Tag Archives: The Complete Library

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.

Coming January 12th: For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library, Vol. 5

The latest volume in the popular hardcover library of FBorFW books is being released tomorrow! Order from your favourite local bookstore, or find it online!

Collect the beloved newspaper comic strip that chronicles the saga of the Patterson family in real time, over three decades, in these definitive editions.

This volume features one of the most beloved stories in the strip’s history–the saga of Farley, the family dog. When little April gets into big trouble, it is up to Farley to come to her rescue. But that isn’t the only big event in the lives of the Pattersons. Michael heads off to college while Elizabeth navigates her teen years. Back at home, Elly and John deal with adult problems such as house renovations and menopause.

Lynn Johnston keeps the ongoing narrative fresh and interesting. Includes every comic strip from April 25, 1993 to August 31, 1996. Each volume also contains annotations by Lynn Johnston detailing motivations for certain strips, funny anecdotes, reactions from fans, and much more!

For Better or For Worse: The Complete Collection volume 5

“Johnston’s groundbreaking strip remains critical without being caustic and sweet without being sentimental. Here, from a woman’s perspective, was the reality of daily domestic life—beautifully drawn social satire, unafraid to skewer male chauvinism, or explore twin challenges of women’s lib and motherhood.” –The Globe and Mail

“An exquisite tome… Fans of the highest virtuosity in cartooning will relish this deluxe introduction to the Pattersons’ heartfelt and delightful story” –Library Journal

“Anyone who has been a kid or has been a parent ought to find something to connect or re-connect with.” –Cinema Sentries

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!

For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library, Vol. 3 Available July 16!

For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library Volume 3

The third FBorFW treasury book, The Complete Library, Vol. 3, is out next week! Order it from IDW Publishing, or check your local bookstore. (We won’t be carrying it in our online store – the  weight  and size of this book makes it too expensive to ship from Canada).

No phone, no light, no motor car, not a single luxury–John and Phil’s canoe trip turns them into castaways on an island! Once back in civilization, John solves his mid-life crisis by buying a sportscar, and Elly improbably winds up in front of a judge as a result!

Michael enters junior high school, but not before learning a different sort of life lesson at summer camp with a girl named Martha, while Liz loses her first tooth, gets her ears pierced, and finds herself in a “Mean Girls” situation with her friends at school.

Then it’s wedding bells for Uncle Phil, and Lawrence moves back to town–with a new family of his own! Volume Three, which collects the complete daily and Sunday comics from July 6, 1986 through December 9, 1989, brings to a close the first decade of Lynn Johnston‘s modern masterwork, but of course, the story is just getting started…