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I've enjoyed reading all the letters about the Elizabeth/Anthony/Therese triangle. People are so passionate on both sides so this tells me Lynn knows her way around the human psyche!

I'm a mental health counselor and I'm trying to see how I can work this whole storyline into my practice!

Rose J, Florida

Hah! I love it. A comic strip that's well-developed with characters that are quite human, more than just the 2-D types, enough to spark intelligent discussion. We're not talking Garfield or even Doonesbury here. FBORFW is uniquely Canadian and fun, no matter which characters you like or hate. (I'm an April fan personally. I'd like to see her redeem Jeremy Jones!) You can like Liz and admire her. That's cool. Or you can think she's shallow and needy. That's all right too. You can admire Elly and Iris for the troubles with aphasia victim Jim. Or you can criticize Elly for treating him like a child. That's fine too! You can commend Anthony for his child-rearing efforts and tear a strip off Therese or you can sympathize with her for not wanting to have to fit in a mold as a "housewife" type. And that's all right! The point is that the strip is more like a sophisticated soap opera with great character development. Where can you find something like that? The equivalent of great character development is my other personal favorite, the Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman. With so much inane entertainment out there these days, it's refreshing to have a comic strip that makes you think and can challenge your views. Hats off to our Lynn - no matter what you think of Anthony, or Liz, or Shannon, Therese, etc, the point is that there's enough substance in everyone to prompt the passionate discussions we're seeing here!

Sue W, Newfoundland

Interesting comparison, Sue!

Candace as a character usually makes some astute observations, but she missed the mark when she claimed, "And eventually Therese took Anthony for all she could."
What did Therese get out of Anthony?
He has the house, the kid, his job, his car; the only thing she got was all the blame.

Len, California

Oh, good. We're still on the Feel Sorry For Anthony story line. If Anthony was so miserable in the marriage, and knew a year before his divorce that things were over, why didn't he do something? Counseling, or suggesting a divorce earlier, or a trial separation? Instead, he sits around, whines to Liz, and waits until his wife leaves him for another man before moving on with his life. I don't admire Anthony, or feel bad for him; I pity him.

Amy G.

So let me get this straight:

Liz knows the more intimate details about what attracted Anthony to Therese, the little warning signs of how Therese was critical of everything Anthony did (and "forced him to grow a moustache"... what, did she hold a gun to his head?), how Therese wasn't happy living in a non-urban area, and how her parents wanted kids...

YET, Liz doesn't know why Anthony and Therese didn't settle any of this before they got married.

HELLO? Does this make any sense to anyone? The most likely source would be Anthony, and he never said anything? Shouldn't this ring all sorts of warning bells in Liz's head? And why does she know every little thing, but not a big thing?

Give me a break. I'm tired of Anthony being completely blameless in his past relationship, and Liz not even thinking "You know, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

PS Gossip shouldn't be gospel truth. This is fourth-degree hearsay, why should we even trust one word of it?

Liz W, Ottawa

When I was in grade school, I remember watching FBOFW holiday specials on TV (both Christmas and Halloween which must have been shown on CBC...being just across the border gives me the opportunity to get the canadian channels!). If I recall, I think there were 2 Christmas shows - one where Elizabeth lost her bunny in the Department store and the other one where Elly's favorite Christmas Angel gets broken. I don't remember the details of the Halloween one - all I remember is that it focused on Micheal's trick or treating escapade...was there only one Halloween special? I've been searching for VHS or DVD copies of these shows but have had no luck. Would you be able to tell me if they are available for sale to the public or is it something that will be available in the foreseeable future? Are they only available in Canada at this time?

Also, my aunt, who lives in Hamilton Ontario, told me that there is a FBOFW cartoon series on tv, she works 2nd shift and only catches it on her days off when she can find it. Is this series still being televised, and if so, what are the days and time?

Liz W, Ottawa

Hi Liz - thanks for this! We'll post a more abridged answer in our Q and Eh section also, but here are the details for you:
The Bestest Present was released in 1985, and you can still find it sometimes on eBay or Amazon on VHS.

The six other animated specials (which don't seem to be available for sale) are:
The Last Camping Trip
A Christmas Angel
The Good-for-Nothing
A Valentine from the Heart
The Babe Magnet (a.k.a. The Sweet Deal)
A Storm in April

And finally, you can find out more about the animated series here. It ran on Teletoon in Canada but is not in their current lineup. You can find it on DVD also.

As someone who married late in her 30s, and dated her share of major heartbreaking jerks - I have thoroughly enjoyed the Liz/Anthony saga. (Yes, I will admit, I get butterflies when I see them together!) For the record, I married a divorced man who had custody of his two children. My husband is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. Is he milquetoast? Perhaps. He certainly isn't considered a 'catch' by today's MTV standards (he has a physical handicap). But I know that I wouldn't have been happier with any of those meanies I dated in my 20s and 30s, despite their looks or money. I had a friend's mom once tell me that the happiest marriages come from marrying "Mr So So" not Prince Charming! And she was right. Today my husband and I have an amazing family, including a son we had together in 2005.

Mary, Virginia

I can't believe that you did it but, over the last few days, you've actually made me appreciate the character of Therese MORE. She's successful, hoped to make her husband into an ADULT to be with her, realized that Liz Patterson was a tramp trying to upset her marriage and acted upon it, and in general makes me wish that your strip was about her instead of these people egging on their daughter to marry the milquetoast that she met in grade school.

Dingo

first of all, thank you for all the great years. My mother was your biggest fan, our fridge was always covered with her favourite strips and her phone conversations often started with "did you read today's fbofw?" She passed away 12 years ago and I still faithfully follow the strip. Now I'm the one that starts my conversations with "did you ready today's strip?". It keeps our mother close to us. I love the Liz and Anthony love story and can't wait to see Therese's reactions. Thank you

Wendy, Toronto

Dear Lynn, Staff (and Readers!),

Know what I'd love to see? A week or so where Mike visits Grandpa Jim and reads aloud to him from his book. Poor Jim couldn't congratulate Mike on his book or participate in the celebration, so a nice visit, hearing the book (perhaps with other family members present) would cheer him up and help him feel like part of the family again. Maybe April could play for him. Iris could go for a walk with Elly, or go shopping or just listen in (but she sure deserves one heck of a break for all her dedication!). Just a thought.

Now, about Liz and Anthony-
Thanks for explaining some of the relationship between Therese and Anthony, I was at a loss to understand the reason for the marriage when all that was shown was her jealousy, her money-begging for the baby shower(although telling April that what she gave was alright made me wonder), her single-mindedness over her career to the exclusion of family, and other such negatives. And please, please flesh out Anthony's personality! It would be so nice to know the type of person Anthony the adult is other than what was shown in a few past comics. I want deep down details! Still, what you showed of him leads many of us to rejoice over the get-together of Liz and Anthony.

Now, about Warren. He is better out of Liz's life, though he showed her devotion when he was with her. And that is just the point of the thing-he was not with her enough. The silent hope he thought when at Weed's studio was a common enough thought most men have, they almost never act on it. Grandpa Jim enjoys looking at young women, so does John(witness his ogling bikinis beside Elly in Cozumel!). But back to Warren. He was never shown to call Elizabeth very often like Paul did, which leads me to think that when Liz was out of his sight, she was out of his mind. He would be better off with a woman who was also a pilot,and would travel with him where he went.

So all in all, Lynn, it seems you are saying that a strong friendship, before marriage, makes for a longer, more satisfying marriage and relationship. You may be right, I can't say the same from personal experience(no marriage), but plenty of your "bean-spillers" agree to that idea!

Susan R, St. Louis, MO, USA

Lynn, you really don't get it, do you?

You can show us Therese kicking puppies and stealing candy from babies all you want.

In the end, it doesn't *matter* what Therese did. Her actions are not the point. Therese's character is not what Liz should be concerned with.

Anthony's "character" (or rather, the lack of it) is.

Anthony married Therese (of his own free will) while he was still in love with Liz.

Anthony openly lusted after Liz in front of his wife.

Anthony begged Liz to "wait for me!" (five minutes after Liz was assaulted) while his wife and child were at home.

Anthony *never* took the inititative to end his miserable marriage. He just sat passively until Therese left him and then whined about what a victim he was. Despite the fact that he didn't want to be married to her, either!

