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I closed my eyes.
There was a sound like that of the gentle closing of a portal as big as the sky, the great door of heaven being closed softly.
It was a grand AH-WHOOM.
I opened my eyes—and all the sea was ice-nine.
The moist green earth was a blue-white pearl.
Cat’s Cradle © 1963 by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
For Better or For Worse 9/3/07
Today is Fööberdämmerung — launch of the new, frozen phase of For Better or For Worse.
Well, so they say. In fact, the strip road-tested its “Mike ‘n’ Meredith” photo-reminiscence gimmick back in July — so nothing really begins today. And the current storylines, including the one with Canada’s Favourite Couple, won’t treacle out until early next year — so nothing ends, either. In fact, despite the announcements and interviews, there is no actual event here — it’s like Canadian Grandparents’ Day or something.
Whatever the timeline, I’m conflicted about the conversion of FOOB into a zombie/rerun hybrid:
Gee!
It’ll be nice to see the old strips again. They were good!
The author is doing the responsible thing for her staff. Nice!
Good way to ease into retirement and keep an income stream going. You go, girl!
But!
Reruns of a serial won’t attract new readers, and nostalgia is mighty thin gruel.
Hey, 2,000 papers! There’s plenty of new talent out there — give somebody else a chance, eh?
Twenty-eight years is a great run — retire, already!
And Yikes!
FOOB is now all Michael, all the time.
Despite all the buildup, the FOOBocalypse turns out to be precisely nothing — perfectly congruent with the way the strip manages characters and events, and oddly satisfying.
AH-WHOOM
— Uncle Lumpy
