Former Guy: Doonesbury in the Time of Trumpism

Doonesbury on Trump #4

by G.B. Trudeau

Though the title doesn't mention him by name, Former Guy looms large in American politics and culture even after leaving the Executive Office of the President. This latest Doonesbury collection picks up in the heat of the 2020 presidential campaign, chronicles the infamy of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and continues into the next administration, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and the many manifestations of Trumpism in global politics and American life.

Over 50 years into his legendary career, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist G.B. Trudeau is still the most accomplished satirist in comics, and his ongoing comics coverage of Donald Trump are unparalleled in breadth and humor.

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

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2022

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

[Laura Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over 50 years and Trudeau's still got it! He is by far the best political cartoonist for my money. It was a reunion with some of my favorite characters: Zonker, Mike, JJ, and Rascal. Insightful and entertaining! Highly recommend!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great satire about the “other guy”. Unfortunately there is more truth than fiction which sadly makes it funny but scary.

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for an E-ARC via NetGalley. Anticipated publication date is 9/13/2022.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Blood on his Hands”. I think Shakespeare wrote it (but don’t know for sure), and it’s featured on many comic panels in Garry Trudeau’s new book, “The Former Guy: Doonesbury in the Time of Trumpism”. The book, which is a compilation of Trudeau’s Sunday comic strips, written since the summer of the 2000 presidential election. It was the era of Covid, Donald Trump’s defeat, the J6, as well as incidental events in the lives of the Doonesbury regulars. Trudeau used most of his regular characters in the comics, except for my longtime personal favorite, Honey Yuan. Well, maybe next compilation…

Garry Trudeau’s political leanings have been front and center in his cartoons. He began his cartoons 50 or so years ago, and he’s continued his gentle (and sometimes NOT so gentle) ribbing mainly of conservatives in the government and media. I’ve noticed over the years that Trudeau’s wit has become more pointed as our country has become more divisive.

This book, number 4 in a series about the Trump years, is as funny but with an edge I hadn’t seen before in his work. Obviously, the times call for it.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters in Trudeau's beloved Doonesbury world survive Covid lockdowns, mask conflicts, the Former Guy's hateful policies and his bloody hands...they navigate the 2020 voter-suppression efforts and continue to pursue their passions. Trudeau adds just enough vinegar to highlight his satire.

He's still got it!

[June Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trudeau is the master. I've read through the book now twice and still don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I have to admit to, while not ignoring Trudeau's work, being less focused on it over the past years than I once was. As a result, as I enjoyed the collection here, I found myself smiling, even chuckling as I renewed old acquaintances, not to mention rolling my eyes and shaking my head. Not at the subject matter, no, but at the deft, humorous way events were presented.

Your favorites seem to be here, from Zonker to Jimmy Crow, Mike, JJ, TRFF, Red Rascal, Roland Hedley, and more. The big hits just kept coming, from lies to election fraud, voting shenanigans, protests, conspiracy theories, and so much more. Covid was given its own cartoon character, btw, just as Buttsy(who makes a few appearances with Mr. Brewski) was used to represent smoking.

Once dubbed a "third rate talent" by the Former Guy, Trudeau has been drawing his "garbage" for some 52 years. Probably much to Trudeau's dismay, as huge a gift to comic and satirists as the Former Guy has been, most likely Trudeau wishes he'd had cause to spend less time focused on the Former Guy. Be that as it may (or may not) be, Trudeau's lens into the political world is as sharp as it's ever been.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #AndrewsMcMeelPublishing for reminding me how much I've been missing my daily dose of Trudeau and just didn't know it. Needless to say, that's something I'm already working on fixing.

[David]

Once again, I never thought I'd 'miss' Nixon and W. As in the cases of the previous three 'DJT' collections, Trudeau is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying here. One wishes it were all invented, or even mostly exaggerated. 'MTG' is interesting in retrospect. Of course he wasn't 'former' guy forever.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former Guy is Doonesbury on the last president and the events surrounding the end of his presidency: January 6th, COVID, and voter suppression among these. The Former Guy does not come off well, but it doesn't take much lampooning to illustrate his shortfalls. He is often a caricature of himself.



Like Lady MacBeth, the Former Guy has bloody hands (referring to the unnecessary COVID deaths). Unlike Lady MacBeth, he is not disturbed by them. As a result, it was easier to feel some empathy toward the former than the latter.

