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For Better or For Worse #6
Keep the Home Fries Burning
Join the Pattersons for a volume full of hilarious and touching cartoon fun in Keep the Home Fries Burning. The peaks and valleys of family life, the curious revelations of children, and the patent lunacy of owning a dog-these are the simple charms that have engaged readers of the For Better of For Worse strip for decades.
127 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Lynn Johnston
146 books135 followersLynn 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 19, 2018
Three and a Half chuckling stars for Lynn Johnston!
If you were a newspaper reader in the seventies and eighties, you’ll remember her...
Hers was a fairytale story of how a young Canadian housewife from the windswept wilds of Flin Flon (yes, that’s a real name), Manitoba came out of nowhere as a rising media star...
And by 1985 had grabbed the coveted Reuben Award for the Best Syndicated North American Cartoon Strip.
And she’s STILL going strong.
And even though she’s now elderly, she’s more sprightly than me: for she hasn’t quit writing the strip.
(Call me a Wimp for retiring and STAYING retired!)
It was my sister’s favourite comic.
I still remember Saturdays in our house (though perhaps I’m getting mixed up in my memories) - well, we three kids’d squabble violently over who’d be the first to read the full-colour comics!
And FBOFW was the fave Prix de Guerre for my Sis.
Thinking back though, now, maybe the Sears Christmas Catalogue in November was the real gate-crasher for all THREE of us...
Anyway, Johnston named herself Ellie back when the strip appeared in the seventies. The name stuck.
It would be her lifelong persona for all of perpetuity!
That was the name of a close childhood girlfriend who passed away regrettably young... like my pal, Norman.
My small little friend Norman needed a heart operation, but back in 1962 they were not always successful. Remember, Dr Christian Barnard was just gettin’ started back then!
The wait drove me into a deep blue funk! The day the operation was scheduled, I was desolate! I still remember that grey Friday, walking forlornly home from Grade Five class.
I resolved to buy the 45 RPM (remember them?) Hit teenie-bopper record ‘Norman’ (one-hit wonder!) for Norman’s get well gift.
So I did. When Norman was convalescing, his blue lips couldn’t even crack a smile, but I gave it to him anyway. He valued our friendship tremendously, as I saw when I visited his communal apartment, much later, in ‘76.
He was weak then, but loved his brief life! And, of course, he loved his final taste of freedom - he had recently bought at 250cc Yamaha motorbike for himself.
That was the last time I saw him.
In just such such a way, the name Ellie in the strip was to be Lynn’s tribute to her late friend.
But Johnston really WAS married to a nice, intelligent dentist and had two little kids, who grew up with the strip.
And now - she’s comfortably settled on Canada’s West Coast, and she hasn’t lost her sparkle.
Reading her cartoons is STILL one of life’s simple pleasures...
And even as a septuagenarian she still says, “No matter HOW old you are, there’s always something good to look forward to!”
And she’s right - something really simple and GOOD!
Good as her beleaguered family always has been - braving the total non sequiturs of strangers, and their OWN faux pas and disconnects with the guys, gals, kids or seniors in their lives.
Disconnects and faux pas - because we’re all so Different! And therefore always Struggling to make ourselves plainly understood.
In modern life there are so many subtle variations in life because EVERYBODY’s so immersed in their own very Different Versions of It!
But that’s the Fun of it all- and Ellie’s little world of Once Upon a Time in the West.
And it’s what never fails to make us Laugh!
And we can NEVER give up on this bizarre Human Comedy...
BUT have to immerse ourselves in its daily misunderstandings over and over, with Joy -
For Better or For Worse.
If you were a newspaper reader in the seventies and eighties, you’ll remember her...
Hers was a fairytale story of how a young Canadian housewife from the windswept wilds of Flin Flon (yes, that’s a real name), Manitoba came out of nowhere as a rising media star...
And by 1985 had grabbed the coveted Reuben Award for the Best Syndicated North American Cartoon Strip.
And she’s STILL going strong.
And even though she’s now elderly, she’s more sprightly than me: for she hasn’t quit writing the strip.
(Call me a Wimp for retiring and STAYING retired!)
It was my sister’s favourite comic.
I still remember Saturdays in our house (though perhaps I’m getting mixed up in my memories) - well, we three kids’d squabble violently over who’d be the first to read the full-colour comics!
And FBOFW was the fave Prix de Guerre for my Sis.
Thinking back though, now, maybe the Sears Christmas Catalogue in November was the real gate-crasher for all THREE of us...
Anyway, Johnston named herself Ellie back when the strip appeared in the seventies. The name stuck.
It would be her lifelong persona for all of perpetuity!
