Commentary by Kevin McShane

This was the first of what would become somewhat of a tradition in the Toupydoops strip: The Valentine’s Day strip. Toupy is a romantic to the core, and these strips were always the most fun to work on.

The second panel remains one of my favorite Toupy drawings of all time.

This strip marked the beginning of the “Toupy Loves L.E.” subplot. A plot that turned off nearly ALL of the strip’s few readers. It took me a while to realize it, but people at Oberlin just didn’t want to read comics about love. They wanted to read comics about themselves. Seriously. That’s how self-absorbed they are.

This first Valentine’s Day strip was the most upbeat of all the Valentine’s Day strips. As you’ll see, they get increasingly depressing as the years go on.

Kinda like my Valentine’s Days. . .

-K