A Look Inside For Better or For Worse : The 10th Anniversary Collection

For Better or For Worse

by Lynn Johnston, Velda Johnston

Lynn Johnston's own family bears an uncanny resemblance to the fictional Patterson family. In A Look Inside For Better or For Worse you'll find the evolution of Lynn Johnston's strip. From the turmoils of toddlerhood to the shock of "a teenager in the house," For Better or For Worse presents a decade of entertainment.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comic Strips, Graphic Novels Comics, Comedy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Lynn Johnston CM OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first female cartoonist to win the Reuben Award.

Reviews

[Book2Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my top 5 comics. Sadly, she retired, but her books are a treasure. This is based more or less on her real family. Just precious.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming out in 1989 with strips from mid 88 through mid 89. For the tenth anniversary of the strip, the annual had twice the page count of the usual annual and included a mini-bio by Johnston giving the background of how she got into cartooning and eventually was approached to do a daily strip. It also included a selection of Sunday strips which, at 128 strips, was longer and also much better than the two Sunday collections that had previously been issued – they were from the early seasons of the strip and over time the strip really improved.

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is it--the big, 10th Anniversary extravaganza. Not only do you get a year's worth of For Better or For Worse strips; not only do you get an extra collection of favorite Sunday strips (in full color!); but you also get an illustrated essay chronicling the life of Lynn Johnston and the genesis of For Better or For Worse. ... Um, it's really more interesting than it sounds. Okay, maybe you need to be a cartoonist groupie or something. Well, I am, sort of, so I enjoyed it. So have my kids, as is evidenced by all of the pages which have broken free of the binding. Ah, well. When my siblings and I moved out of the house, my parents celebrated by buying new furniture and doing some remodeling. When our kids move out, I think I'm going to replace all the books they've worn out and maybe add a few more bookshelves. But I digress. In this collection, the Patterson kids have yet to move out. Michael is only turning thirteen, after all. In this collection, he seems to take center stage in the strip as we're treated to his first romance and all the social games of junior high school. Ah, thank God I don't have to go though that again...

[Adrian Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always thought of the Pattersons as the neighbors. I started reading the strip when I was a kid and was faithful to the end. I have the entire collection and I read it every few years. It's a classic!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

also contains "A Teenage in the Lane"

[Emily Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great installment of FBorFW. I love her intro that gives tips to budding cartoonists, even though it's not an interest you catch her excitement.

[Leslie McWilliams Marcy]

Michael takes center stage, 13, in middle school, first girlfriend.