"For Better or For Worse"

   That comic strip has consistently been voted the top favorite of newspaper readers here and all over the country.

To say that Lynn Johnston, the author of the strip, has a loyal following is an understatement. Her fans are passionate about her long-running story of the Patterson family.

Here's the bad news: Johnston informed her syndicate that she planned to retire in September of this year. In other words, she would stop producing the strip.

The 59-year-old has told the media that she is tired of the personal drain of creating a seven-day comic strip and is dealing with a painful neurological condition called dystonia.

Here's the good news: Rather than killing "For Better of For Worse," Johnston and her syndicate have decided to continue it in 'hybrid" form.  What this means, her editor explained to me, is that there will be a mix of old and new strips.

Johnston will retell storylines (old drawings) through the eyes of younger members of the Patterson family, such as son Michael (new drawings).

She plans to freshen the drawings of the older strips as she integrates the old and new storylines.

Sounds like an interesting experiment, and for fans of the strip it's very good news. Otherwise, "For Better or For Worse" would go away completely, or live on in reruns. And if you ask me, there are too many reruns on newspaper comics pages now (take that, Snoopy!). Personally, I'd like to see some fresh, new talent.