Doonesbury: Quality Time on Highway 1

Doonesbury Annuals #38

by G.B. Trudeau

Things are shaking on the West Coast, and it's Sid's fault. He can't bring Boopsie and B.D.'s long-avoided nuptials to the "I do" moment quickly enough: her breaking water signals the beginning of another new age. Congratulations, it's a baby woman As prequel to this major transition, Desert Storm troopers B.D. and Ray find themselves called back to heavy duty in the streets of South Central. Ray looks on the bright side ("At least we're working again, man."). Indeed, their fortunes flare and both soon find themselves cruising the coast as professional highwaymen-CHIPs, with the power to ticket total strangers and close friends alike.This collection, "Quality Time on Highway 1," is tough in its scrutiny of such hot topics as gender bias, both in Congress (the testimony we never heard at the Thomas hearings) and in elementary school. Why does the teacher always call on the boys instead of Alex, and how can Joanie intervene? ("Mom, she'll never call on you, send Daddy.") So tough that the Commissioner of Comics condemns Doonesbury and takes over. Garry Trudeau is out, Diego Tutweiler is in, at least until the cast is cleared for correct family values. No one said cartooning was going to be easy. But in this "Doonesbury" book, Garry Trudeau once again proves that it can be weird, fun, and relevant.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Cartoon, Comic Strips, Politics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip. In 1970, Trudeau's creation of Doonesbury was syndicated by the newly formed Universal Press Syndicate. Today Doonesbury is syndicated to almost 1,400 newspapers worldwide and is accessible online in association with Slate Magazine at doonesbury.com. In 1975, he became the first comic strip artist to win a Pulitzer, traditionally awarded to editorial-page cartoonists. He was also a Pulitzer finalist in 1990. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1977 in the category of Animated Short Film, for A Doonesbury Special, in collaboration with John Hubley and Faith Hubley. A Doonesbury Special eventually won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Special Prize in 1978. Other awards include the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1994, and the Reuben Award in 1995. He was made a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. Wiley Miller, fellow comic-strip artist responsible for Non Sequitur, called Trudeau "far and away the most influential editorial cartoonist in the last 25 years." In addition to his work on Doonesbury, Trudeau has teamed with Elizabeth Swados and written plays, such as Rap Master Ronnie and Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy. In 1988, Trudeau joined forces with director Robert Altman for the HBO miniseries Tanner '88 and the Sundance Channel miniseries sequel Tanner on Tanner in 2004. In 1996, Newsweek and The Washington Post speculated that Trudeau wrote the novel Primary Colors, which was later revealed to have been written by Joe Klein. Trudeau wrote the political sitcom Alpha House, starring John Goodman and Bill Murray. The pilot was produced by Amazon Studios and aired in early 2013. Due to positive response Amazon has picked up Alpha House to develop into a full series.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming out in 1993 with strips from mid 92 through early 93. A good mix of purely political material with other shtick from my point of view, meaning not overly heavy on the politics. But it’s all funny so who can complain?

[David]

On the 5th tour through the entire Doonescape. It never fails.

[Shoshanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

1992 election

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ross Perot. Clinton gets the White House and hope rises. Alex gets a ride along with BD at work and instantly becomes a favourite character. Zonker comes to babysit and takes baby Alex surfing. Joanie gets a job with the administration. Lacey leading Republican reconstruction of the party. Zonker wants social security...to be registered. Mike is still unemployed.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transition to the Clinton years. BD and Ray come back from the Gulf; Boopsie and BD have a baby and hire Zonker as (undocumented) nanny; Joanie gets a job with the new administration....collection feels a bit like marking time, which is what the moment was.