For Better or For Worse: Stop!

In today's strip, what made Elizabeth stop the limousine on the way to her wedding?

Did she see her Uncle Phil leave the hospital?

(Did Warren's helicopter just land?)

It looks like Elizabeth is going to figure out by herself what's going on with Grandpa Jim. I like that.

Update:
Based on Thursday's strip, I see I was completely wrong about this one. Yes, obviously, I knew that in Wednesday's strip Liz was yelling at the kids to stop because they were driving her nuts. But, there was such an intensity in her expression (beyond even wedding day jitters), that I thought the "Stop!" was more than just a punchline and was a set-up for the next day's strip. Plus, Tuesday's strip had been about Uncle Phil leaving the hospital. So I thought it was likely that they passed the hospital on the way to the wedding and Liz was going to figure out what was going on with her grandfather.

Ah, well.

For Better or For Worse: Grandpa Jim

Please forgive the lack of posting I've been doing as I finish up graduate school (only 3 more days left!) But I wanted to take a quick break from working on finals to ask what everyone thinks about the latest development in For Better or For Worse.

Quick update if you haven't been following it lately. The current storyline is ending on August 31st (see this article for more details). We're in the middle of Elizabeth and Anthony's wedding, which was moved up so that Grandpa Jim would be alive to see it. And then, on Saturday, August 16, here's the strip that ran.

So, what do you think? Is he going to make it? Are they going to move the wedding to the hospital? Will Liz be told about what's going on before or after the wedding? Is Grandpa Jim still going to be with us when the current timeline ends on August 31st? Leave a comment or vote in the new poll (or do both.)

For Better or For Worse: the end is coming

Lynn Johnston addressed a few recent reader comments about For Better or For Worse on her blog yesterday. What interested me most was this quote: "I have a limited time left here and every strip, now, is a statement that leads to the August 30th conclusion."

I think that's the first time I've seen a definite date for the end of the strip. Until now, I've just heard that it will end no later than September. Although, as I understand it, For Better or For Worse won't really end... it's just the current storyline in the present day with Liz, Anthony, Grandpa Jim, etc. that will conclude on August 30.

For Better or For Worse update

Whenever I do a post on For Better or For Worse, I tend to get a lot of reactions. I think there's a lot more people out there who follow this comic strip than I realize.

For all of you who do, see this article from Editor and Publisher about where the strip is headed.

Here's a quote:
"The current plan: Continue tying up loose ends with various "FBorFW" characters (a process that's taking longer than Johnston expected). Then, no later than this September, freeze all these cast members in time. After that, the 1979-launched comic will focus on the younger versions of the characters. But that doesn't mean the post-September strips will consist entirely of rerun material. Johnston plans to change various elements of the comics, create new story lines, etc. -- but do all that in the drawing style she used to have. "

What do I think? I love the strip. I really do. But I don't think it's the kind of comic strip that successfully works in reruns (even if there's new material, there will still be an awful lot of reruns). It isn't a timeless comic strip. The characters in FBOFW age and grow and develop. To see them at the beginning of this process doesn't work so well. I own almost all of the later books and collections but not the ones from the earlier years. Those stories just aren't as interesting to me.

Also, Lynn Johnston has really grown as an artist and as a storyteller. Her art has become increasingly complex. I like her current drawing style much, much better than her old one. I find when the strips from 20 years ago are inserted (as they currently are every few weeks), they really fall flat. (See today's strip for an example of the old drawing style). They just can't compare to the newer strips, and they're pretty painful to read.

You would think that I'd be a perfect audience for the old strips. They're about raising young children (and I'm the parent of a young child). But the FBOFW jokes are dated and more one dimensional than in later strips. For parenting humor, I'd rather turn to current strips like The Pajama Diaries which represent issues and situations much closer to the ones I'm dealing with.

So, as much as I love FBOFW, it's okay with me if Lynn Johnston retires. I'd rather have her end the strip gracefully than to re-work all the old material that's best left alone in collections. I read FBOFW because of the character development, and without that, it just doesn't work for me.

What do you think? Vote in the poll on the sidebar or leave a comment.

For Better or For Worse: Update

There's a plot development over at For Better or For Worse today. Warning: this storyline contains a large degree of Liz and Anthony mushiness.

Two comments:
Doesn't Anthony look odd in the fourth panel?

Why do so many important scenes with Elizabeth seem to happen in the car?

For Better or For Worse hodgepodge

I've been posting fairly sparingly about comic strips on this blog... but it is one of the three primary subjects of Wizards Wireless, so I think it needs a mite more attention.

Let me start with a bit more focus on For Better or Worse.

• It's a very popular and well-known strip drawn by Canadian author Lynn Johnston. It appears in roughly a gazillion newspapers and garners more attention and fans than most daily strips because the characters age and develop. Recently, the author has decided to stop aging the characters and run repeats of strips originally published decades ago.... see my previous posts about this comic strip.

• I've been having a lovely discussion in the comments of this post about For Better or For Worse with Liz of A Chair, A Fire Place and A Tea Cozy. Liz said the following: "I have to say, I love finding another person who is obsessed with the FBFW soap opera!" Liz, I love it too. In fact, it's inspired me to post more about FBoFW and other developments in comic strips I follow.

