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I miss the way the comic was. It is strange to read the strips showing the family younger knowing the they have grown older but I am giving it a try but now I have to go online everyday to do it because after Sunday's last new strip wrapped up our newspaper stopped running the strip!!

Kathy, Virginia

Since reading of Lynn's last comic in the Sunday paper, I have been enjoying the times that she brought tears and joy to my heart through the Patterson's and their friends.

I am looking forward to reading the "old" strips with some new additions. Maybe she will add some insight to some of the kids that Elizabeth and Mike grew up with (and April's).

My kids will get the pleasure of seeing the Patterson's grow up this time around...just like I did.

Looking forward to seeing the "new" stuff. Keep going Lynn.

Joanne L, Wheeling, WV

I have loved your strip for more years than I can remember, every morning when I arrive at work your strip is the first thing I look at online. Keep up the good work. I am so glad Anthony and Elizabeth are married now. Good work and good luck in all you do.

Kimberly, North Carolina

Hi,
I really enjoyed everything about FBOFW and will miss the ongoing story. I had a comment about Liz's wedding dress. her grandma, Marion's wedding dress wouldn't have looked like that at all. Until the 50s, and even into the early 60s, wedding dresses were much more modest: high neckilines, usually even long sleeves: certainly not spaghetti straps! i know Deanna altered the dress, but even when Liz first tried it on, it had the straps and was very lowcut. . If you look at wedding pictures from those days you won't see any dresses like that!

Yvette S, Victoria, BC

Lynn, I will miss following the lives of the Patterson family and friends every day. I started each day from the time I was a young teen by reading your strip. It was like following a real life soap opera or a story of a real family! My siblings and I are the same ages as the Patterson children, so it was always interesting "knowing" exactly what they were going through - first loves, career decisions, loss, or just being plain ol' tired of mom and dad.

The story lines became so real to me, that I spent more time than I would like to admit thinking about some of the stories. The strip was a great way to keep my active imagination running and to prevent wasting away in front of the television!

I can remember many stories that affected me in so many ways: The Death of Farley still makes me tear up to this day. Grandpa Jim's illness reminds me so much of my father's before he passed away, that I actually began to save the strips and reread them when I needed a lift. And I can remember holding my breath each time Elizabeth and Anthony would meet again, waiting to see if this would be the time they got back together!

I think the end of the storylines were perfect. Thank you for giving a small ending to each of the main characters. It will ease my wonderings of what could have happened to each of them! Although I will miss each character and the original lines of FBoFW, it will be great to start fresh and begin my days with new storylines, and learn about the family in their younger years.

Thank you for such a great strip. I will miss the Patterson family, but best wishes to you, and congratulations on the job well done!

Rebecca L, Michigan

I just love today's strip with the goldfish Fred. I can remember when my daughter strired things up with her fish too.

I can't wait for tomorrow strip. I never knew how Farly came into the family. Now I think I know.

Keep up the great work Lynn,

Sandy S, Hudson, NH

For years my husband and I bring the paper in and hurry to read FBOFW to see what's happening in the lives of the Pattersons. It always sparks comments about our opinions and feelings of the events.

We think your idea to start over and do simpler drawings with less of a continued story line is brilliant. We look forward to more humor.

Thanks for being a bright spot in our day!

Judy W, Clinton, Illinois

I just want to say thanks, Lynn, for naming Liz and Anthony's first child after my son, James Allen. How did you know???? I started reading FBorFW back when Elizabeth was about 9, and I will miss the "mature" strip, but I can already see myself getting into the childhoods of Michael and Elizabeth all over again.

