Lynn Johnston For Better Or For Worse Views

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The Patterson family will live no longer on the comics page of this or any newspaper. Lynn Johnston will stop telling the tale of the family, their friends, neighbors and pets after 28 years. It's like losing a good friend. For Better or Worse is coming to an end. And, it's hard to accept "lynn johnston for better or for worse

Lynn Johnston won a Gemini Award for the comic strip, was inducted into the Order of Canada, became the first woman to win a Reuben for Outstanding Cartoonist and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize (for her controversial storyline about Lawrence, the gay son of Elly's friend). The death of the familiar, playful, family dog, Farley, had to have created a hole in the hearts of readers. (Apparently, Charles Schultz threatened to knock off Snoopy if Johnston didnt bring Farley back).

In the concluding strip in today's paper, the Patterson family takes its leave as Iris offers her view of life and marriage to the next generation, the newly-weds, Elizabeth, Elly and John Patterson's daughter, and her husband, Anthony. She talks of her role in helping her husband, Elizabeth's grandfather, in his final days and says ..We made a commitment, just as you did today, and although it's not easy...it's a promise that should last a lifetime. It defines you as a person and describes your soul. It's a promise to be there, one for the other, no matter what happens, no matter who falls....For better or for worse, my dears....for better or for worse.

Um, not true. Lynn Johnston's letter to her readers states: For Better or For Worse begins again on September the 1st with new material, new art and new enthusiasm! Without the need to visit all of the auxiliary characters, I can concentrate once again on the insular little Patterson household...I can fix what I don't like about my early work as I add and subtract...redraw and just improve everything. The Ledger made their own decision to drop the strip: We view this juncture as the part of the movie where the credits start to roll. Diehard fans might stay in their seats, ready to view it all over again from the beginning. We, however, will take this cue to leave the theatre. (FBOFW will still appear in the Sunday funnies).