Same Old Tears on a new background...?

I read "For Better or For Worse" regularly, and I've always enjoyed it. This upsets Ed H. (Sorry, Ed...)

When I read this article, one part of it stuck out for me...

She announced this month that she would retell her strip's narrative, beginning Monday, by taking her continually aging characters back to 1979, but creating new artwork and some dialogue. Her syndicate says it's the first time a mainstream cartoonist has set out to tell the same story twice.

Is that really a good thing?

The article does mention that her 32 year old marriage has dissolved, and one wonders if she's going to refabricate Elly's husband to be less than perfect, so as to reflect her own life.

Having been through two marriages and a lot of growing up myself, here's my two cents.

When you go through a divorce, you do tend to remember things a bit differently once the dust settles. You see through clearer eyes. However, as time passes, the eyes get clearer still.

It was easy to call my first husband an a**hole, and I still do. But I realize now that I was not a perfect person to live with. I was undiagnosed and he probably didn't know what to do with this woman he was madly in love with in college who was now flipping up and down emotionally, so he did what he knew how to do best; he left. The way he left was pretty awful, but he did what he felt he had to do.

As far as my marriage to Ed H., that clarity applies as well. Both of us had many issues to work through, and ultimately things didn't last. I was quick to say that it was all his fault. I know now that I should have gone deeper to find out what exactly was wrong with me, but I came a long way from where I was before (not knowing ANYTHING). Now we talk, and we're friends again, but we both know that it's not going to go beyond that. I wonder what would have happened if we had stayed together, but the fact is that we didn't. Going forward is the name of the game.

So can you re-tell the same story? Will it have changes as one looks back again? Lynn Johnston realizes that, but I wonder how it will affect her fan base. I don't know if I'm ready to see the same story unfold again, because it might be tinted with regret and bad feelings. What I've always liked about the strip is the sense of hopefulness it has. I hate to think that it might be changed because the artist's life has changed as well.

Some things are better left alone, right?

Tell me what you think, fans of "For Better or For Worse". For those who aren't familiar with the strip, what is your favorite comic strip (if you have one)? Why is it your favorite?