Author Archives: fborfwnews

Lynn’s Grizzly Bear Encounter

A couple of weekends ago, my partner, Paul, and I went to see friends who live in in the mountains. It’s a long drive, up switch-back dirt roads with the most beautiful views imaginable. We arrived to great fanfare, and a wild greeting from their dog. After some long-overdue conversation, they told us that the bears were coming out of hibernation and to look carefully, because we might see some black bears near their garden. They live in harmony with the wildlife in the area, and take great care to keep their property a safe place.

Late in the afternoon, Mary called us to come to a picture window overlooking the meadow next to the house. A grizzly was happily eating grass, just a few yards away. Bears eat grass after they come out of hibernation – to clear out their gut. They especially like dandelions! This bear was chowing down on the new, spring grass as if it was a giant salad. Not expecting to see him for long, I began to take a video. He came closer and closer to the window – so close we could hardly believe we were seeing a wild grizzly bear from just a few yards away. I wanted to share this wonderful experience with you!

Coming April 26th: For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library, Vol. 6

Our friends at IDW Publishing have done it again; another beautiful volume of the Complete Library series is arriving April 26th.

Order it from your favourite bookstore today!

The cover of the Complete Library volume 6: the kids eat a dish of pizza so quickly that John and Elly don't manage to get any!

Romance is in the air as Michael starts dating a girl he hasn’t seen since childhood. Something tells him that she is “the one,” but only if he can first make it through the stress of attending university! The trials of school affect his younger siblings, as Elizabeth struggles to find her identity in the halls of high school and April begins kindergarten!
 
Meanwhile, Elly has to deal with the loss of a loved one, and John comes to peace with hitting the big 5-0. And if that isn’t enough, Gordon and Tracey have a baby, Weed and Mike go on a world tour, and Lawrence meets his father for the first time!
 
Lynn Johnston closes out the ’90s with pathos, affection, and of course, laughter! Includes every comic strip from September 1, 1996 through the end of 1999.

New! Lynn’s Art Prints in our Shop

Since she retired from drawing For Better or For Worse®, Lynn has been having fun doing small, cartoony paintings. We’re making them available as prints so everyone can enjoy them!

Our prints are signed by Lynn on heavyweight, acid-free paper. They can be personalized and are ready for framing. These prints are 10″ x 10″ in size.

 

Lawrence’s Coming-Out Story Runs Again

Today, as For Better or For Worse® continues to run in repeats in newspapers everywhere, we begin to revisit Lawrence’s coming-out story from 1993. A storyline that saw Lynn nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, this series of strips created a massive controversy at the time—and we’re curious to see how things have changed in the 29 years since.

Read the entire sequence here in our comic archive, or follow it day by day on our Strip Fix page as it unfolds again. You can find more information about this storyline here on our website.

Read on for information on a Vancouver-based charitable organization, a letter from Lynn, and a video explaining what moved her to tell Lawrence’s story.

Continue reading →

Lynn’s Split Pea and Ham Soup

We’ve been collecting recipes from Lynn’s family’s collection, for your enjoyment.

You can find the whole recipe series here. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of green or yellow split peas (soaked for about 2 hrs and then rinsed)
  • 8 cups of ham stock or chicken stock or a combo of both (you can also use water flavoured with bouillon)
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil (or butter)
  • 1 celery stalk (including leaves) chopped
  • 3 medium carrots chopped
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • A couple of handfuls of cooked ham, chopped (or about 2 cups)
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • ½ tsp marjoram
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • (I like to use Montreal steak spice!)

Instructions

  1. In a large pot add peas and soup stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes until peas are tender (if peas have not been soaked, simmer for about 1 ½ hours).
  2. Sauté celery, carrots, onion and garlic in oil until veggies are tender.
  3. Add cooked veg, ham, thyme, parsley, marjoram, and bay leaves to soup. Return to simmer  for about ½ hour (peas should be falling apart at this point).
  4. Add salt, pepper, and bouillon to taste.