That was the name of a close childhood girlfriend who passed away regrettably young... like my pal, Norman.
My small little friend Norman needed a heart operation, but back in 1962 they were not always successful. Remember, Dr Christian Barnard was just gettin’ started back then!
The wait drove me into a deep blue funk! The day the operation was scheduled, I was desolate! I still remember that grey Friday, walking forlornly home from Grade Five class.
I resolved to buy the 45 RPM (remember them?) Hit teenie-bopper record ‘Norman’ (one-hit wonder!) for Norman’s get well gift.
So I did. When Norman was convalescing, his blue lips couldn’t even crack a smile, but I gave it to him anyway. He valued our friendship tremendously, as I saw when I visited his communal apartment, much later, in ‘76.
He was weak then, but loved his brief life! And, of course, he loved his final taste of freedom - he had recently bought at 250cc Yamaha motorbike for himself.
That was the last time I saw him.
In just such such a way, the name Ellie in the strip was to be Lynn’s tribute to her late friend.
But Johnston really WAS married to a nice, intelligent dentist and had two little kids, who grew up with the strip.
And now - she’s comfortably settled on Canada’s West Coast, and she hasn’t lost her sparkle.
Reading her cartoons is STILL one of life’s simple pleasures...
And even as a septuagenarian she still says, “No matter HOW old you are, there’s always something good to look forward to!”
And she’s right - something really simple and GOOD!
Good as her beleaguered family always has been - braving the total non sequiturs of strangers, and their OWN faux pas and disconnects with the guys, gals, kids or seniors in their lives.
Disconnects and faux pas - because we’re all so Different! And therefore always Struggling to make ourselves plainly understood.
In modern life there are so many subtle variations in life because EVERYBODY’s so immersed in their own very Different Versions of It!
But that’s the Fun of it all- and Ellie’s little world of Once Upon a Time in the West.
And it’s what never fails to make us Laugh!
And we can NEVER give up on this bizarre Human Comedy...
BUT have to immerse ourselves in its daily misunderstandings over and over, with Joy -
For Better or For Worse.
August 1, 2023
This collection covers about a year in the lives of the Patterson family, as Elly's best friend Connie moves to another city while in the midst of relationship drama. The move also results in Michael getting separated from his best friend. Over the course of the year, there are new friends and neighbors, a Halloween dance, a new baby among the Pattersons' friends circle, and the possible beginning of a writing career for Elly.
I love the pacing of For Better or For Worse. The stories always feel very real and very grounded, and the author does a great job with putting low-key but effective punchlines in to end each newspaper strip installment while still building multiple long-term storylines.
There were some really genuinely funny gags sprinkled among a lot of excellent storytelling and good character work. The art style is delightful, with enough realism to make the character come to life while still keeping things simple.
I love the pacing of For Better or For Worse. The stories always feel very real and very grounded, and the author does a great job with putting low-key but effective punchlines in to end each newspaper strip installment while still building multiple long-term storylines.
There were some really genuinely funny gags sprinkled among a lot of excellent storytelling and good character work. The art style is delightful, with enough realism to make the character come to life while still keeping things simple.
June 17, 2023
Coming out in 1986 with strips running from June 85 through June 86. Elizabeth finally gets packed off to kindergarten and even starts talking in pretty much standard English for the most part, both fantastic developments from my point of view. Johnston is now doing more stories that extend over a longer period and not following the calendar quite as closely and I’d say that’s paying off too, this was the best collection yet.
January 3, 2024
The world of FBOFW continues to change with Lawrence and Connie moving away, and Annie and Steve adding to their family. A new family moves in with kids Michael and Elizabeth's age, and a canoe trip is about to go forth with John and Phil, while Elly fights to keep a historical building from being torn down.
Excellent as always let's see what happens next.
Excellent as always let's see what happens next.
March 20, 2021
The saga continues in the sixth book of For Better or For Worse. Elizabeth goes to kindergarten and Micheal starts liking girls-just a bit!
December 28, 2014
I think Lynn Johnston is my favourite comic strip writer. I really like her characters and I find her story lines to but quite entertaining. I had not read this one before and it was a great read. I can't wait to find another one of her books to read.
January 22, 2008
What can I say? This one just doesn't stand out compared to the other FBoFW collections out there. It's worth checking out if you want a giggle, though.
May 6, 2011
Johnston claims she's in Canada, but I think she's my next door neighbor.
November 14, 2016
This book is really funny.
October 15, 2017
It's nice to revisit these books and derive the same level of enjoyment.
July 20, 2021
In this volume, Michael's best friend moves away, Lizzie starts kindergarten, Ellie works at the dental office for a while, and everyone comes for Christmas.
December 20, 2021
Love this series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews