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Doonesbury

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Doonesbury is a famous American comic strip created by Garry Trudeau.

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It follows many different characters through their many lives and adventures. These people come from many different backgrounds and jobs. Some characters are even the President of the United States. The strip is known for having a liberal viewpoint. It often talks about politics and social issues. This makes the comic very important to many readers. It helps people think about the world around them.

Making the strip involves a careful team of artists. Garry Trudeau writes the stories and draws the pencils.

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After that, assistants like Don Carlton or Todd Pound add the ink and letters. On Sundays, George Corsillo adds the bright colors to the strips. For a long time, the strip appeared every single day. Since February 2014, it has changed its schedule. Now, new stories appear on Sundays, while other days show repeat strips. This way, readers can still enjoy the history of the characters.

The story began a long time ago at Yale University. It started as a strip called Bull Tales in a student newspaper. Bull Tales ran from 1968 to 1970. Doonesbury itself first appeared in twenty-eight newspapers on October 26, 1970. The name is a mix of two different things. It uses a slang word for a careless person. It also uses the last name of Trudeau's roommate, Charles Pillsbury. Early characters like Mike and B.D. even started as roommates.

Doonesbury has achieved many big goals in its history. In May 1975, it won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. This was the first daily comic strip to ever win that award. By the 2010s, the strip was in about 1,400 newspapers worldwide. The characters even moved from college to the real world. For example, B.D. became a football player in Malibu, California. Mike moved to New York City to work in advertising. This helped the characters grow up alongside the readers.

One of the most interesting parts is how the strip shows leaders. Trudeau often uses funny symbols instead of drawing real faces. For instance, Bill Clinton was shown as a talking waffle. Dan Quayle was shown as a talking feather. Even George W. Bush was shown as a voice wearing a hat. These creative choices make the political stories feel very unique. The strip connects real life to the funny world of the characters. It shows how history and daily life are often linked together.

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