Former Guy jumps around rather than developing a theme, which means that I find his strips more entertaining than his collections. They are, nonetheless, entertaining.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m continuing my personal protest of reading all the Trump parodies I can get my hands on. Trudeau has been at it the longest and is still one of the best. It’s depressing reading at times, and downright mind boggling at others. I didn’t laugh much. But we each must protest in our own way.

[Donna Metler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an eARC so I could review this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Doonesbury, as a current events political cartoon often hits that point. Former Guy, which chronicles from the aftermath of the 2020 elections, the first part of the COVID pandemic, gerrymandering and voter suppression, CRT panic, etc definitely covers a not super humorous time.

I have used Doonesbury as a route to teaching recent history for high school age students in the past, to give a more detailed view of the Vietnam war and similar events. . In 20 years ago. I can see “Former Guy” being used in the same vein.

[Tom French · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading DOONESBURY daily back in the late 70's. I've bought all the books. Heck, I even saw the Broadway Show (and still own the cast album... on vinyl!). It's fair to say I'm a fan.

In the absence of dailies, I cherish the Sunday strips. Trudeau still handles this gigantic cast with ease, finding a way to check in with everybody and advance their storylines even with a once-a-week frequency.

All that said, I've had a front seat for his nearly 40-year roast of Trump. From JJ painting the bathrooms on the yacht, to Mark bashing his knees on Trump Airlines marble tray tables, to the release of the 1,000 Pigeons of Peace ("They're Doves, Mr. Trump!"), I've been here for it all.

So this last quartet of books, containing the entire Trump presidency, has been nothing less than a joy -- Trudeau doing what he does best.

Thank you, Garry Trudeau -- I'm grateful to you and your work. It's made me laugh for many years.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve last read Doonesbury, but I used to be a big fan back in its heyday when we all used to read newspapers -remember them?? Yeah, they were fun.

So, Trudeau has one foot in his vast cast of characters and one in the editorial cartoon realm, and he makes it work. His characters watch TV, hang on couches, scroll their devices, and consume media like the rest of us do. Trudeau is a master at just letting the absurdity hang out there for you to enjoy/shake your head at/harrumph at -whichever you wish.

The art is still great-look like he digs Photoshop gradients for coloring. Entertaining, although Trump supporters may feel otherwise bc it skewers conservatives pretty relentlessly. I actually had to visit Wikipedia for a rundown on the characters. As I said, it’s been a while and I couldn’t tell my Joanie from my Boopsie.

[John Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

some made me laugh, some made me cry

In the same way I watch monologues from the late shows of this time period, catching slices of the future predicted from the past- a future that has happened for me but not for the present in the moment being observed- it is both amusing and frustrating to see knowledge of what is to happen being joked about and warned.

Or to phrase all of that in a less pretentious way:
Trudeau was able to see what was coming and wrote about it in a humorous way, while still trying to warn people about what dangers they risked. I enjoyed this book, some parts because of how raw and truthful it was and others because of how distorted from truth and yet still honest the characters were in the moment.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former Guy is the fourth volume of Doonsbury comics focusing on Trump and his alternate reality. Trudeau opens with a strip from May 2020 on natural selection and closes with with a strip from June 19, 2022 on gender pronouns, In between these posts are strips on COVID, presidential indifference, lies (not as many strips there as I expected), protests, a smattering of politics, and some interesting personal interactions. Plus a list of all the court cases involved in the Big Lie! In all, a very Doonsbury collection.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the last six or seven or eight years I've been reading my way through all of the Doonesbury collections. It's been a revealing and to an increasing extent depressing tour of the American history I've lived through. The last several volumes focusing on Trump are almost enough to make me nostalgic for the Nixon and Reagan eras. It's not Trudeau's fault that we wind up where we are--he did his best to raise the warning flags. But still...I'll miss the characters and I know there'll be another collection somewhere down the line. A toast to Trudeau for keeping his eyes on the prize in the midst of many storms.

[Danielle Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should I laugh or should I cry? GB Trudeau's collection of political cartoons is full of humor and satire.... but sometimes it's too close to the truth, which actually makes it terrifying.

