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Regarding the comment on the clip where Elly is not happy with what jobs is posted in the paper. I would just like to say that i have the 25 year silver special edition book at home and that exact same clip is in there. Lynn had said she was going back and re-adding some into her collection that she didn't have time for, in the first round of FBorFW. So I have seem quite a few from the older clips back in the story line. Maybe people should be sure of that fact when they start to criticize Lynn. Lynn i believe you are doing a great job and i have loved your strip from when i was 5 years old. Keep up the great work!!!

Katelynn B, Lloydminster, AB, Canada

People do indeed write to authors of published books criticizing the endings and much else besides. Just ask them. I think the criticism of FBFW is a measure of the degree to which it resonates with readers and how much it matters to them. Its very lifelike qualities trigger various strong reactions and emotions that other strips don't inspire. This is a positive, not a negative. And, after all, this section of the site is intended to let people express their views, which will not invariably be filled with praise. No one can expect to please everyone all the time. That's why "Spill Your Beans" is interesting.

Lili, Chicago, IL, USA

BACK TO SCHOOL, the current logo for the website's cover page requires some scrutiny if you haven't seen or don't recall the comics when Liz was at college.

At first I thought it depicted her when she was not in the dorm but had a mattress on the floor, but that does look like a dorm room with an institutional bed. Liz looks tired and and the same as she might look making lesson plans for whatever her current teaching position is - maybe middle school or junior high? So showing her as she was when hitting the books(not necessarily too happily) makes sense. If her bunny buddy wasn't on the bed I might not have recognized her as Liz.

If this picture is meant to do double duty as showing her in college but also suggesting how she looks now, that not-so-trim figure could be early pregnancy. In the final August Sunday strip we were told little James Allen was born before GrandpaJim would have turned ninety, which would be in 20ll.(March 21).I figured that would be summer of 2010 since summer is when school teachers who plan their pregnancies would want to give birth - but she could have got started earlier than planned. At any rate slightly overwhelmed college student could also be used to suggest slightly overwhelmed teacher, whether pregnant or not.

I could be over-reading this picture but it is interesting and suggestive of past and future.The 31 year old Elly at the dental convention with John looks, in this case younger than her daughter looks in this logo picture, but when Elly is shown hassling with motherhood I think there is a resemblance.

Amy D, Vienna, VA, USA

Reading this week's strips has been a little difficult. The sentiment seems so very out-dated. We have longed passed the time when a single man's salary could adequately support a family of four, even a professional one like a dentist. The current economic crisis notwithstanding, most families have needed two salaries just to cover a mortgage and put food on the table for at least two decades now. Given this state of economic and social affairs, having John say that he "likes Elly where she is"--meaning "in the house"--seems as impractical as it is chauvinist. I know that you are mining your past strips for this new/old look into the Patterson's lives, but I also understood that you would be re-drawing some of them as well. I think that addressing (updating!) some of content as well as form would be a great way to refresh this wonderful series for your readers.

KCD, CA, USA

I was wondering if there are many story lines from the original series that aren't being reused due to the fact that they seam dated? It seams like the current story line of John being chauvenistic about letting Elly go back to work isn't something that we hear too often today. I really enjoy your comic strip and have followed it almost since the very begining.

Nancy T, Orangeville, ON, Canada

John dosen't want Ellie to work, Good for him. But "Oink at me one more time and you're fired" made my day. I nearly spit my coffee across the room. Thank You Lynn.As the old Virginia Slims tag line went, "You've come a long way baby".

Susan W, NJ, USA

I read these strips at the website so I'm well aware that these strips with John's old-fashioned comments are repeats from more than 2 decades ago. However, I'm concerned about readers who are catching these in their daily papers and new to FBORFW. How out of touch these make Lynn look! John's opinions were old-fashioned when these were first published and now they look really anachronistic. Maybe you need to refine your focus, Lynn.

Mary, Singapore

I've enjoyed the FBorFW comics in the past, but the rerun thing is getting old. The last few strips in particular feel incredibly out-dated to me. Who even *says* these things anymore? The reference to "chauvinist pigs" is so old that I haven't heard anyone use it in at least a decade. Can we please have some comics that are actually relevant to the way life is *today*, not the way life was 20-30 years ago?

Jade W, MA, USA

I have always loved "For Better or For Worse" it always seemed modern and familiar. I just can't stand it or relate to it the last few months. Honestly, it's sad. I love my cup of coffee in the morning and the comics (esp. FBOFW)

Today there was a comic about Elly going back to work--AND ASKING permission? This is the 21st century; as of Sept 2009 there are more women in the workforce than men (in the U.S.) My husband and I are both fairly well educated, we work hard and share household/parenting responsibilities equally. If my husband brought home a work associate HE would do the cooking (I am referencing a FBOFW comic a month or so ago) I just don't "get" FBOFW anymore ---WAKE UP it's not the 70's !!!

