Who Reads Doonesbury (Anymore)?

It gives me no pleasure to ask this, but who still reads Doonesbury?

Do you? When did you stop?

Does the strip, which is said to be running in around 1500 newspapers, still matter?

It used to be essential. In its golden age beginning in the Watergate era, the strips and the popular books of reprints reported the edgy, satirical side of the news at a time when cable was something that held up bridges and Jon Stewart was playing French horn in high school. As the years went on, newspapers would regularly censor or pull installments, move the feature off of the comics pages and run news reports about controversies caused by the strip's attacks on powerful people.

When Garry Trudeau created the strip as a student at Yale in the late 1960s he, like most college students, felt that college life, dormitory culture and youthful rebellion were the intellectual centers of the universe. By the mid-eighties, Trudeau found himself chafing at the Walden College construct and took a 22 month hiatus. When he returned to the strip, his characters had graduated, entered the workforce, started families and even started aging, (albeit in cartoon, as opposed to real time). Many readers felt that this was the watershed moment, when Doonesbury went downhill, "jumped the shark," and stopped being funny.

But the truth is not that simple. Although Trudeau's focus shifted from Washington scandals to the inner lives of his characters, he was still inspired by tasty targets like Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Then came the Iraq war, and Garry Trudeau got pissed.

The horror, stupidity and destruction of the invasion of Iraq motivated him to take up the cause of returning soldiers, especially wounded, traumatized and marginalized ones. He introduced a storyline where his football hero character B.D. lost a leg in a rocket attack near Fallujah, and began a long narrative that continues to this day amplifying the experience of veterans.

As the Washington Post wrote in 2006,

In what Trudeau calls a "rolling experiment in naturalism," he has managed every few weeks to spoon out a story of war, loss and psychological turmoil in four-panel episodes, each with a crisp punch line.

But the punch lines have, in recent years, grown less crisp and the "rolling naturalism" has tumbled away from the satire that made Doonesbury the only comic strip many people (well, me) once made a point of reading. Maybe Garry Trudeau has outlasted his ability to defy George S. Kaufman's famous dictum that "satire is what closes Saturday night." But now that the strip is a web presence and tchotchke selling brand it's lost focus, bite and bark.

Nor is it always interesting. I have a pretty decent attention span. I've read books over 500 pages long. But I often find myself getting bored halfway through a four-panel Doonesbury strip and giving up before reaching the end.

Many great artists have tired of what made them famous in their youth and gone on to other challenges, even if it meant alienating audiences. From the Beatles to Harry Potter, we've learned to live without some of our favorite cultural icons. Including, it should be mentioned, other formerly "must-read" comic strips like Bloom County and The Far Side(which also live on as web presences and commercial brands).

Garry Trudeau should, of course, be free to continue Doonesbury as a daily strip as long as he wants to. If he gives up the space, no doubt Glenn Beck or Bono will take up cartooning. But Garry, isn't there a novel you've always wanted to write? Screenplays? Maybe a Senate run?

Comments, anyone? Doonesbury -- should it stay or should it go?

Follow William Klein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/William_Klein

Comments

[PlanetKansas]

I miss The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes. The cartoons of today seem awkward, earnest or derivative in comparison.

I thought Get Fuzzy was going to be the next big thing, but quickly bored of it after daily readings showed it repeats the same joke: Cat and Dogs misunderstand the meaning of words. Great art, boring and repetative ideas.

That leaves only two comics worth reading, Dilbert, which often times is too true to life to be funny, and Doonesbury, not a LOL type comic, but more like a political cartoon.

[bronceye]

I, too, had been a devotee for decades. It is sorely lacking when the strip is about sexy Turkish flower bulbs after a brief and indelicate look at the C Street fanatics. It is on my computer scroll but I seldom hit, anymore.

[LiberalBuzz]

Hey William.

So what do you think of the responses?

[William Klein - Huffpost Blogger]

The verdict is in: I'm wrong about Doonesbury, at least according to this little focus group. I'm glad to have sparked this lively conversation though--isn't that what this blog is all about? The next time I post something snide about media stars (which should be soon) I hope those who disagree with me will continue to make their opinions known.

Viva vox populi!

I still think Garry Trudeau should run against Joe Lieberman though....

[reasonshouldrule]

I still read Doonesbury. It is never boring. It is now and has always been my favorite comic strip. I hope GT can write it for another 30 years.

[greenwren]

I never miss it. Fabulous.

What's your deal...???

[LiberalBuzz]

Well what ya know NO ONE has stopped.

It's my first read of the day. In our paper it's in the opinion section and I hit the front page then the Opinion page to read Doonesbury.

In fact I wish Arianna would put it on the front page here right at the top EVERY DAY.

So it seems to be your problem.

It's still THE most relevant strip out there and judging by the responses I believe you may be in a very very small minority.

[mercymercyme]

I enjoy reading Doonesbury more than ever and have been a fan since Day One. It has mellowed and matured, not only graphically but also in its subject matter.

Many of the story lines are more serious and poignant, yet the strip still packs in the belly laughs. Only Trudeau can get a guffaw out of aphasia and do in a totally inoffensive manner.

The two latest story lines -- Dolly Doonesbury burning her Medicare card and Zonker reading what amounts to gardening catalog porn as he attempts to plant his expensive tulip bulbs -- are priceless commentary on today's politics and lifestyles.

Keep 'em coming, Gary.

[jl4141]

Every day. Never miss it. It's as good and relevant as ever, if not moreso.

[audadvnc]

How many people buy new Bob Dylan records? He was a product of his time.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my "Family Circus".

[tommytimp]

Trudeau didn't take a sabbatical because he was "chafing" at anything-he took it to write his Broadway musical. What's that? A musical version of 'Doonesbury?' Weren't aware of it? Exactly. Not time well-spent, cosidering what happened in 1984, election-wise.

[zaneblue]

I'm 43. I never used to read Doonesbury because I thought it was kind of boring. But he hooked me in with the stuff he did about Iraqi soldiers--we didn't hear much from their perspective in the MSM. Now I read it every day, that and Dilbert. I think he's terrific, and much better than he used to be.

[motoGpifupleez]

My local paper in Alabama (Red-neck state country) only carries it in the Sunday paper and I look forward to it each and every week.

[RedKnuckles]

I read it every day and have been reading it since it came out. Trudeau's amazing wit and comic timing have not lost a step. When compared with other politicall­y/socially oriented strips, it still stands tall.

[FDRbyGodDemocrat]

I've been a fan since the early 70s. How can you look at what happened to B.D. and the others in his platoon and say that the cartoon's not edgy??? If you want to blog against a crappy strip, pick "Mallard Fillmore." That thing reeks.

[grailknight]

I concur. Bruce Tinsley's "comic" is not only unfunny, but the few comments he's made regarding our misadventures in the Middle East display moral cowardice. Doonesbury stories featuring BD, Toggle, and Melissa by contrast takes the reader on a rare tour of the human consequences of this folly.

[ShockedSHOCKED]

If I can only read one thing before leaving for work, it is Doonesbury.

Trudeau's willingness to take on tough topics (our crazy-ass wars and the damage they are doing) and to find some humor that resonates in even those is amazing.

I would have burned out years ago; he clearly has not. The Grandmother who burned her Medicare card and ended up in the ER was a hoot! I could go on...