For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston
- November 04, 2009
- From Beginning
- Previous feature
- Show Calendar
- Next feature
- Current

Register for a FREE GoComics account and get this plus any other comic strip delivered to your Personalized Comic Page, Daily. With a free account you will be able to build a Comic Page filled with the Comics you want to see each day.
With the largest collection of Comics and Editorial Cartoons online there is plenty to choose from. Upgrade to a Comic Genius account (Only $.99/Month) and have unlimited archive access to decades of comics.
Register for a FREE GoComics account and get this or any other comic strip daily emailed daily. Comics and Editorial Cartoons are updated everyday so there is always something new.
With a free account you will receive one comic from your Personalized Comic Page daily. Upgrade to a Comic Genius account (Only $.99/Month) and get all of your comics emailed daily plus receive unlimited archive access to decades of comics.
Since its debut in 1979, For Better or For Worse has touched comic strip readers as few cartoons ever do. Cartoonist Lynn Johnston’s eye for detail and her uncanny sense of what real parents and children struggle with daily are a big part of her success. The world has watched the Patterson family grow up in real time, and to many readers, the Pattersons feel like family!
Parents and children alike will relate to the obstacles that the Patterson family faces. Curfews, parent date nights, babysitting, pets and distractions are all hurdles that the Pattersons must overcome in order to enjoy each other as a family. They face the same obstacles that real life families do, which is what makes them so loveable.
© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate - All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2009. UCLICK LLC, All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy


Comments (21) Jump to Comments Form
OpenWings said, 17 days ago
Hopefully Lizzie won’t eat him, though she does seem to be sizing up the poor departed little dude in panel 3! :o)
howtheduck said, 17 days ago
“Maybe we just didn’t care of him very well.”
Isn’t it so nice that Elly doesn’t blame Mike alone for killing Frank the Fish, but she blames herself as well? Of course, then I kind of wonder, just how did Elly know that overfeeding would kill a fish? How did she know Frank was overfed? Why wouldn’t she have stopped it, if she knew that was happening?
It seems a little “fishy” to me.
JodieKay said, 17 days ago
Not only with the knowledge of overfeeding, but the fact that Elly knew the tank needed cleaning too. Michael might be too young to properly clean the bowl himself, and if Elly figured she wouldn’t have time to take care of the fish, then maybe they shouldn’t have gotten the fish?
I didn’t think goldfish bowls were ideal habitats for fish anyway, but I don’t remember where I heard that.
Susan001 said, 17 days ago
He might have simply died of old age.
But it’s touching how Michael is weeping over him.
Now, if only his parents would try to comfort him?
Hah! Fat chance!
lightenup said, 16 days ago
He seemed to have gotten over it by panel 4. I don’t think that kids get too attached to goldfish. Animals with fur are another story…
Today is going to be another Elly-bashing fest, I guess. I don’t see anything wrong with trying to explain what might have happened. We coddle our kids too much. They can handle the truth about a goldfish. We got a free fish at a carnival when I was a kid and it died a week or so later. We didn’t mourn Dirty Firty too long, that’s for sure.
green_engineer said, 16 days ago
Don’t all hit out at Elly! We’ve all been there before; it’s a learning curve. Next time, they’ll know to be more careful.
ninmas said, 16 days ago
teach michael to gut a fish, then you’ll have a nice “frank patty”
kfaatz925 said, 16 days ago
Agreeing with lightenup and green_engineer. Elly isn’t a perfect mom, but who is? You do the best you can with what presents itself, and she’s a better example than many (if you’ve ever experienced real “irrational screaming” you know this.)
Musmo said, 16 days ago
Who doesn’t remember being fascinated by dead creatures, wet, fuzzy or slimy, as a child! The kids will probably want to study the effects of time on Franks’ body.
sugie63 said, 16 days ago
These aren’t comic strips anymore. They’re psychiatric sessions:-P
Macushlalondra
said,
16 days ago
I think you shouldn’t get a kid a pet until they’re old enough to take care of it. Why should Elly be stuck with the care of everything around there?
Lewreader
said,
16 days ago
Poke it with a stick
Doctor Toon
said,
16 days ago
I had to console my lady friend the other night over a couple of fish that were eaten by the tank bully.
hookedoncomics said, 16 days ago
Thanks Elly for explaining it so good to Michael. This will open his eyes to a whole new life for animals and the fact that you have to take care of them regularly.
Elly is most certainly not at fault. Its a fish, and sometimes they just die!
bald 716 said, 16 days ago
well kids, goldfish need care andproper feeding, remember to only feed them sparingly
Magasek said, 16 days ago
To those on the Elly-bashing bandwagon please keep in mind this is a comic strip so we’re seeing their lives in a strobe light, just four static images. Comforting probably already happened before she took the fish out of the water, or between the frames. Now she’s got a dead fish to dispose of (before Lizzy eats it) and I’m sure once that more pressing task is dealt with, she’ll return to the comforting. She’s not heartless, but the point of the strip was John’s final comment and not the comforting of an upset child.
GretchensMom said, 16 days ago
I hope they do a better job of taking care of Farley than they did that poor goldfish, Frank, if he died from being overfed and lived in a dirty bowl!
mroberts88 said, 16 days ago
Farley was a good dog, and it was sad that he died.
OpenWings said, 16 days ago
Dirty Firty - I love it lightenup :o)
Hey mroberts88 you DID post it! You said you would, but I wasn’t sure if you really would :o)
OpenWings said, 16 days ago
Aww mroberts88 I can has explanation? What was wrong with the other avatar? ;o)
I can’t read what he’s saying….
lindz.coop
said,
13 days ago
A. Why is everything always Elly’s fault, and why can’t she do anything right?
B. Why do we have to keep writing about Farley’s death? – if she goes thru these strips in a chronological order, it is many years down the road.