My suggestion: illustrate real life--it's pretty funny in our house watching two people with masters' degrees outwitted single handedly by one two year old who does not want to eat peas. Or even trying to explain to our teary 6 year old why mommy is going to try as hard as possible to save the polar bears (in-between work deadlines, laundry, working out, dishes, yard work etc.)

Please reach a little---give me more to relate to on Saturday mornings.

Kallie, OH, USA

FBOFW was my favorite strip right up until its natural "death" -- but I've kept an open mind on the classic strips. Nice to see Michael and Lizzie as youngsters, but Ellie's angst and John's hound-dog tendencies haven't aged well. This week we had John being "oinked" at, and his mentioning "women's lib." Very dated language -- and the question of whether a mom could work outside the home was wrestled to the ground a very long time ago. Could her mom-worry be updated to current times without spoiling anything?

Charley, San Diego, CA, USA

I remember this story line from the first time around. It is still funny! ! It is fun watching John evolve and brings back great memories.

Carmen, San Jose, CA, USA

I started reading FBOFW in the San Diego Union about 20 years ago and did so just about every day until the strip was canceled by that newspaper. I thought that re-starting the story was pretty strange, but I was willing to stick with it on the website. Now, however, I have to say goodbye. The feminine angst/frustration theme is not for me. Why have so many strips gone down the "political/cultural message" road. Isn't it enough just to entertain people? Does everybody have to be a philosopher and try to influence the debate? What is wrong with just giving people a laugh as they start the day? Thanks for the memories!

Steve, San Diego, CA, USA

Clearly, Lynn is attempting to prove a point in John's behavior about Elly getting a job. She knows that readers are getting fired up about it, and I think she is definitely trying to depict how the attitude of "woman's work" has altered over the years. Way to go, Lynn, for reminding readers of such an important concept - Equality for all!

Laura, IN, USA

What a jerk of a husband John is!!! How can Elly stay married to such a sexist pig! His ideas are old fashioned and while they might have been more accepted back in the early 80's, we should be past that way of thinking...NOT giving new generations of readers ideas that women should be stuck at home, not pursuing their dreams. This is the 21st century!!

Where is the encouragement that Elly should be receiving from her husband? I know that some men still think the way John does, but why are you taking a step backwards in thinking?? While you have clearly shown that he is nothing but a pig, finding so-called "humor" in his narrow-minded thinking is basically saying that you are ok with his views.

I am so happy that the person I am married to doesn't think like John does. I feel so bad for Elly.

Michelle, NV, USA

I hate to say it but I'm quitting the strip. I've tried to get into the new format but you have successfully isolated one younger reader. I am now 27 and I grew up with Elizabeth and could relate to her as well as the family's trials and tribulations. Now with the clock set back I am frequently angry at a sexist John amongst other things. Today's strip with John talking about wanting Elly to be liberated at home nearly did me in! If I had been reading an actual paper I would have crumpled it up! I am married to a man who shares all the cooking and cleaning responsibilities and supports my career choices. My other girlfriends date men who behave similarly. I can handle, your simplified drawing style, I just don't understand why you could not have focused on Mike and Deanna's family and at least kept the strip in the present! You could have other family members make cameo appearances, and nobody would really have to age. I just can't relate to the strip anymore and it !makes me sad to feel so alienated from something that has been such a source of comfort and entertainment over the years.

Rebecca C, Denver, CO, USA

Maybe John isn't saying it in the right tone, but he is right. The mother is the heart of the home and her children need her. A parent is the best caregiver for a young child. Don't go to work, Elly. (And, no I'm not saying women should never work. I'm just saying I'd rather see Elly see the value in mothering her daughter instead of chasing self-goals or money or worth elsewhere for now. Those things can wait.)

Elizabeth, TX, USA

Why is John wearing no glasses in the last panel of Friday's comic?

Emily G, Montreal, QC, Canada

Love your comic. Wish we could get it in our daily paper again. It is only in Sunday paper. I notice the readers don't seem to know the time period in which the comics were published. Some people are guessing the sixties and some the eighties. I think they were first written in the mid seventies when my two girls were the age of Mike and Elizabeth.

Vicki T, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

I've been reading this comic strip most of my life, but only daily for the last 5 years. The re-running of the 'beginning' has been such a gift to me as I am living through many of the same experiences now (30 years after they were first written about!) It amazes me how little the cycle of life doesn't change, merely the landscape. Thank you, Miz Lynn, for your wonderful insight and terrific talent at capturing married life, raising kids, and getting though the day with all the characters that surround us all.

Cathy B, Media, PA, USA