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For Better or For Worse is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston which began in 1979.
Set in the fictitious Toronto suburb of Millborough, Ontario, the strip chronicles the lives of a Canadian family and their friends. The father, John Patterson (born 17 February 1949), is a dentist whose hobby is model railroading; he appears less often than the mother, Elly (born 26 August 1951), a housewife turned toy store-owner. The happy couple have three children:
- Michael, born 28 April 1976
- married to pharmacist Deanna, born 13 December 1976
- daughter named Meredith, born 10 October 2002
- new baby boy named Robin Michael, born 1 November 2004
- Elizabeth, a teacher, born 26 April 1981
- April, a teenaged daughter, born 1 April 1991
The strip also features Elly's father, Jim Richards (born 21 March 1921), and his second-wife, Iris (born 19 May 1926).
The characters age in real time; fans have been known to express surprise and dismay at passing time in the story, such as "Michael is married?! He can't be that old!"
Some of the comic's characters were based upon Johnston's real family. However, the characters are substantially different from her real family. When her children were younger, she asked their permission before depicting events from their lives; and she only once used a "serious" story from their lives. [1] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14846-2004Oct7.html)
Past Storylines
In the comic's three decades, the strip has featured a variety of storylines, as the characters and their friends age. These include Elly's return to the paid workforce, John's mid-life crisis, the birth of a friend's six-fingered daughter, friends' divorces, the coming out of Michael's best friend (Lawrence), and the death of Elly's mother.
Current Storylines
Storylines sometimes concern the Pattersons dealing with difficult acquaintances such as Kortney, who worked for Elly; Becky, April's vain friend and bandmate in 4-Evah; and Therese, the wife of Elizabeth's friend Anthony, who seemingly resents Elizabeth's presence. Deanna's squabbling parents, Wilf and Mira, are recurring characters.
Unconventional Comic Storylines
Since the comic happens in "real time", at one point it became apparent that the Patterson's first dog, Farley, was starting to get fairly old. When he was fourteen years old, Farley saved April from drowning in a nearby stream. Unfortunately Farley's heart could not take the shock of the cold water, or the exertion of saving April from the water, and Farley passed away. Very few comics have main characters die. In FBOFW, the realism demands it.
In recent years, the strip has tackled more sensitive issues. The 1994 story on Lawrence's coming out generated controversy, with some readers threatening to cancel newspaper subscriptions. About 100 newspapers ran replacement strips or cancelled the comic. Three years later, Lawrence introduced his boyfriend and another uproar ensued.
During second-year university, Elizabeth moved in with her boyfriend, Eric. She maintained her own bedroom. Elizabeth later broke up with Eric when she found out he was cheating on her.
In January 2005, For Better or For Worse hinted that April's friend Becky, a 14-year-old, was sexually active. Subsequent episodes deal with Becky's rejection by the older boy.
Distribution
The strip is now seen in over two thousand newspapers throughout Canada, the United States, and about twenty other countries and translated into eight different languages.
It is now an animated series broadcast on Canada's Teletoon.
External links
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