The artist is a woman by the name of Lynn Johnston. Born in Ontario, but raised in Vancouver, she brings a uniquely Canadian perspective to the comic world. The comic strip itself is set in Ontario -- a suburb of Toronto? The grandparents of Elizabeth live in Vancouver -- my home town! How can I not like it? The Canadian-ness of this comic strip is obvious everywhere. From Michael and Elizabeth attending grade thirteen in high school to mentions of local culture to the niceness of the characters, this is a Canadian enterprise, through and through.
I happen to be the exact same age as Elizabeth. What she goes through, I go through too! When she was five, I was five. Now she is twenty. So am I! April is.....how old? Nine or ten? I love the real time aspect of this comic strip. As fans will know, Michael recently got married. It sounds rather silly to say that this had an impact on my life. But wow, Michael got married! You know what I mean? Impossible to explain, and impossible to understand unless you feel the same way as I do.
Real issues. The two that stand out of course are Farley's death and the homosexuality of Michael's friend. But the fact is that everything that happens in the comic strip is realistic. A slice of life, if you will. Johnston takes realistic situations and manages to find the humour in them. Or if not, then the poignancy. There are some touching moments in the Patterson family. As I mentioned, the marriage of Michael to Deanna just recently happened. The death of Elly's mother was also one of these touching moments. Real issues concerning relationships abound. For the kids, they face real issues in their emergence into the world. The adults face real issues in their emergence into their latter years.
And fourthly, everything else. Well hell, it's just good. End of story. Maybe I let myself be sucked in or something. But this has been my favourite comic strip for many many years, and as long as Johnston is still drawing them, the Pattersons will continue to be my favourite.