There’s been much speculation about when Lynn Johnston would begin the new hybrid format of old/new “For Better Or For Worse” strips. Turns out it’s coming a lot sooner than many thought. Like Sept. 3 soon. Daily Cartoonist has the details:
Lynn Johnston’s popular comic strip “For Better or For Worse” begins a new phase Monday, Sept. 3, as character Michael Patterson looks through a family photo album with his 5-year-old daughter, Meredith. With this strip, Michael begins retelling the Patterson family story by recounting the courtship of his parents, John and Elly, the central characters in the 28-year-old comic strip read by millions each day.
[snip]
Johnston will keep fans engaged with a mix of special strips from the past and newly drawn panels that will help reintroduce favorite storylines. The strip’s current storyline will be interlaced with Michael’s remembrances until it gradually reaches a natural closing stage sometime early next year. When that happens, time will stop for the extended Patterson family, but not their stories. The stories will be relived by a current generation of fans and introduced for the first time to a new generation.
The news that it’s ramping up so soon took me (and I imagine a few others) by surprise since Johnston seemed to indicate that she felt she wasn’t done wrapping up the much-debated romance between daughter Elizabeth and childhood boyfriend Anthony. Apparently that just means she’s going to have the new strips continue the main storyline, and not be stand-alone gag strips, as they will eventually become.
Editor and Publisher also has a nice article up on the announcement as well.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pm
I don’t get this part. Does that mean after a year the strip is essentially over and they’ll just be running old ones similar to what Peanuts is doing now?
“When that happens, time will stop for the extended Patterson family, but not their stories. The stories will be relived by a current generation of fans and introduced for the first time to a new generation.”
August 31st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
It’s going to be a little bit of both. Mostly reruns, interspersed with new strips by Johnston. She’ll be freezing the characters’ ages though, and won’t be doing any more lengthy storylines.
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