Award-winning cartoonist Lynn Johnston (born 1947) took over where Family Circus and Blondie left off with her comic strip, For Better or for Worse, which presents a modern-day view of family life. The strip has apparently struck a chord, as it appears in 87 of the 100 largest papers in the United States and is consistently voted one of the top five comics by readers.

Lynn Beverley Johnston was born May 28, 1947, in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, to Mervyn and Ursula Ridgway. Her father was a jeweler and watchmaker who loved comics and cartoons and instilled in his daughter an enthusiasm for those same things. He also taught her to analyze the value of timing and setting in comedy and cartoons. Johnston's mother was an illustrator and calligrapher whose talents inspired the young Lynn. Johnston's love of drawing and cartooning was a natural outgrowth of her parents' influence, and she developed her skills...