Thanks again,

Karen, Penngrove, California

A tear slipped down my cheek Sunday. What a strange reaction to a comic strip. I have read and loved comics since Mutt & Jeff, Alley Oop, Smilin' Jack,The katzenjammer Kids, but this is ridiculous. How did I, a 65 year old man, get so attached to a family in the comics.
I wrote you a letter some years back to tell you how much I admire you for the issues you addressed, for the honesty and ethics you instilled in this group of people, and for the sheer joy of watching this family (and their friends) grow, develop and reach out to others. I never got around to sending it, but still have it in my computer.
This is an extended family to be proud of, and to emulate.
Thank you for taking us into their future. They became just what I expected...a family that we can all respect and wish the best.

My comics will not be the same. I feel as if I lost a very wonderful group of friends.

My best wishes for your future. You have entertained me and given me a goal...to be more like the Patterson's.

Carlton B, Tampa, FL

Being that I have followed your strip for so long and I am a senior I was really looking forward to the continuation of the newlwyweds lives, the seniors, Jim and Iris, and the rest of the family members journeys. When ever you wrote the strips in the past I lost interest because life is about moving forward, not going backwards. Please don't go backwards. Continue into the future just like our real lives do. I will have to give up on reading your strip if it goes in the wrong direction. You were always so on point with your family members and now you want to start all over again! No Thanks.

Pat, Sun City, CA

A big thank you for years of helping me cope with life. As a wife and mother of 2, it was very comforting to have the stories in your strip mirror our lives so often. I always felt better knowing that someone else understood. I have all your books and we reread them over and over again. All the best to you in the future.

Joanne A, Belleville, Ontario

I have enjoyed your strip for as long as I can remember. I am glad you will be able to go back to the way things were. I look forward to it as my children are growing up as well. I moved from Ottawa to Nashville in 2005 and reading you every day kept a little of the Canuck in me. Thank you for keeping it Canadian....

Barb D, Ottawa, Ontario

So sad to see the series over. The ending was great, as tears flow freely. I remember so many stories from long ago (Farley saving April), and often wonder how many were actual events. Thanks, Lynn, for sharing your talent and stories with us.

Christine, McHenry, IL

I have been busy and not paying attention to the buzz that this strip has ended. I think it was the most clever, heartwarming saga ever to grace the funny pages. We feel a part of the Patterson family, and Lynn Johnston allowed that. I especially love all the right choices made bythe characters in this column; they are a stellar example of how to treat people, and how we would want our own children to behave.

Boy, will this be missed-- and my paper is not printing the newer "old" strips, so I will be back at this web site once a day to see what's going on with the Pattersons.

I know they're not real, but don't you feel like some of your best friends have moved away? (I wonder if Lynn would consider writing a book about what happens before and after the epilogue, so we can know how the family did-- even little things, like how did Anthony's daughter deal with her new brother, and such.

Anyway, thank you, Lynn Johnston

Steve S, Portland, ME

Last evening when I returned from work, my husband warned me to get my kleenex because what I had been dreading had indeed happened -- the last entry of my very favorite comic strip ever. My eyes immediately teared up as I read the beautiful ending of my long association with the Patterson family. They have really become part of my family. I was heartened to learn that the strip will continue with ones from the past. My only regret is not being able to follow along with Anthony and Elizabeth's future; April's music and Michael's writing career. Thanks for wonderful memories!

Nancy B, Windermere, FL

I just wanted to tell the world I cried when I read last Sunday's strip. I was so moved! Thanks you for all the great years...I began reading right from the start. I was 12 years old.
Thanks again for all your creativity!

Julie D, USA

I love reading your strip, I can not believe I cry so often when I read it. It is so true to life. Each family member is like my own family..I love grandpa Jim and his wife. Maybe because I am near their age too. Please write and draw for many year on..My children love you too, and they are now grandparents.
Thank you for the joy,

Great Grandma Billie, Englewood, Ohio

im sad that we're starting over...the patterson family was something i grew up with, and especially felt similarities with elizabeth as we're about the same age. lynn, you really understood so much and could see from so many different view points. i'm going to miss being able to travel with the family as life "gets complicated." ...maybe a special book will come out in the future that keeps the story going???

upset, but dont think i could stop reading your strip, ever! it's my daily coffee for sure. :)

Leigh D, Texas

I've enjoyed fb or fw since the Pensacola News Journal started carrying it. I'm glad to learn I won't lose my favorite families, but can learn them from the beginning. Love the ending!

