For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library, Vol. 4 Is Available!

Our 4th treasury book in The Complete Library series is now available! Look for it at your local independent bookstore or comic shop! (We don’t sell these in our online store, as they’re very heavy and shipping is too expensive).

This volume includes the story that earned Lynn Johnston a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The ’90s start with a bang for the Pattersons when Elly finds out she is pregnant! Follow April Patterson as she grows from a toddler to a three year old, all in this single volume, but that isn’t all the excitement in the house, especially when there is a teenager around. Michael gets his first summer job, a steady girlfriend, and a driver’s license–if he passes the test. Adolescence is just as challenging for Elizabeth, who navigates middle school, learns to cope with the stigma of wearing glasses, and is peer-pressured into smoking a cigarette! Meanwhile, John succumbs to his (first) mid-life crisis when he buys his first model train.

The highlight of this collection, however, is Lawrence’s coming out story, a tender and compassionate tale of gender identity and acceptance for which Lynn was deservedly nominated for the newspaper industry’s top honor. Includes every comic strip from December 10, 1989 to April 24, 1993.

Each volume also contains a number of annotations by Lynn Johnston detailing motivations for certain strips, funny anecdotes, observations about the reaction from fans, and much more!

Conversation With Lynn Johnston: Lynn’s Library of Congress Talk

Last September, Lynn was invited to give her “chalk talk” at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., coinciding with her show at the Canadian Embassy.

Here is the full video of Lynn’s 1-hour presentation! Enjoy:

Lynn on Geoff Grogan’s Blockhead Podcast

Cartoonist Geoff Grogan recently interviewed Lynn for his “Blockhead” Podcast! You can listen to part one here. Part two will be online soon!

Episode 36: Lynn Johnston on Blockhead! Need I say more? One of the greatest cartoonists of the last 50 years talks with Geoff about her life, career and her ground-breaking and beloved syndicated comic strip, “For Better or For Worse”.

A Fun Project: Meet Our New Alien Sculpture

One of our “surface designs” featuring whimsical space aliens.

When my daughter, Katie, and I moved into our new studio and office location, we were surprised by the size of the space we had. When everything is under construction, things look quite different. The finished interior—all white and empty—made us wonder just how to colour it up!

Our unit has two floors, with an atrium in the middle and an open stairway to the upper level. One of the “surface designs” we created is made up of funny outer-space characters, so we wondered if it would be possible—instead of installing the usual kind of light fixture—to hang a spaceship in the atrium. Through an interior decorator, we were connected to a wonderful team of sculptors on Granville Island, who specialize in large outdoor art installations.

Mike Vandermeer and Cheryl Hamilton at ieCreative can make anything! I took them a sketch of a spaceship with a character inside, and asked if it would be possible to build a 3D model and if it could light up! Always up for a challenge, Mike and Cheryl have built and installed the most wonderful sculpture. It looks exactly like my original sketch!

It’s about 4 feet in diameter, and has a plexiglass dome on the bottom in which you can see tentacles. As you ascend the stairs, you can see the goofy alien inside. He sits in control of his flying saucer, grinning ear to…well, he has no ears.

The finished lamp!

My 5-year-old grandson has named our alien “Beep-Bop”. Fortunately the lamp is silent—but it does change colour! Mike created a system which allows a soft, glowing light to shine in a series of brilliant colours. The whole thing lights up my day. We wanted to show you our new sculpture–just to let you see what can be done when you get a bunch of funny folks together with an idea, some resources, and some skillful engineering.

Katie and I are looking forward to working with Mike and Cheryl again…we just have to come up with another crazy idea!!

bCreative adds “For Better or For Worse” to brand portfolio

bCreative Logo

Jan 13, 2020

For Immediate Release:

Contact-

Bill Barrow

bCreative, Inc. – Executive Vice-President

bbarrow@bcreative.com 519-577-1911


Charlottesville, VA.

bCreative adds “For Better or For Worse” to brand portfolio.

bCreative is pleased to announce the addition of For Better or For Worse comic art to its licensing portfolio. Scott Gardiner, President of bCreative, states “It’s a true pleasure working with Lynn Johnston and her team on the For Better or For Worse brand. It’s not often that you get to collaborate with the creator of an iconic comic strip that has such fabulous multi-generational appeal. We’re thrilled to partner with licensees to bring the designs to life for the millions of fans”. The portfolio includes classic art from the comic strips, as well as newly created artwork and patterned designs featuring the Patterson family and their beloved dog Farley. “What’s really awesome,” Gardiner continues, “is that while the fan base of the strip will be drawn to licensed products featuring the beloved characters, the universality and timelessness of the humor and themes mean that all audiences, even ones that have never heard of the For Better Or For Worse comic strip will be attracted to and purchase licensed products featuring Farley and the family members.

For licensing opportunities please contact Bill Barrow bbarrow@bcreative.com

www.bcreative.com

Lynn Johnston Properties: a book, logo and image of Farley