• Quick explanation of the acronyms: For Better or For Worse is abbreviated in a variety of ways... I typically use FBoFW. Others use FBFW. Lynn Johnston uses FBorFW, as evidenced that the strip's website is http://www.fborfw.com.

• Incidentally, if you read For Better or For Worse regularly, I highly recommend joining the Yahoo Group FBOFW: The For Better of Worse Forum.

• And, here's my reaction to the FBoFW strip for Monday, December 17th: That's it? She just left the cliffhanger from last week? Now I've got to read about holiday baking when I'm dying to know about Anthony, Therese's, Elizabeth's and Francie's reactions? At least the strip is still in the present tense, though.
  

• Out of curiosity, I've added a poll to the sidebar to see how many people who read this blog also read FBoFW or if it's just Liz and I.

• If you are a regular reader of FBoFW (or however you wish to acronym it), what are your thoughts about the recent developments in the past two years or so?

For Better or For Worse... now it's getting interesting

After weeks of slogging through old For Better or For Worse comic strips from years past, it's a relief to have the action back in the present (at least for the moment). And Lynn Johnston certainly livened things up with today's strip. I can't wait to see where this storyline is going.

Update: Hmmm... didn't go quite where I expected, at least not yet. I thought there would be a confrontation between Therese and Elizabeth, not between Therese and Francie. I'll just have to wait and see. If you want to see the comic strips I'm referring to... Friday's is here and Saturday's is here.

For Better or For Worse: Uh-oh

After several weeks of strips from the past, For Better or For Worse jumped back into the present tense today with a major cliffhanger.

Update: The resolution to the cliffhanger is in Thursday's strip.

For Better or For Worse: The hybrid begins

The new For Better or For Worse has arrived. Lynn Johsnton refers to it as a hybrid strip- because it's a combination of old and new material. There's more information about the strip's new format in this post and this one.

The best way to check out the hybrid is on the For Better or For Worse official site, starting with Monday, September 3rd. If you haven't visited the FBoFW website lately, it's well worth taking a look at Coffee Talk... a new blog featuring letters from readers.

Originally Lynn announced that the hybrid would take over completely in September 2007 but now it appears that the new content isn't ending for a few more months. Lynn just gave a very revealing new interview in Editor & Publisher: "End of Marriage Leads to New Content in Revamped Strip" where she discusses how changes in her personal life altered her original plan. There's also another article (with less detail) in the Kansas City Star.

I realize that For Better or For Worse isn't autobiographical- but in some way I feel I have followed a chronicle of Lynn and Rod's marriage for two decades through reading the strip.... so the Editor & Publisher article was pretty heartbreaking to read. I have to admit, though, it explains a lot of what's been going on in the strip... particularly the storylines involving Paul and Anthony.

So, what do you think of the hybrid strip? See the new poll.

For better? or for worse?

So, here we are... a few short weeks until the end of For Better or For Worse as we know it. In September Lynn Johnston is starting the hybrid strip which will include scenes and characters from many years ago. See this post for more information about it.

There is an excellent interview with Lynn Johnston in the Patriot News that's worth reading because it's very current and mentions how Elizabeth's storyline will be continued. She also admits that it's been tough writing the small children and teenagers in the strip.

I have to say that I'm going to miss the strip when it's gone. I'm not sure yet if the hybrid will work for me.... I'm reserving judgement on that until I see it. Whatever else fans and critics have to say about it (and there's been a lot said recently) I think that For Better or For Worse has been unique on the comics page for many years and it's the one I'm the most curious about every morning. It's been the only comic strip where characters really change and develop (whether we like what they develop into is an entirely different matter). And I think the reason that there has been so much angst about the plot is that it's one of the few strips that has content that can really be discussed and analyzed.

My hope is that there's a new comic strip writer out there who is inspired to really explore their characters in the way Johnston has... and that there is a syndicate that is willing to sign them, newspapers that will take on a new strip, and readers that will give them a chance. Now, that's a strip I can't wait to read.

UPDATE: It seems that the published interview with Lynn Johnston was only a small portion of the entire interview. The journalist who did the interview has posted the entire thing on his blog. It's fantastic and much better than the shortened interview. To read the unabridged version, go to Chris Mautner's blog. Thank you, Pirate Ninja Mommy for the heads up!!

For Better or For Worse

Grad Girl commented on my earlier "What's this blog about?" post... "What happened with For Better or For Worse? I haven't read the comics in a while...I'm curious to know."

(By the way, it's so exciting to get comments! It means people are actually reading what I have to say.)

So what's going on with For Better or For Worse these days?
Well, for one thing, it's ending in a few months... well, kind-of-sort ending. See this interview from Editor and Publisher for more details. Basically, Lynn Johnston is pseudo-retiring.... the strip will continue, but the aging of the characters (which is one of the most interesting and unique parts) will freeze.

So, why is this a big deal in the comic strip world? Because it seems that the author is trying to wrap up ALL the storylines in the next few months, and the results are a bit stilted and awkward.... particularly what's going on with Elizabeth. There's been a lot of angst on the For Better or For Worse unofficial listserv and a lot of frustration among fans to see the protagonists forced in to happily ever after endings.

If you haven't read it recently.... it's worth catching up with it... because it looks like a major plot development is (inevitably) happening this week. There's a pretty extensive archive at the For Better or Worse website. By the way, if you do go the website- check out the John's Coffee Break game.... which may be one of the most addicting games ever, apart from Tetris.