For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 17, 2023

That kind.

Better show the new tattoos later. ;-)

And he also has bad breath

Mission accomplished

Elizabeth shows far more patience and understanding than her mother. Might be the reason that she became a teacher and Elly didn’t!

Jesus Elly, pull that stick out your butt, it’s so far up we can smell the bark on your breath.

I honestly think the moustache is awful-looking, but the long hair isn’t too bad. I remember those days…

That’s about how my son looked his Freshman year.

He’s only been gone a few months. Hair does not grow that fast.

Some men look better in a beard. It gives the illusion of a chin. If you have a weak chin, grow a beard.

Not you ladies, though :-))

From Lynn’s Comments: My readers hated Michael’s beard. As soon as he came home sporting facial fuzz, the letters came. I had to let Mike go through this rite of passage, so I left him with the beard for a few months…until the complaints became something I really had to deal with. Removing Mike’s beard was the only thing I ever did to placate angry readers!

I remember when my eldest brother went to college in the fall of 1971 and came back with long hair. I don’t think he’d grown a beard yet, he did later on. The college didn’t have the same dress and hair standards as high school did back in those days.

A Charlie Brown sort of Statement!!

I didn’t grow a beard until I was in the MBA program at Penn State. We had a contest that winter. So I grew one both winters. It was ugly!

Going to the Barber Shop statement. His girlfriend would probably have the same reaction.

The statement it sends is that he can’t afford razor blades, and would someone buy him an electric shaver for Christmas.

My brothers didn’t let their hair grow in college. 2 of my brothers let their hair grow right before going into the army (they figured, do it while they can) but did grow mustaches; one brother grew a beard later & still has it (neatly trimmed; it looks really nice). My younger brother died at 21 & kept his hair short his entire life.

SPOILERS!!

I like Elizabeth’s (not so new)look but can’t say that I am a fan of Michael’s ! ! ! !

This is great! I don’t even remember seeing this one. Does anyone know the years this came out originally?

My Girlfriend calls me the man of many faces, my beard is always changing.

Ruh roh Raggy! Rou retter rave rat reard.

Artistic license.

I figure every dude has to try wearing his hair long at least once!

For years, I had a full-face beard and mustache. When the cheek areas turned too white for my taste, off they came, leaving a goatee and mustache. The goatee was next to go (same situation), and nothing remained but the mustache. Shortly thereafter, a friend noticed something was different. “Don’t tell me”, he said, staring at my face for a few moments, then: “Aah—you grew a mustache!”

Suspension of disbelief

Johnny Damon while a Red Sox, before, sadly, becoming a scalped Yankee.

THAT kind of statement.

Ah yes Micheal, excuses are like…………..Well you know. Lets face it, you not a writer, yet any way, you are just a college kid who spends his hair cut money on beer.

Elly’s reaction is similar to the one I got from the women in my life.

That is the statement that matter…!

It’s been 42 years, I still haven’t cut my hair, beards come and go.

Elizabeth looks so young here.

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop was known for a beard without mustache. He admitted it was due to a bet he had with his son at a time when both of them had full beards. The loser had to get rid of the beard. They found out both of them were somewhat right, so the bet was settled with the elder Koop shaving his upper lip but leaving the hair on his chin and the son turning his beard into a mustache.

It is General Nathan Bedford Forrest!

I let my beard grow for a few months in my last semester of college. I’d already had a job interview in January and received and accepted a job offer to start in June, so let my beard grow out until the end of that final term just to see what it would look and feel like. I never had any intention of keeping it beyond the end of the school term, but boy was my mother nervous – she didn’t like it at all and kept asking me “When are you going to shave? When are you going to shave?” I got rid of the beard, as always planned, a couple of days prior to my graduation ceremony and have never grown one since, nor do I have any plans to ever again. I never really cared for it either – just had to satisfy the curiosity. I did keep a couple of selfie photos (taken with FILM back in those olden days!!!) as mementos.

My husband grew a mustache in college to make him look older. He shaved it off in his 50’s when it went grey and made him look too old.

Mom should be happy she can do his laundry

He’s not your little boy anymore and he will probably grow out of it. If he doesn’t, he is still your son that loves you so very much and always will be that person…..

Brett Keisel of the Steelers had a long beard, which he allowed people to pay to snip at it until it was gone. By the end of it he was clean shaven and had raised over $40,000 for charity.

That’s the one.

wow… flashback to 1967… coming home from my first year in college for Christmas with a full beard and huge afro… ( hey it was 1967)… i walked in the house and my Mom just stared at me but when my Dad came in his first words were…. ‘GET OUT..AND GET A HAIRCUT AND SHAVE….’…. so being a good Italian heritage kid, i did…but kept the mustache…and my mustache just celebrated it’s 56th birthday…..lol

My friend’s son came home with a different look every time he came home from Bible college.

Ever notice how these two words use the same exact letters:

E-L-L-Y

Y-E-L-L

Coincidence? I think not!

My BIL’s mom tried to get him to shave his beard for years. Even tried to enlist my sister to get him to shave it off before the wedding. Didn’t happen.

Sniff socks?

Looks like my husband when we were in college back in the 70s. I’m an old-fashioned girl, and I still like longer hair on men.

People, it’s a cartoon! Lynn can make any character in any way.

I’ve always thought that it was up to my husband how he wanted to grow or not grow his facial hair. I don’t particularly like his bearded face, but I have no say in the matter, by MY choice. I did comment once that I liked him with a mustache and he’s worn one ever since. So I’m careful not to say anything about disliking his beard so he won’t just “try to please me”.

Michael is good for now. When he leaves the sheltered life of academia and has to make it in the real world he will learn either the hard way or the easy way that we are judged by our appearance.

Wait until she hears about the piercings and tattoos.

I have read a lot of this strip, but I do NOT remember this episode of Mike.

Kinda hate that we had to skip the reveal strip for the Sunday color

Did he just get home today? This feels like we’re joining the action in media res.

I wonder what he’s been up to the last three months. Hopefully something more interesting than a lot of the strips that have run when we saw him last.

Honestly, I don’t really mind the concept of long hair, moustache and beard. The execution here, though … I don’t think so.

Statement: I have no money for a haircut or shaving goods.

What is Elly yelling at? Michael’s beard? How is it possible this is the first time she’s seen Michael since he’s been back?

Or is it the suddenly-messy room?

Either way, Elly just shows up at the doorway and starts screaming. That is strange behavior, no matter which way you look at it.

I recently found out that steroids can stop your head hair from growing. Had no idea.

Wait, Mike has a beard and mustache now.