Reply #1: For Better or For Worse went into recycling with a twist [View All]

[LynneSin]

I was a big fan of FBOFW because the cartoonist, Lynn Johnston, was not afraid to take risks with her strip. Although he wasn't one of the core family members, one of the son's best friends came out of the closet. She even made a few jabs at the current wars (although Grandpa Jim was a WWII veteran for the Canadian RAF), dealt with an almost rape and a few other risky subjects. I thought she handled them all really well while aging the characters in real time.

It was about 2 years ago that she decided to semi-retire. She ended the strip with Elizabeth marrying her geeky childhood sweetheart Anthony and did a final 'flash forward' Sunday strip that reminded you something out of the finale of "Six Feet Under". Then she decided to restart the strip from the beginning but she said she would tweak some of the storylines to match the way the family turned out and do some colorization (original strips are in B&W).

Honestly, I was really digging the old FBOFW because I liked the adult story lines but since she has retired I have no desire to read about baby Mike and baby Elizabeth again. So I quit reading it as part of my morning comics.

My morning read includes:
Doonesbury
Funky Winkerbean (which has replaced FBOFW as that 'family-oriented' strip that tackles tough issues)
Mutts
Jump Start (this looks to be in the same line of FBOFW although their 4 kids are still young but the author ages them)

And sometimes I will read classic Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes.