Doonesbury ushered in new age of comics

Sunday, April 23, 2006

In 1970, Richard Nixon was president. War raged in Vietnam as protests were held across the country. The nation was horrified by news of the My Lai massacre.

And a young cartoonist introduced a new comic strip in about two dozen newspapers. Doonesbury was born.

Thirty five years later we remember the events of 1970 as history, but we continue to see Doonesbury every day. It is now carried in more than 1,400 newspapers, including the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel.

I was reminded of this last week when I received a poster, signed by artist/creator Garry Trudeau, commemorating Doonesbury's 35th anniversary.

Many comics are older than 35 -- Blondie and Prince Valiant, for example, began in the 1930s -- but from the first, Doonesbury has been a comic with a difference.

Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's just weird. But almost always, Doonesbury is compelling.

In 1975, Trudeau became the first comic-strip artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. He was a Pulitzer finalist again in 1989.

The Pulitzer is just one indication that Doonesbury often ventures into territory that once was foreign to comics.

Trudeau tackles politics and social issues, and he does so with a sharp pen and a sharper wit.

It is not a great stretch to say that his anti-war message played a significant role during the protests of the Vietnam War.

His characters have dealt with AIDS, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, college students, gun control and other issues.

Trudeau has remained current. Recent themes have included the problems of wounded veterans returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan -- not the sort of thing you'd find in Family Circus.

Almost from the first, some have argued that Doonesbury belongs on the editorial page, not in the comics. While that is not an unreasonable point of view, I disagree.

Doonesbury is a different kind of comic, but it was created as a comic, and many days it has nothing to do with political issues. Shifting it back and forth -- some days on the comics page, some on the editorial page --would be impractical and confusing to readers.

In the 35 years since Doonesbury opened the door, other comics have taken on political issues, some on the left, others on the right.

Even Blondie tackled the question of women in the workforce.

For Better or For Worse dealt with gay issues.

Beetle Bailey has focused on women and minorities in the military.

Sally Forth often deals with women's issues.

No one suggests shifting these comics to the opinion page.

Nor should they.

It's hard for me to imagine the creative genius required to keep a topical comic fresh. But I'm glad Trudeau has that genius and that we can share it with our readers.

And I love the poster.

n n n

Speaking of comics, I received a letter recently from a reader in Bath objecting to a Close to Home comic. It's reprinted here.

She wrote: "How could anyone think it was funny? They would have to be sick, sick, sick individuals.

"You owe your readers an apology for publishing such a vicious cartoon."

Perhaps I'm sick, sick, sick, but I laughed.

I'd love to hear what our readers think.

Drop me a note at the e-mail address listed below.

David B. Offer is executive editor of the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel. He can be reached at 621-5630 or doffer@cen tralmaine.com.