Elizabeth W, Pensacola, Florida

Dear Lynn, I've only known the Patterson's for 6 1/2 yrs., but have been a devoted fan. I will miss the future, but I am thrilled that FBorBW is starting over again. I guess I have more than 20 years to catch up with. Thank you for your wonderful work.

Judi B, Chapel Hill, NC

I was very sad to see the last comic strip. It feels like the end of an era.

I have to agree with those people who say they don't like the new format. I feel like the person who said: "You can't go home again."

While it may seem like the Patterson family, in my heart of hearts, the *real* Patterson family is the one in the last comic strip. I certainly hope you will write another book with the *original* family and let us catch up with their lives.

I'll continue to read for as long as I think I can stand it, but in my heart of hearts, I feel very depressed.

Maria S, Houston, TX

I love your strip - I read it every day. I remember the first strip I read - when Michael cut his foot at the beach. I have laughed and cried along with the Pattersons every day since.
I have even not cancelled the newspaper when I went on holidays so I wouldn't miss anything.

Thank you so much for years of enjoyment and my very best wishes for the future!

Sheila F, Vancouver, BC

Hi Lynn:
I have always enjoyed your work right from your first book. Your strip touchted so many people. It has been the first thing I read in the paper & this will always continue. I know we will enjoy your new strip just as much as the past one. Enjoy your extra time off.

Wendy W, North Bay

Dear Lynn,
It's been a little over a week that I haven't been keeping up with the strip. I'm starting teacher's college and planning a wedding of my own, so I certainly feel a connection with Liz lately. It suddenly occurred to me that I missed the ending of the strip!

I was so disappointed about Liz marrying Anthony that I thought it would hardly bother me when the strip ended. But it has. I felt a little sick inside today, a little knot in my throat as I heard about the later years of the Patterson's lives.

I was especially happy to hear that April took a different path from the rest of her family. Good for her!

Still I'm having a hard time getting my head back into the younger Patterson years. *sigh* Everything changes, I guess.

Thanks so much for this strip.

Now I'll take my own trip back in time and get back to my copy of "Things Are Looking Up..."

Katie, Toronto

Can we get the full story behind Becky next? I want to know what happened to her after she went "roadside."

Elyse, Carrboro, NC

Dear Lynn,
I have been a reader of yours since Fall of 1990, when my wife was expecting. I always compared my daughter Brittany born May 91, and April together because there allot alike. I have never stopped reading your comic, even deployed out at sea, in the U.S. Navy, I was able to read your comic, since I worked in Telecommunications and we built the SHF circuits, I always had access to the web. I have loved all your characters. After reading the Sunday's comic I am sadden to hear this, and feel like I lost a family member. I will check regularly to see what new comics you may have posted on your website. I know 29 years is a long time, I just figured since all the characters from (FBOFW) comic grew older along with Lynn, it would never stop. Lynn you are too young to retire, I am very happy for you, you have given me smiles and tears.

Michael G and Family, San Diego, Calif

Michael showing Lawrence his fish is too cute and reminds me of my first fish- Plus and Minus, a pair of goldfish.
Let's just say that I learned the hard way that fish don't breathe air....

Mandy O, Bacliff, TX

Lynn - thank you so much for this strip. I have loved it for years. I am very sorry you are stopping the main story line, but am glad that Elizabeth and Anthony finally found each other. I will look forward to your new rendition, but wish the story could have kept going forever!

Jerry G, Arlington, VA

I've been reading FBorFW since I was a kid. My mom got me "More Than a Month of Sundays" for Christmas one year. It became a tradition. It was one of the main things I looked forward to every year.

