About Lynn Johnston

Education

After high school, Lynn went to the Vancouver School of Art hoping to make a career as an artist. Her main interest was animation. After two years of Art College, she took a job in the Ink and Paint department of an animation studio in Vancouver. Here, she began to apprentice as an animator.

Working at McMaster University

Lynn married Doug Franks, a television cameraman, in 1967 and moved to Ontario where work in the media was more available. Unable to find work in animation, Lynn applied for a job as a medical artist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Lynn worked for McMaster for five years. This was a period of incredible growth and learning for Lynn—she gained a reverence for life and the human body that only one working in a hospital environment can achieve. She learned about intricate medical problems and procedures while having to draw art for textbooks, posters and presentations. Her grasp of medical terminology is impressive to this day!

Lynn's First Book

In 1972, when Lynn discovered that she was expecting her first child, she left McMaster to start a freelance art business from home. During her pregnancy, Lynn’s obstetrician challenged her to draw cartoons for the ceilings above his examining tables. Before her baby was born, Lynn had presented Dr. Enkin with more than eighty pregnancy-related cartoons. These were to be displayed one at a time until her next visit when she would bring a new cartoon to replace the previous one—little did she know that he was carefully collecting them all. Dr. Enkin helped Lynn find a publisher for her collection. These cartoons were published in a book called David, We're Pregnant. Published in 1973, this book sold over 300,000 copies! Lynn’s son Aaron was born in 1973. The following year, Lynn was divorced.

Second Book, Commercial Artist

In 1975, Hi Mom, Hi Dad was published, a sequel to David, We're Pregnant. She continued to work for herself as a freelance, commercial artist out of a small, backyard greenhouse she had turned into a studio. With bills looming, Lynn took on whatever design jobs she could—if she could use her drawing skills, she would! She took on a range of projects for a variety of clientele. Cereal boxes, billboards, leaflets, posters, flyers, book illustrations and medical illustrations are some of the things she was paid to design, and this was back when “type” was “pasted” by hand!

Lynn Meets Rod, Publishes Third Book

Lynn met Rod Johnston, a 2nd year dental student at the University of Toronto—while he was taking flying lessons in Hamilton. They were married in 1976 and their daughter Katie was born in late 1977. In early 1978, the young family moved to Lynn Lake, Manitoba, where Rod’s family lived. Rod became a “flying dentist” serving small, remote villages one week every month. In this same year Lynn’s third book, Do They Ever Grow Up? was published. In 2007, Lynn and Rod Johnston’s marriage ended.

Beginning of FBorFW

One of Lynn’s publishers submitted her three books to Universal Press Syndicate in the hopes of having her cartoons syndicated. When the editors at the syndicate saw her books, they wrote to her right away to ask if she would be interested in doing a daily newspaper comic strip. Lynn immediately put together twenty examples of a series called, “The Johnstons.” These comics were based on of her own family (since these were the only people she knew she could draw over and over with consistency)—she also knew that her family would provide her with an endless supply of material. Lynn expected to be turned away, but to her surprise, she was offered, and ultimately signed, a twenty-year contract. Lynn’s editors provided support and guidance along they way—they suggested she change the name of the comic strip and also suggested the comic strip be about a fictional family, rather than her own. For Better or For Worse® was first published in newspapers across Canada and the US in the fall of 1979.

In Lynn’s Words

"Most cartoonists start the way I did: doodling on anything as soon as they are able to hold a pen. I've always loved to draw, and have always had a silly streak that, more often than not, got me into trouble. For Better or For Worse® let me put both of these talents to good use! I always knew I would be a cartoonist, but I never expected to make my LIVING as one!"

29 Years of FBorFW

Lynn wrote and drew a For Better or For Worse® comic strip for every day of every year for 29 years! She included the ups and downs of everyday life for an average family living in southern Ontario, Canada. In 2008, Lynn retired from drawing new comic strips. Since then, the story of the Patterson family is being told again for a dedicated and diverse audience across Canada, the United States and a number of other countries.

Lynn Today

Lynn now calls North Vancouver her home once again. When Lynn isn’t working creating new artwork and stories, she is enjoying time with her grandchildren, playing music on her accordion and travelling with her partner—guitarist Paul Lucas.