There Goes My Baby (A for Better or Worse Collection)

As millions of For Better or For Worse fans know, Lynn Johnston creates a hilarious comic strip that isn’t afraid to probe today’s serious issues. This collection is a case in point; it includes the sequence in which a teenage family friend, Lawrence, reveals that he is gay. Sensitive, believable, and moving, Johnston’s careful portrayal of this revelation is a landmark in comics. Also included are the For Better or For Worse trademarks: the foibles of teenagers, the terrors of tots, and the trials of marriage. Johnston may be most renowned for her rendering of the Patterson family teenagers, Michael and Elizabeth. She’s sympathetic to their problems, but also fi nds fun in their rivalries, their romances, and their insistence on keeping up with the latest—and most expensive—fashion trends. As the characters age, fans witness them change and mature, giving For Better or For Worse a depth and realism missing from most cartoons. Lynn Johnston’s knowing wit creates a strip that’s as perceptive as it is funny.