I wouldn't necessarily say this book is for liberals, but it's definitely not for a Trumplican. This book is a visual representation of how many people view "The Former Guy", and it's not in a bright light. You definitely have to have a sense of humor to enjoy the book.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doonesbury cartoonist G. B. Trudeau sums up the irony, humor, and horror of the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath. Colorful and peppered with witticisms and puzzles, this book captures the mayhem of 2020-2021 perfectly by packaging many of the cartoons of those years neatly into one volume. This volume really captures the madness of that time well in only 130 pages no less! Great for all readers (even those of you out there who aren't familiar with Doonesbury--you don't know what you've been missing).

[K.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

For over 50 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning Garry Trudeau has written some of the most incisive political satire that has ever been published. And this latest volume critiquing the former US President (often using Donald's own 'very perfect' words) is no exception.

This book and all previous Doonesbury outings are a gateway into understanding the American zeitgeist - and (former guy excluded), it's lovely spending the time with this rich tapestry of well-developed and constantly evolving characters.

Not 'just' a comic - Trudeau writes works of trail-blazing, breath-taking art.

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great to see that Trudeau hasn't lost any of the sharpness of his wit even after 52 years. His collection of thirty years of Trump based cartoons is a great intro to this book.

But Trudeau is getting on in years, and it doesn't look like there is anyone out there who is ready to replace him like he replace Pogo. We can only hope that Zonkers had a clandestine affair with Peppermint Patti from which a child was born, and is now quietly preparing to enter the arena.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the latest collection of political cartoons from the always excellent GB Trudeau. Still at the top of his game after over 50 years, skewering the previous resident of the White House and his behavior in the aftermath of the 2020 elections - it's viciously funny, but also sheds a bright light on the frighteningly awful.

[RebL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine addition to by Doonesbury anthology shelf. Long-time readers will know The Donald has been a recurring character for decades, and as such holds the honor of the only president depicted bodily instead of as a metaphor. Fans will enjoy this book, which covers the late-Trump early-Covid years. Non-fans should also check it out as it's brilliant social and political satire. Everyone just read it, OK?
I'm only giving it four stars because it was shorter than I wanted.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doonesbury

I have been a fan of Doonesbury for years. Where I live the local paper does carry any comics so I have to rely on collections like these to enjoy some very good satire. Now some people will be offended by these comics, but many will get a good laugh out of them. So if you have a sense of humor this collection of Doonesbury will give you the laughs you need to face the day.

[Paul Dinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is satire with real bite, not just because it has blood on Trump's hands. This could easily turn into sour comedy that is full of fatalism, as everyone knows how creepy this guy is, and how no one does anything but talk about it. I loved the humor of these books even as I am reeling from the reality of it. Trudeau is a national treasure.

[Steve Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I haven’t consumed a new Doonesbury book in a long time & didn’t know if Trudeau still had his comics chops. He’s as sharp & dryly witty as ever. This is a lot of all-color strips, beautifully drawn, and each one captures the zeitgeist & exposes the Trump nonsense to devastating effect.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

Still relevant after all this time. Political satire at its best. I've been reading Doonesbury for more years than I remember and I still love it. He nails Trump's idiocy in all 4 of these books. The scariest part is so many have drunk the lemonade that he could take over and be the dictator he dreams of being. Remember to vote.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump but still a harsh look at the “former guys” buffonery.

[Writemoves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably no one better than Gary Trudeau, in capturing the idiocy, mood and craziness of our politics, culture, events and times. Historians, dozens and 100 years from now, will look at his cartoons as the barometer of the times that he covered.

I don't know a very many political satirists or comics who have been a bigger needle in the side and ego of Donald Trump as this book demonstrates.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great...

...as always. Doonesbury is always right on the money and this book is no different. Very timely. It includes panels on Covid, the election, the war in Ukraine...everything we're currently dealing with and still can provide a laugh.

[George Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former Guy made e laugh (mostly so I didn't cry)

Doonesbury does it again! I thought Huge was big but The Former Guy is funnier and far more poignant. Laugh till you cry or vice versa!

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so hard reading this. Very good read. Light hearted and interesting. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

[Dan Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doonesbury=Funny. 51% of America=Wtf?

Seriously, was no one in Repub circles paying attention?? There are other corrupt racists you could have voter for that have more skill than TFG.