I missed a bunch of For Better or For Worse, so now that this little story line about Elizabeth has started I’m wondering what happened last year when she was attacked. Can anyone give me a recap?
The last several years’ worth of strips are archived on the FBOFW site. Here’s the debut of Howard. Just keep clicking on the “next” button at the right of the page to follow the story.
Soitoinly.
In the summer of '05 she was working in the landscaping department of her friend Anthony’s store. There she caught the eye of a lout named Howard who kept asking her out; Howard began as annoying but grew incrementally menacing. Elizabeth being the ninny she is, she kept making excuses for his odious behavior. Eventually Howard assaulted her, obviously intending to move on to rape, but Anthony arrived and saved her.\
That’ll be a dollar.
Pretty good recap. Except: it was Lawrence’s (Mike’s old friend who now owns a landscaping business) store Liz was working at. Anthony is Liz’s ex boyfriend who is a bookeeper for several businesses, including Lawrence’s, which is why he came in just in time to save Liz from creepy Howard.
I knew I had something wrong; I’d have looked it up if I weren’t so horribly lazy.
I notice you didn’t disagree with me about Liz being an idiot.
If she gets back with that dope Anthony instead of sticking with the cop I’m gonna be pissed off. Anthony sucks.
I agree, but it so seems like things are setting up for liz and Anthony getting together, the replacement teacher and Liz’s cop boyfriend obviously having history together provides a nice clean oppertunity for Liz to find herseld back with Anthony without any regrets… except those of all the readers who are icked by him.
[spoiler]Anthony doesn’t work for Lawrence at all. He came to the landscaping warehouse specifically to see Liz and pour his heart out about how unhappy he was in his loveless marriage, and how much he missed her. Which he proceeded to do while driving her home after the attack. Memorable quotes: “I HAVE NO HOME!” and “Wait for me! Promise me you’ll wait!” Liz never gave a definite answer one way or the other, only sighing to her cat, “Why is life so complicated? Why is love so complicated?”
BTW, Anthony works exclusively for Gordon, Mike’s other wildly successful friend, who started as an employee at a garage/gas station, then became owner when the original owner retired, and kept expanding until he is now the owner of an automotive dealership and who knows what else. Anthony is his accountant; no Lawrence connection.[/spoiler]
And by the mental image of Liz ridin’ that moustache.
More information about our favorite Foobs (and licorice) may be found here.
Thanks!
Well, right you are, Rilchiam. I could have sworn: that when Liz first started at the nursery, Anthony came around doing some work for Lawrence and his partner. But I went back and couldn’t find it and the strips just before and after the Howard incident don’t mention it at all. Anyway, now Liz will be thrown together with Anthony during the trial, I suppose.
Ick. I loath Anthony. He is the type of guy whom Florence King calls a Michael Man – he uses his status as a ‘nice guy’ to weasel his way into a woman’s life. Whenever she tries to stop seeing him, all her friends and family trumpet, “But he’s so nice!” After a while she starts feeling bad about herself – everyone says he’s so nice, so what does it say about her that she doesn’t want him? Pretty soon, he’s deeply embedded in her life and she can’t unload him – not without looking like the monster who broke the heart of St. Michael the Good.
I always felt sorry for Anthony’s wife – sure, she was a bitch, but who wouldn’t be, married to St. Anthony the Good? I really hope Lynn isn’t planning on hooking Liz up with him. Sure Liz is a bit dense, but she sure doesn’t deserve that.
Nah… She’ll have Liz tell Anthony that she’s going out with Paul. Then Paul will break up with her (for the replacement, of course). Liz’ll get despondent and think about getting back with Anothony, only to meet the next guy, right before she sees Anthony again. Lynn’s having too much fun with Liz being unmarried.
Mark my words: April will get married before Liz!
Liz saw Anthony when she went to Gordon’s dealership to rent a motorcycle from him, which she’s been doing in the summers. Gordon drove her to Anthony’s house, where Anthony explained that Therese, his wife, would “rather be at work than take care of a little one,” so Gordon was letting him work from home so he could care for their infant daughter. Liz thought, but didn’t say, “This doesn’t add up.” Later, Gordon ponderously told Liz that Anthony “tries” to love Therese. See, a marriage where the mom works and the dad is the caregiver to the child is clearly a marriage in trouble. :rolleyes:
Yep – Anthony is the classic Michael Man. Don’t you feel sorry for poor Therese?
ARGH!!! Whose brilliant idea was it, I wonder, to have the characters’ eyes blink at you in this strip?? That seriously freaked me out. I thought I was seeing things at first.
Actually, hitting the ‘back’ button a few times, I see them blinking in previous installments, too, not just the one I linked to. Geez, what a nutty idea.
That’s because April will get pregnant at 16.
I saw that in some of the newer strips. I completely agree that it’s inane and obnoxious.
:snort: 
She’s roadside, man.
Anthony doesn’t deserve Liz, and I hope she’s smart enough to realize it.
I know there are some comic strips where the characters age, have children, and remember their ancestry. Gasoline Alley, for example, seems to have had generations of characters over the decades who all seem to have grown up and gotten older (except for Rufus and Joel, those old farts!).
Then you have other comic strips that are timeless. Little Orphan Annie is still a little orphan, just like she was 70 years ago, but now she fights terrorists. Matt Goening has publicly stated that the characters on The Simpsons do not age; Lisa Simpson has celebrated her 8th birthday twice, for Pete’s sake!
Am I nuts, or was For Better or For Worse one of the latter strips early on? It was amusing to read, but always seemed to have the same cast of ageless characters. Now it’s taking itself more seriously?
Have the characters always aged and progressed, even from the beginning, and I just missed it, or was there a change in creative direction at some point?