Webcomic of the Week

Welcome to another installment of Webcomic of the Week. This week I will be going in a slightly different direction, and will be suggesting Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse to everyone. I realize that this is not a webcomic, but it is my favorite comic strip of all, even inching out El Goonish Shive, so I will bend the rules for it.

The thing about For Better or For Worse that sets it apart from every other comic I have ever read is the characters. They seem like real people, they grow over time and you can truly identify with them. The characters also age, which I find to be important, it makes them more real.

The comic is centred around the Pattersons, a family that lives in Milborough, Ontario, which is fictional community near Toronto. I had a short statement about all the main characters, but it did not do them justice, so I will direct you to the character page of Lynn's website for that. Read through if you want to get a quick look at the Patterson clan. Characters Guide

There is also a large number of secondary characters that also have backstories and personalities and grow over time. You can identify with some of these people as well, their lives, their stories and their choices that they have to make. The comic also deals with realistic problems, and is not afraid to deal with subjects that normally do not get dealt with in a syndicated comic strip, such as death of a character, extramarital affairs, aging characters and the challenges that creates, and in one recent example, someone trying to rape Elizabeth Patterson.

Like I said, it is an excellent comic that is full of real characters and issues, and you grow to like the characters and you can see where they are coming from. The comic has been going strong for over twenty-five years, and still shows no sign of stopping. You can read the past few years of comics at Lynn's official website, though I would suggest you go to your local library and read the old strips in book form to truly understand the characters. You will be glad you did.

So there you go, read the comic. You will not be disappointed.

Until next time...