by Lucinda Witherspoon Joyner

Created on: January 29, 2009

For Better or For Worse is a comic strip created in 1979 by Lynn Johnston. The strip details the life of the fictional Patterson family, who are loosely based on Ms. Johnston's own family. Though Ms. Johnston threatened retirement in September 2008, the strip still continues today though it has gone back to its original format to give Lynn a chance to reuse older strips and develop her original characters more. Even though it is a pleasure revisiting the older strips and seeing what other character details Ms. Johnston adds, it was sad when she ended her "newer" content which, essentially, froze all her current characters in time (she did, though, reveal what each main character future life would be in her last strip on August 30, 2008.)

Most of the strip seems to be related through Elly Patterson, wife and mother, and her everyday issues with her family which consists of her husband John and children, Michael and Elizabeth. Another child, April, was added in 1991 to fulfill Ms. Johnston's desire to have another baby. Over the years, fans of the strip have watched the major and minor happenings in the lives of the Pattersons and their close family and friends. Some events have been met with joy, like the addition of their dog Farley and the birth of April. Some have been met with sadness: the death of Elly's mother Marion and the death of their beloved and heroic dog Farley. There have even been some controversial times such as the "coming out" of Michael's childhood friend Lawrence and Elizabeth's near rape at the hands of a coworker. Through it all, the Patterson's and their creator dealt with those events in just about the same ways a real person would: with tears, laughter, and dignity.

Some may think FBoFW is out dated but I feel it is still relatable, especially with regards to the antics of the children. Ms. Johnston has gone out of her way to make her characters seem like real people to the point that some people even debate about what they like and don't like about the characters' antics. This is by far one of the best comic strips out there and I feel you won't be disappointed by reading it. You can check it out on www.gocomics.com or go straight to the strip's website, www.fbofw.com. If you have never read this strip before, I'd suggest you start with the strip's website so you can see archived strips back to at least 2003. Lynn Johnston also has about thirty For Better or For Worse books so new readers can see earlier strips. Although the new content has stopped in For Better or For Worse land, I am still taking extreme pleasure reading, or re-reading, Lynn Johnston's comic.

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