For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 10, 2024

And maybe a hair cut, too.

I’m glad this sort of thing is gone.

And he will look more presentable for his next girlfriend.

Tell her to shove her job.

Yea, he’s starting to look like the Wolfman

Mike, right now you’re the new kid. When you have established yourself then you are able to call the shots on how you look.

Shaving brings more experience

Just shave the beard, Mike. The ’stache alone will make you look mature and distinguished. BTW, is that Jean or Rhetta driving the car?

And also to brush my teeth

“And also… I need to start using deodorant..”

About time

Well, of course, the editor is a woman. If it were a man there’d be no problem. Women have been brought up to care about appearance far more than men. I wonder what the family would say if he were a girl going out in a low cut dress or three buttons undone on a shirt? They’d be told to mind their own busines. Then again, this strip is kinda old; today (male or female) the real problem would be the tattooes on the arms and neck! And legs (if the girl is wearing a skirt). HORRIBLE!

And change your shirt.

Kind of a shame this hatred about Mike’s beard. To me he reminds me of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. Henson’s appearance never affected his creativity or work.

Beards are a personal thing. Men get them for many reasons. I’ve had mine, in various styles, for more than 50 years. Without it I wouldn’t be me.

Do it.

NO ONE an afford to tell an employer to shove it where the sun don’t shine. Try finding a job that pays enough to cover the bills. Few and far between.

Then why were we created to have facial hair? Hmmmm. I say it’s ok to have a beard, as long as it is kept nice.

Lynn’s Comments:

I wasn’t planning to give in to the readers who were begging me to remove Mike’s beard…but Mike’s opportunity to do some professional work begged the question, “Would an employer be more likely to hire him with or without the beard?”

Ha ha Mike no one likes your stinky beard.

How about this for tommorow’s strip?

Michael is standing in front of a mirror with a can of Barbasol

Michael: So long, beard. We have had some good memories together.

Flashbacks triggered to the song Memories, Light the Corner of Your Mind

April giggles as Michael rubs his beard on her tummy; i.e. “mustache kisses”

Michael and Weed are with other kids at a student riot. Bearded Michael throws rocks at a police car

Michael with his beard give Farley a goodbye pat on the head

POP !

Sometimes it’s easier to hear it from someone outside the family.

I remember being young and stupid. The desire to look cool at polar opposites with the desire to be treated as a mature adult. Fond memories.

Our appearance tells other people who we are on the inside. Actions speak louder than words.

O.J. Simpson wore a suit to court.

“You have to dress for the job you want, not the job you currently have.” -Bernie Mac

You’ll be fine! Just leave a week’s worth of stubble as most of the big names do, these days.

In the late 70s, early 80s, I had a friend at the NY Daily News. He told me that beards were allowed at the New York Times, no problem- but at the Daily News, men were expected to have a clean shave. Maybe a mustache, but that was all.

Beard, mustache and long hair are just fine, even in a business environment, but they should all still be kept trimmed and neat.

He looks like a hobo so not surprised.

Call HR! That’s HARASSMENT!!!!!!!! /s

When he has a public job, shave. Grow a beard when he wants to write the great American novel

Here’s a little hint, Michael. Get a professional haircut and beard trim. If you had shown up looking classy and neat, the editor would have been impressed rather than disgusted. People do judge a book by its cover.

Why is Michael talking to the Grim Reaper in panel 4? Don’t kill yourself Michael. Just shave.

just “tidy it up,” Mike (as my mother used to say)

After the shave, Elly doesn’t recognize him and demands to see some ID

At least then they won’t make the check out to Uncle Phil!

My thoughts on this, Mike needs to dress for the position, Even to Shave. I always applied with suit and tie, and shaved face no matter what the job. Also put in 40 years with the USAF, so naturally full uniform and a clean shave. When I retired, I tried the unshaven idea, but like “an old dog” could not learn a new trick. I did let my hair grow slightly long (still do because I still have hair….some my age are not so lucky.)

I’m 71 and I work as a news producer at the local ABC affiliate. I spent 10 years producing television commercial, 15 years producing media for the U. S. Army and I worked for McGraw-Hill for several years. I have always had a beard and pony-tail, kept trimmed neatly.

Thank god, shave already!

At least look neater.

I’ve always liked beards and mustaches and longer hair on men, but Mike’s is drawn to be a bit shaggy – on purpose for the storyline, I imagine.

Several people Mike knows: Told you so!

Times have changed now, obviously. Not uncommon to have bosses with beards and exposed tattoos in the office.

that’s just the way it is

Mike’s scruffy and unkempt beard shows a lack of professionalism, thus inpunes his ability to be an efficient an professional news reporter as well. Appearances matter.

Walt Disney had an explicit dress code for employees, and an unwritten one for Disneyland guests. Employees/cast could have NO facial hair, even though Disney himself had a trim moustache. The employee code was changed in 2000 to allow neatly-trimmed facial hair. The unwritten prohibition on long hair on men was eased in the early 70’s.

Remember Rule #1 Michael. Don’t Freak out the Straights ! ;-)

Because you look like a bum, Mike. A neatly-trimmed beard is fine. A bush that looks like overgrown weeds is neither flattering (especially on such a young guy!), nor professional.

I had figured the strip would end like this:

Michael had held his ground and said he did not care about his appearance. As such, his family dropped the matter. Michael won awards in journalism, showing credibility came from what he could do, not what he appeared to be. But he was beginning to tire of his long beard which seemed to double in length every year and get caught up in everything

Shave time!

Imitating electric razor noise

Would you like a piece of advice, Darling?…Lose the beard… With it, you look like a Dirty Wizard..a homeless Santa….

Duh!

When i was about Michael’s age here, i let my beard grow out. It was bushy red & grey. i kept it about 3 or 4 months over winter, and only had one person tell me that i “looked like hell”, although folks who said anything at all tended to say it looked okay. i didn’t let it get raggedy, but i got very tired of it once spring arrived & i wanted to feel the wind on my face again. i don’t miss it.

I spent most of my 40+ working life at small and mid-sized newspapers starting in the early 80s and in my experience, editors and publishers required males to wear a tie. Jeans were OK. No sneakers though. Hair/ facial hair were personal choice. Females weren’t supposed to wear anything too revealing and don’t recall that ever being an issue except for one instance about 10 years ago when a sales guy complained about a saleswoman wearing tights in the office because it gave him “impure thoughts” ( this was in Southern Baptist territory). The company promptly updated its dress code to prohibit them.As someone who graduated from reporter to editor with responsibility to hire and train young reporters, my No. 1 priority was finding and nurturing people with talent. You would be shocked at how many college graduates with journalism degrees I’ve encountered – especially during the past decade – who had no aptitude whatsoever. I used to wonder ( tongue in cheek) “ were they just handing out degrees that day?”I wouldn’t care if someone came in with hair down to his his/ her/their knees and covered in ink. If they are smart, can write well enough, not afraid to work hard and have the requisite curiosity and critical thinking capacity, welcome aboard. One quick anecdote: I had a prospective reporter, recent grad, a young woman in her 20s, show up to the interview essentially wearing lingerie. She wasn’t hired because she didn’t do well on the writing test and test story. If she did have aptitude, I would have suggested that see through clothes would not be considered appropriate. Upper management would have seriously questioned my judgment otherwise.Clearly things have changed drastically since I entered the workforce and let’s be realistic: Gen Z has come of age and it’s their turn to write the rules.

Before any snarky comments about typos roll in, I tapped that out with one finger while cradling a Chihuahua with a sick tummy…