Starting from Scratch

For Better or For Worse #13

by Lynn Johnston, Velda Johnston

The Pattersons face the daily challenges of raising three growing kids, an aging sheepdog named Farley, and now Farley's bouncy puppy Edgar. Farley gracefully exits the strip in this collection as he saves young April from the Sharon River, and is remembered as a hero.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Strips, Cartoon, Comedy, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Lynn Johnston CM OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first female cartoonist to win the Reuben Award.

Reviews

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!*]

Is it a spoiler if, A) it's thirty years old, and B) it's given away in the book description?

Anyway, it's about Farley dying. I was still reading this daily strip live at the time, and I totally called it days ahead of time. There had been mentions of Farley getting old for a while by that point, although apparently not too old to knock up the neighbour's dog. As soon as April decided to leave the yard to play with her boat, I knew what was going to happen. I still teared up re-reading the sequence today.

Johnston included an afterword about reader letters about the event. Some people wrote that "it needn't have happened." Sure, Farley should just outlive every dog ever, in a strip where characters age in real time. Just like Lawrence didn't "have" to come out as gay the previous year. I don't know what kind of Family Circus garbage those people wanted but this strip, though sappy at times and rarely allowing its characters to suffer more than briefly, was always true to life. Like, I forgot that my own child had cut his own hair one time, just like April does here, until my wife coincidentally mentioned it to someone else today.

[Child960801]

This book contains a lot: Mike graduates and starts at college, Elly loses her job at the library and finds another one, Elizabeth becomes more of a teenager. *spoiler* And this contains the storyline where April falls into the river and is saved by Farley, who dies from the attempt. I knew this story line was coming and I cried and cried anyways. There is a line, as John reaches into the water to pull April out, he thinks, "Please... if I never do anything else in my whole life... let me do this!!" That line wrecked me.

[Michael P.]

Gentle, joyful, sad, unusually real cartooning that is not afraid to engage our emotions.

[Cathy]

For Better or Worse comics were always a staple in our house. This summer a friend gave me a bunch of her collected books. This one is a favourite because it covers so many of the life events in the Patterson family.
Told through Lynn Johnston's superb and familiar cartooning and text, we watch toddler April get into all kinds of trouble, we delight in Elizabeth moving from a girl into teen and Micheal coming home after 6 weeks at college with a beard and long hair--gasp! We laugh at all the Patterson antics, Farley fathering a litter of pups, new pup Edgar, Ellie's losing her job then getting a new one--karma--Dr. P feeling his age (3 kids, 2 dogs!), Micheal learning the ropes at college (and surprise--missing his family nonsense). We cry, oh yes, at poignant family moments and the loss of a family pet. And even though this is a fictional strip the Pattersons have been with us for years, we relate, we know their joys and struggles of raising a family. Johnston perfectly captures the time of the early 1990's.

[Scott]

Coming out in 1995 with strips from May of 94 to May of 95, seems to be almost exactly a year’s worth. At 140 pages it’s a bit longer than these annual collections usually are, I’m guessing that was so the story of Farley’s death could be included in this volume – it makes a great ending story but might have been a bit of a downer to start a collection with. They seem to be featuring more Sunday strips than usual but I’m fine with that, the Sundays have gotten pretty good by this point. Besides Farley, plot developments include Michael going off to college and Elly being fired from the library and finding another job.

[Pat Lowry]

Always enjoyed this strip

So many good memories. Farmer's story always touches my heart. Allows me to recall so many good times with my fur babies. The Patterson family are so great, not perfect, but so real.

[tyRonE hArDing]

Great. Love the Patterson Family.

[Kiki]

Definitely the saddest one so far :(

[Karen-Leigh]

I have a number of these collections by Lynn Johnston and I have followed this cartoon for decades. This particular book is a keeper because it is the book in which Farley dies.

[The other John]

Another collection from the golden age of For Better or For Worse. In this volume, Elly changes jobs, Michael changes schools, Elizabeth changes hairstyles, and April goes swimming where she's not supposed to. And John, well, John just does a very good job of being a supporting character in this one. I hope he still got paid the same. Anyway, this one's a keeper for me.

[Heather]

So I will be honest with you guys, I use to NEVER find these funny but now that I am .... a little older and have two kids of my own there are many times that I truly laughted out loud since it has happened to me.

[K]

I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that this is the one in which Farley dies. I knew he died, but I don't think I had actually read how it happened. I can't imagine having to wait a day at a time for that particular story to be told!

[Connie T.]

I used to really enjoy this comic strip.

[Niccy]

One of my favorites. Sad, though. This is the book when Farley dies, and it is touchingly well done death. I nearly cried, and I read those strips before.

[Pam Bales]

Compilation of Better or Worse comic strip. It's always a winner!