For Better or For Worse is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston that ran
originally from 1979 to 2008 chronicling the lives of the Patterson
family and their friends, in the town of Milborough, a fictitious
suburb of Toronto, Ontario. Now running as reruns, For Better or For
Worse is still seen in over 2,000 newspapers throughout Canada, the
United States and about 20 other countries.Johnston's strip began in
September 1979, and ended its original daily black-and-white run on
August 30, 2008, with a postscript epilogue (as a full-colour Sunday
strip) running the following day. Starting on September 1, 2008, the
strip began re-telling its original story, using a mixture of straight
reruns and retouched strips which featured altered dialogue. This new
format, however, was dropped after less than two years and in July
2010, the strip switched entirely to reruns (with some minor
alterations). The strips seen in papers in 2016 were originally from
1987.A signature element of For Better or For Worse during its
original run was that the characters aged in real time. The strip's
title is a reference to the marriage service found in the Anglican
Book of Common Prayer as well as in the wedding ceremonies of other
faith traditions:Johnston's work on the comic strip earned her a
Reuben Award in 1985 and made her a nominated finalist for a Pulitzer
Prize in editorial cartooning in 1994. The strip led the Friends of
Lulu to add Johnston to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. In
the same year, Will Eisner described For Better Or Worse as "the best
strip around currently," saying "It's humane, human, it has humor to
it, and good artwork."
originally from 1979 to 2008 chronicling the lives of the Patterson
family and their friends, in the town of Milborough, a fictitious
suburb of Toronto, Ontario. Now running as reruns, For Better or For
Worse is still seen in over 2,000 newspapers throughout Canada, the
United States and about 20 other countries.Johnston's strip began in
September 1979, and ended its original daily black-and-white run on
August 30, 2008, with a postscript epilogue (as a full-colour Sunday
strip) running the following day. Starting on September 1, 2008, the
strip began re-telling its original story, using a mixture of straight
reruns and retouched strips which featured altered dialogue. This new
format, however, was dropped after less than two years and in July
2010, the strip switched entirely to reruns (with some minor
alterations). The strips seen in papers in 2016 were originally from
1987.A signature element of For Better or For Worse during its
original run was that the characters aged in real time. The strip's
title is a reference to the marriage service found in the Anglican
Book of Common Prayer as well as in the wedding ceremonies of other
faith traditions:Johnston's work on the comic strip earned her a
Reuben Award in 1985 and made her a nominated finalist for a Pulitzer
Prize in editorial cartooning in 1994. The strip led the Friends of
Lulu to add Johnston to the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002. In
the same year, Will Eisner described For Better Or Worse as "the best
strip around currently," saying "It's humane, human, it has humor to
it, and good artwork."
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.