This is just my interpretation, this is *directly* from the strips themselves!

Lynn can rewrite history all she wants. It's not uncommon for writers to make one person the monster when a relationship fails - but it is bad writing.

J, Texas

I am originally from Canada and I have followed FBorFW I think since day one. This is a very well written strip and I love how the family has grown over the years. Blended families are all to common these days, and yes there can be difficulites, but I think Liz and Anthony are just the couple who can make a true go of it. Keep up all the good work you do.

Margot U, Casa Grande, AZ

I can't help but add my two cents into the Liz and Anthony debate.

I hate the relationship, it is very flawed, and I especially dislike this attempt to demonize Therese further as a justification to the backlash of people siding with her.

The Patterson children have lived an extremely sheltered life. From getting money from their parents for college, to Michael getting loans from his parents once out into the world.

Elizabeth turned down a job and opportunity up North to be close to her family again. I feel like all the people around them are going off and pursuing their passions, traveling, experiencing life and taking risks! Elizabeth and Micheal (now less so) remain stagnant and the same.

Elizabeth has now been in two relationships wherein she has been cheated on, and is now in one where the man never seemed to fully commit to his wife. Whether or not he is the right guy for her, if I were her friend I would be warning her to be cautious. She should step back and attempt to ACTUALLY find herself. Two years in a comfy, small town where everyone loves you is not that wild!

Despite what Liz said about finding herself, she asked a guy to transfer to be closer to her, then moved home and expected him to follow her again. An adult relationship is about making compromises and and being unselfish. Paul wasn't exactly unselfish either, but it just proves that she still wasn't in a mature relationship.

Liz continues to lead a very sheltered life. I don't recall her ever having left North America. I would love for her to take a crazy chance. Perhaps travel overseas to teach and really get away from it all. If Liz is serious about finding herself she needs to take the steps to do so.

Dianna did it before committing to Michael. When she came back she knew he was the one! Liz should reverse the role if she has true feelings for Anthony and ask him to wait for her and then see what happens.

Always going back to what is old and familiar - this poor girl is soon going to be living the life of a 35 year old without ever having the life if a 25 year old.

And just for the record. My fiance wears silly things sometimes. He also eats sloppily sometimes. I also had to convince him from growing a mustache in a competition at work. As ladies...we're nitpickers! It's true, we all are whether we admit it or not. I don't think a single woman reader out there can truly say they have never made any "suggestions" to a man they are with.I don't think that means we're trying to change our guys. And the intentions are certainly not something I think are a matter of contention in most relationships. Maybe our men will simply dress neater, eat politely and maaaaybe every once and awhile put the toilet seat down if we're lucky.

Kate A, Toronto

Enclosed is a letter from my sister who has been a long- time devoted reader of your comic.

Due to a congenital heart deformity, my sister sustainded a stroke in 2005. She has couragously stuggled back to her current level of function. She has always been very driven (thus her identification with the characters of FBorFW)and this has served her well. She unfortunately remains expressively aphasic leaving her with difficulty communicating verbally and in writing.

The following letter was written by Mary in hopes of letting you know how important your portrayal of stroke and family has been to her. Her own three children have grown in the same time frames of Michael, Elizabeth and April and she has always followed the lives in your strip because they are so similar to her own experiences. Thank you for your continued work.

Sincerely,
Lydia C

Dear Ms. Lynn Johnston,

For many years of seeing Michael, Elizabeth, and April were so much to close of my own three children. Now, I am very interested in from seeing your Dad's stroke. You see, I had on December 28, 2005, have stroke. I was every day to try about math, driving, reading and speaking. Once a week, women always were talking together about their walking and driving. But I wasn't talking much. However, I was already given my car, math, and reading; except speaking.

Now, thinking of your Dad, he has older but with a lot of people are still giving of him. He has given a lot of things that he has a lot of love and help. Now, my speaking is a little bit more and I am trying to other people who would like to talk with me. But in the area, there seems to be no one to speaking.

Your Dad is not talking very much, but he is in his mind. Thank you for I am thinking of him, too.

Sincerely,
Mary E. L