Customer Reviews

The Lives Behind the Lines: 20 Years of For Better or For Worse

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I found this book, I at first thought that it might be an autobiography of sorts of the Johnston family. I wasn't thrilled, but I love For Better or For Worse so much, that anything about the comic strip will interest me. What I found was a treasure, not an autobiography, but a volume on the autobiographical Pattersons, including a discussion about the evolution of the strip, an examination of the major characters and their friends, and a synopsis of events that occurred to the Pattersons prior to the first strip published 21 years ago. Ms. Johnston does an admirable job of showing how she has developed characters that often seem so real that I now think of them as members of my family. I learned things that I have missed through the years, including Connie's South American adventure which resulted in the birth of Lawrence. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Pattersons, Lynn Johnston, and For Better or For Worse.

This book really fills in the details (with words and new drawings) that Lynn Johnston could not squeeze into a daily comic strip. For example, I learned a lot about Elly's past, how she and John met, more about Lawrence's 'coming out' situation, and what she sees for the future of these characters. Every major character in the show is given this "behind the scenes" treatment, which is great (I never knew the entire history of Elly's best friend Connie, for example). Of course, there are lots of old cartoon strips where appropriate -- but this is much more than a book full of cartoon strips. My only "complaint" is that there is no table of contents for the characters and things are not necessarily in chronological order. When I wanted to look up info on a particular character or situation, I'd have to flip through the pages for a while.

"For Better or For Worse" is not a typical comic strip; the characters get older, some die, some get new friends; it is an ongoing saga about life. Lynn's work can be outrageously funny, sad and, as some other reviewers have pointed out, schmaltzy.

I have tried to read the strip every day since I first discovered it (twenty years ago). I can't guarantee a belly laugh every day, but you will think about the characters and worry about them. This is the difference between FBOFW and other strips - who cares about Dilbert or BC?

Even with my long history with the strip, this introduction to the characters was perfect to reflect on what has happened and who all the characters (some of whom don't show up for months on end). In the book Lynn says she has more story lines than panels to hold them - let's hope this is true for a very long time.

I started reading For Better or for Worse close to twenty years ago. It has always kept my interest as well as that of my wife and two children. Mike is one year older than our son and Lizzie is one year younger than our daughter so we can identify with much of the strip. As in real life the actions of some of the characters irritate us at times but overall we look at them as family. Even April has worked her way into our hearts.

Going through this book was almost akin to looking at an old family album. You know the characters but forgot where they came from. My personal favorite was the bylines on Mrs. Dingle. Connie's mis/adventures, Lawrence's dilemma, Gordo & Tracy, the Enjos and many more I'm not mentioning here help make this the finest written cartoon I've ever followed.

I realize that Ms. Johnston will be pulling the plug on this series at some time. I certainly hope it's a long time before she does. If in fact she retires from the strip before I permanently retire I want to say thank you for all the years of laughter and sometimes tears. I also enjoy Fox Trot, Baby Blues, The Duplex, Dilbert and several others but they do not have the impact that this strip has.

Again, thank you very much for many happy hours of reading.

Larry Michaels

lynn's greatest strength is as a comic strip creator, so i will be a little persnickety here in stating that she overdoes the prose and underdoes the art work. still in all, this is a fine collection for the longtime fan who will be interested in the development of the characters; however, for the casual fan who wants a "best of" collection, i would think twice about picking up this particular book...

This book fills in all the gaps about the people we have come to know and love. After reading about each one I feel even closer to this group of individuals. What a shame that they are fictional. And yet, we all know similar personalities in our own neighborhood. What a gentle touch Lynn has, letting us into their lives and giving us insight into the "real" people we deal with every day.

"The Lives Behind the Lines" is a book that will give a For Better for For Worse fan a perspective of the Pattersons and their friends that hasn't been told in the strip itself. It tells thorough stories about them and stuff that you didn't even know about before! Perfect for any fan... and to those new to the strip so that they know who's who.

I bought this book and I have to say it was well worth the $15 that I paid for it. I opened the book when I was in the car and I didn't want to stop reading. I loved reading the parts about how John and Elly met and even seeing what their first apartment looked liked. I also liked reading the strips that were featured and seeing how much the characters changed physically over the years(from beady black eyes to a white circle with a black dot in the middle).

I also liked learning about the families that I had never knew exsited, like the family with two boys and the daughter with the minor deformity. It was sad to see that those families aren't part of the family for now, but might be in the future(one of them could end up being Elizabeth's future husband).

And how could I forget the ones that are there now, like the Enjo's, Connie, and Gordo? I was surprised to learn that Connie was in one too many bad relationships and that Candace is the way she is because of sexual abuse at the hands of a relative. Very interesting stuff.

To end, this is the perfect book to get if you are really interested in the background of the strip and getting to know the characters(major and minor). You will not be disappointed!

If you are a fan of For Better or For Worse, you will love this book because it tells you how Johnston's real life entertwines with the comic strip. I got it for Christmas and before the end of the day I was finished it. It has great stories and insights into how Lynn Johnston writes her comics.

I own every FBOFW collection in published exsistence, and this is probably one of my favorites. Though it lacks in drawings compared to the other ones, I have always loved commentary. I found that it gave me a totally new persective when reading the added strips to each characters chapter. For instance, they showed what Connie was intended to be, and how she ended up being, two totally different characters! It went deeper into the persona of each character, as if they were real. Now, some people are cynical of this, thinking that people go overboard. I disagree. This book helps the stories come alive for readers, it helps them connect with the characters and enchance their reading experience. Though it is at times a bit schmultzy, this book is overall a must-have for FBOFW readers everywhere.