Almost 30 years have passed since I got that 1st book, and to this day,it is the one thing I can't wait to find under the tree.

Though I am saddened that the strip has come to an end, I must offer my Congratulations and my thanks to you Lynn. You did a wonderful job bringing the Patterson family to life.

Thank you

Sandy W, London, ON

Dear Lynn,

I have enjoyed your comic strip for years and I am so happy that Elizabeth and Anthony got married. As a newlywed myself, I would have liked to follow their story. I hope you will reconsider and follow through where you left off.

Martha A, Los Angeles, CA

Thank you, Lynn, for a wonderful 29 years! You have been a great role model! My granddaughters love to read my For Better or For Worse books,(I have all of them!) when they visit. Since I have seldom seen them read much of anything except fantasy and science fiction, which they read voraciously, I so appreciate your input into their lives. You truly do appeal to everyone!
May God bless you in your retirement life. You deserve so much in return for all the joy you have given others.
I am looking forward to reliving the early days with you.

Paula, Tennessee

Oh, Lynn. I sobbed and sobbed. Thank you for your wonderful strip. I truly loved your inclusion of a gay character as it was so enlightening for so many people.

My favorite scene was when Elizabeth found the stray cat. Shiimsa was on her chest purring and Elizabeth said "Please don't make me fall in love with you." That touched me deeply.

I will miss this strip. I can't remember when I started reading it, but always read it in order and wouldn't skip a one!

Thank you. And the best to you and yours. (I WILL continue reading.)

Susie, Palm Desert, CA

I so agree with the writer that stated, "You cannot back the truck up!" My husband's name is John, so we have been Ellie and John too! I have always treasured the strip as it was! Saved it to read last on the comic page. I am so upset that time has been turned back and we have to go through the whole family again! I cut out the last strip that was so beautifully written-it serves as my farewell to the Pattersons.

Ellie R, Witney Point, NY

I have thoroughly enjoyed FBorFW over the past 29 years. My children's ages coincided with the Patterson children's ages making it very personal for me. Now, with the changes that started this week, I am able to share the strips with my daughter, Cindi, who has a 4 yr old son. The "old" strips are not old at all, they are fresh to young Moms like my daughter.

Susan M, Westland, Michigan

Bravo! A lovely ending to the story. I wish it could have gone on and on but that would be selfish. I look forward to the next phase of the strip and hope you are enjoying it as well. Thanks to you and your staff for many a bright start to my day.

Dee, Guelph

I'm tearing up yet again, Lynn. I don't think I fully absorbed what the new strips mean until some other readers pointed it out. Now my son and daughter, who are about Michael & Elizabeth's ages in the "new/old" strips, can grow up with them exactly as I did the first time! I am so excited!! And I find when I reach for the books, I most often go for the oldest ones, since that is where I am now. I'm sure any day now, Elanor will be fulfilling the famous potty strip. =)Thank you for the beautiful ending, and the glorious new beginning.

Angela, Pennsylvania

I loved the 8/31 strip, what a brilliant way for the FBFW sun to set. When I read it, I was struck that there is NOTHING in my life that I have been as consistent with as I have been with following this strip. I was dreading the end but once it happened I did feel happier than I thought and I am now looking forward to seeing Farley again!

Sheila B, East Hartford, CT

Bucking the trend of those happy to have you do it over--I liked the summing up at the final family strip.
My friends and I say let the Pattersons go in peace. RIP
Hate that you are going to piecemeal all over again.

If feeling creative, why not something entirely new? Leave readers their memories!

Margaret M, Wisconsin

I have loved your comic strips for a very long time. I have loved the storylines with Shannon. As a mother of an identified learning disabled daughter, some things were the same here too. Also, I am related to "Shannon's" family and to see her reflected in such a positive light is an integral part of being such a loyal reader. Good luck in all you do, I will continue to read as always.

Wendy D, North Bay, ON