E&P: FBOFW will continue as old/new hybrid

Popular Cartoon Will Stay On -- As Old/New Hybrid: "Millions of readers will breathe a partial sigh of relief when they learn that Lynn Johnston won't completely end 'For Better or For Worse' around the time it turns 28 this September. Instead, the strip will continue as an old/new hybrid that has little precedent in cartoon history.

'I'll be flying by the seat of my eraser,' joked Johnston, whose comic is one of only five with more than 2,000 newspapers. Details were still being worked out when Johnston spoke to E&P, but it's possible the hybrid 'FBorFW' will focus a lot on Michael Patterson and his family, who are about the same ages Elly Patterson and her family were when the comic started in 1979. Elly is the mother of Michael, who was a little boy in the early days of 'FBorFW.'

In the hybrid, many previously published "FBorFW" strips and scenes will be reprinted. The jumping-off point for those comics (which could include some redrawn and recolorized content) might be Michael looking at old photos or scrapbooks.

Johnston will also offer a certain amount of new material about Michael; his sisters, Elizabeth and April; his parents, Elly and John; and various other major and supporting characters. But one of the signature elements of "FBorFW" — the gradual aging of its cast — will come to a halt. "What I'd like to do is freeze the characters at the ages they are now," said Johnston, who turns 60 this May. "No people will grow older. No dogs will grow older and pass away.""