IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: For Better...

IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: For Better or For Worse 15th Anniversary Collection by Lynn Johnston (Andrews & McMeel: $12.95; 230 pp., paperback original). Over the last decade and a half, “For Better or for Worse” has developed into an intelligent, inclusive portrait of family life in North America in the late 20th Century. Like Frank King (“Gasoline Alley”), Johnston allows her characters to age and refuses to tie every story up neatly. In a series of interesting notes, she comments on events in her life that influenced specific strips, and discusses audience reactions to the controversial series in which one of her teen-age characters revealed he was gay.