Doonesbury: Check Your Egos at the Door

Doonesbury Annuals #25

by G.B. Trudeau

Cartoons offer a satiric look at President Reagan's reelection campaign, advertising, late night radio talk shows, the California life style, vigilantism, the homeless, modern fathers and USA for Africa

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

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

[David]

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

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1990s, I had a roommate who loved to buy books based on the comics pages. I read a lot of his Doonesbury books, but most of them have blended together in my mind. This book was a standout because of the "We Are the World" storyline. I didn't always know the political figures Gary Trudeau poked fun at, but I knew all the pop and rock stars.

Doonesbury served as a far more entertaining and insightful look at America than the news. It did manage to chronicle history, including "the good old days" from my generation. This is not a hilarious comic. You're not going to risk peeing yourself with this. But it is an interesting look at a time when America was stupid enough to believe that hunger in Africa could be cured once and for all by a song.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reaching back to the Reagan era, this book was as interesting re-visit to that time. Some of the issues almost seem to foreshadow things happening in the current times. The books ends with a lampoon of the "We Are The World" concert and egos involved in a huge project like that. I fun nostalgic return to the past.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zonker enrolls in a dodgy medical school run by Duke, perfect!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming out in 1985 with strips from October of 84 when the strip came out of its hiatus through the early part of 85. Everyone is now out of college and no longer at Walden Commune but the strip doesn’t seem radically different. Still good though.

[Aspry Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little edition here, depicting the years 1984-1985. It's during this time when freeloading pot-head Zonker gets kicked out of Mike and JJ's place, Duke gets mind-blasted off 24hours breathing ether and Rick Redfern binges on scotch with his buddy Duane because...Reagan wins another four years in office. Classic Doonesbury stuff here. Seldom does Trudeau throw curveballs. Sometime he will kill a character, other times a character might lose a leg in the war. But this time out, it's standard comic fare.

The best parts are the debut of homeless woman Alice as child neglecter/reporter Rick goes out to live in the streets, researching a piece he's writing - and a side-story about the "We Are The World" artists getting together to sing a little song about hope. Funny thing here is, I can't figure out whether Trudeau is mocking the project or just using it to poke fun at other things political. Good Doonesbury character history piece here as Mike Doonesbury becomes the "Subway Hero" completely by accident. Fun story.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, time has seen Mr. Trudeau’s once popular strip diminish in its force. The drawings aren’t bad. But most of the political issues addressed are out of date and the politicos involved out of office. However, some of the topics remain right on track: B-movie starlets, egotistical singing sensations, homelessness, voter apathy and mad science (well, mad medicine, anyway) all make their appearance. While the comic strip isn’t uproariously funny, it is worth a chuckle here and there amid its dated pages.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid-Reagan era doldrums-inflected Doonesbury. Liked the sequences on attempting to market Reagan to black voters; Rick's reporting on homelessness and fatherhood (the latter one of Trudeau's better feminist bits); We Are the World; and Mike's minute of fame in a Bernard Goetz-inspired subway drama. It does remind me how long the 80s felt.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Doonesbury and I find Trudeau's liberal humor to be really funny.

[Valerie]

This was Trudeau's contribution to USA for Africa. I particularly like the part where one of the stars demands a receipt for his ego.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate that song "We Are the World", so I'm particularly fond of Trudeau's lampoon.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bush puts his manhood in a blind trust, despite the satirist Reagan and Bush are elected, 45 stars record a song for Africa, the aid sent to Ethiopia sits on the docks and rots.