Gerry Trudeau's Doonesbury turned 40 back on October 26th and while I don't keep tabs on Doonesbury like I do other strips, I have a certain respect for it because it is topical, political and funny at the same time.  And to those people who don't find Doonesbury funny, I want to remind you that Doonesbury is about as funny as Cathy between 1994 and 2010.  That's right, I'm picking on Cathy.

Anyway, along with the regular comics today, here are some key and controversial strips spanning from 1970 until today.


The first Doonesbury strip from October 26, 1970.  I love how BD is just sitting in his chair waiting for his computer-selected roommate.  Right in front of the door.  Right in front of it.


This strip is from 1974 and it is in reference to the Watergate scandal.  This strip won Trudeau a Pulitzer Prize thus cementing it in comic strip history.


This is the first strip after Trudeau took a 22-month hiatus.  Charles Schulz called Trudeau very unprofessional while he was on hiatus.


Members of the Bush family have always been shown as points of light--or in President George W. Bush's case, an asterisk.  In this strip from 1988, President George H.W. Bush almost appears before returning to his normal point of light existence.


From 1990, Andy Lippencott succumbs to AIDS.



These strips from 1998 reference the President Clinton sex scandal and my hope that Doonesbury is the first comic strip to use both the words "oral sex" and "semen".  My thought is "Really?  Our government spent the better part of a year getting nothing done because some guy got a blow job?"


BD wakes up after being blown up in Iraq only to learn he's lost his leg.  This strip was replaced in only a few newspapers, ran with big black line over the offending word in some but was kept intact in most because, let's face it, "Son of a bitch!" is a reasonable reaction to losing your leg in the manner that he did.

And in today's strip:

Trudeau has been talking about Bush's memoirs this week.  I kind of want to read the book but I will probably wait until I get it from the library because that's not exactly a book I would pay money to read.  Although my taxes do pay for the library......

And now your regularly scheduled comics.

FoxTrot 11/7/10

I feel the same way about "Glee".  The musical numbers are actually my least favorite part of the show which a lot of people would say defeats the purpose of watching the show but I say, quit defending a TV show where the characters break out into Top 40 songs every five minutes.  At least "High School Musical" created their own songs.

B.C. 11/7/10

Ha!  It's funny because he was raped by a pterodactyl.

Pearls Before Swine 11/7/10

It took me awhile to get the joke in this one.  And after reading it again, I kind of want to bury Pastis too.

And for the veterans:
Deflocked 11/7/10


The Born Loser 11/7/10

I know one waiter who will not be getting a tip.

I hate when Brutus goes to a nice restaurant by himself.  Where's Gladys?  Even Veeblefester would be better than eating at a fancy restaurant alone.  It's so depressing.

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Hmm, it appears that my DCR writer friends have forgotten to post the past couple of days.  It also seems that I have forgotten to post on Saturday.  I have no excuse.  On with the comic blurbs.

Marvin:

Old yearbooks can be a source of endless entertainment.  I enjoyed looking at my dad's old high school yearbook.  Oddly enough, he looked like Paul from "The Wonder Years." Yes, nerdy and with big, thick glasses.  Actually, now that I think about it, it's kind of sad.

F-Minus:

Yes!  And we'll give it better seats, with backs, and change the handlebars for a wheel...  Oh, and of course, only one side will be able to steer.  It would also probably be more efficient to take the engines out of the cycles and just put one in front.  Oh, wouldn't it be great if it had more than two seats?  And a trunk in the back to put stuff in?  And it will have to have a radio, and some A/C and heat.  Oh!  And cup holders.  Can't forget those.  When it rains, there will need to be some way to wipe the glass on the front of it...

Yes, it will be great!  We'll call it a "car."

Snuffy Smith:

...even though Snuffy's obviously been in there longer than you have.  Only three days, though.  Hey, where'd they get those pens from, anyway?  Aren't they supposed to scratch the marks into the wall?  Prisons are so cushy these days.

Deflocked:

That's disgusting.  I wouldn't give this kid any candy if I saw him coming up to my door.  Well...  maybe I would, but not if he was one of those greedy kids who didn't even say "thank you" after you give them something.  I don't have to give you anything, you know.

Speaking of Iron Man, I went as him once.  Of course, I just put an ironing board on my back and carried around an iron, but I was still Iron Man.

Agnes:

Unfortunately, not only does the metaphor not work, it isn't even a metaphor.  He used "like," which makes it a simile.  If he said "The mind is a sock drawer," it would be a metaphor.

So, next week, we discuss the differences between allegories, parables, and fables.  Don't be late!

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