
By Rina on November 6th, 2009

Yet another sign of how fast things change in 10 years - references to Angela Lansbury and the VCR in the last two comic strips! There was a time when you couldn't even escape hearing about the ubiquitous "Murder, She Wrote" and yet these days many people would probably say "Angela Who?". And of course the faithful VCR has gone the way of the landfill (although we've still got one of those DVD/VCR machines for all the old Disney tapes the kisd still enjoy). It really is freaky how dated certain things already seem and it's not really been that long ago.
How old are Ben and Olivia?
By Rina on November 3rd, 2009

Today's comic was created when Daniel wasn't yet certain how old his characters were. In fact, the first few months were uneven in terms of the references to hearing aids and other things that make Ben seem like he is in his late seventies, and yet Olivia is very active in her exercise classes. Later on, the Hatleys grew into the more contemporary figures they are now, although as Daniel's parents (the real-life influence behind the comic strip) grow older and less active, he has to be careful to remember that Ben and Olivia nevertheless stay at their age of early 60s.
Pictures from the Ottawa/Gatineau Comics Festival
By Rina on October 20th, 2009

Here is Daniel with Lynn Johnston of "For Better or For Worse" and Bertschy, a Swiss comic strip artist. They had a Q & A moderated by Hugues Beaudoin-Dumouchel.

(Photo : Marianne St-Jacques)


This smile is one of the reasons I married him!
Monday morning and all is well
By Rina on October 19th, 2009

After a crazy hectic weekend, it's very relaxing this morning, with Daniel and I working side by side on our own computers, Nelly at our feet and some classical music playing in the background. My weekend started at 5:30 am Saturday, waking up 8-year old Alec and getting him to his first hockey practice at 7 am with his new team (Novice B Predators). After that it was karate, selling popcorn for Scouts, and then a dentist's appointment, making sure Nelly was getting her walks throughout the day. I went to bed at 9 pm, very early for me. Sunday was just as busy so today I am taking a bit of a breather...

Daniel is off to another book signing in Sherbrooke
By Rina on October 15th, 2009

Daniel is off to another book signing tomorrow (this time in Sherbrooke, QC) and he hasn't managed yet to write down details about the previous one. I promise that sometime next week when we each have a breather we will tell you more about both weekends.

When Daniel has a 4 day work week (the book fair starts Friday), it's a little more challenging to manage his deadlines. Generally on Mondays he translates a week's worth of comics into French for all our French newspapers, answers fan mail and other correspondence like being invited as a guest speaker to certain events etc. and also deals with all the other BEN related things that come in (preparing and coloring comics that are appearing in magazines such as Le Bel Age and Good Times, or putting together strips for whatever upcoming book is about to be published). There are also other requests for permission to reprint comics from newsletters and book publishers.

Then on Tuesdays he writes ideas down, formulates sketches, preps his bristol boards and so on. He also collaborates on the website with me. He takes the rest of the days of the week to draw the comic strips and sends everything out on Friday. But when these events come up then there is that much less time to do everything. So more details to come!

Happy Thanksgiving in Canada!
By Rina on October 12th, 2009

I've never made a turkey in my life and don't know if I ever will. Roast chicken and ham seem to suit everyone just fine, and anyway we always have turkey for Christmas at Daniel's parents'.

Last night after Daniel arrived from Ottawa, he and the boys watched "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Darren McGavin is terrific (you loved him as the father in "A Christmas Story"). We also watched an episode of "The Waltons", a show I find is quite underrated. I know it won all these Emmys early on but now might be considered too earnest for today's tastes yet this remains a fantastic family show and one I had never watched as a kid, thinking (wrongly, as it turns out) that it was melodramatic and pat. In fact I rather smugly made fun of Daniel when he told me it had been his favorite show growing up (whereas my favorite show was the utra sophisticated Knight Rider). I'm happy to be wrong about this one as the kids have gone through 4 seasons of DVDs now and keep asking for more.

Sorry for not updating the site Saturday!
By Rina on October 11th, 2009

Sorry for not updating the site Saturday! With Daniel gone it is more of a challenge than usual handling everything at home. More details on his weekend during the upcoming week.

Daniel is leaving for a book signing in Ottawa
By Rina on October 9th, 2009

Daniel is leaving for a book signing in Ottawa and the kids are all home from school because of a 4 day Thanksgiving weekend (in Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday in October). The house is crazy as usual with Daniel packing, doing a last-minute laundry, and the kids digging up our Halloween decorations.

As I sit typing this
By Rina on October 8th, 2009

As I sit typing this, one son is in the shower, Daniel has brought another son to a Scouts meeting, a third son is in his bedroom playing the guitar and our girl is lying on the floor with our new Great Dane, Nelly. It is a rainy evening and it has been a strange day of intermittent rain and sun so I got drenched earlier talking Nelly for a walk thinking it was safe to do so.

Nelly is a rescue dog and she is 8 months old; we found her at the pound three weeks ago. She was a stray someone had turned in and she was so skinny she looked like a greyhound, with all her ribs and the ridges on her spine showing. We've been feeding her 6-8 cups a day, trying to get some meat on her bones, and she's looking less like a greyhound these days but still quite thin. She's a great girl, amazing temperament and all. Long story to how and why we got a Great Dane which I will save for another time!

Hello everyone!
By Rina on October 7th, 2009

Hello everyone! The re-launching of this website has been a long time coming and the only good reason I can give for not having done it sooner is simply lack of time. Besides helping Daniel with "BEN", I have my own career as an artist and currently am a letterer for Japanese manga (working from a script, I retouch the original Japanese comics, creating dialogue and sound-effects for the English publications). Before that I was working in an ad agency doing web design and writing and drawing a monthly comic book for the chain of restaurants called Bob's Big Boy.

The past 16 years have been very full indeed. We have four children ages 4-16 and throughout it all Daniel has managed to produce "BEN" six days a week for the past 13 years. Newspapers are in decline so the web is the best way to reach our readers everywhere who have been faithfully following "Ben" as well as the new readers we hear from every day. Hopefully this website will be a place where we can be more in touch with you on a daily basis with our thoughts and anecdotes. We absolutely love feedback so please send us your comments. This website is a work in progress and I am working on adding more links and information but in the meantime wanted to get this up and running.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy the comics in our archives section. We'll be adding more content to that as well. Take care and happy reading!

BEN copyright 2010 Daniel Shelton, Distributed by MWAM
Website design Lorina Mapa