Customer Reviews

The Bundled Doonesbury With Cd-Rom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is not possible to install the cd-rom program in Windows XP. All the features can be accessed, however, directly from the CD-Rom. Place the cd-rom in your drive and open the folder named "DA". Right click on the DA.exe icon and select "Properties". From the properties menu you can select Windows 95 compatibility. Then double-click on DA.exe and you will get the opening screen. From there all menu items are fully functional in XP.

Other reviewers have mentioned the wealth of comic strips on the CD-ROM, but there are many other features on the disc also. There is a "Media Room" including clips from the animated TV special, photos of merchandise, articles about reactions to the more controversial strips, etc. etc. There is a search option that allows you to find strips by date, character, topic, or a free word search. There are fun animations and LOADS of other surprises. This book/CD-ROM set is a true bargain.

This is AMAZING!!! The book's nice enough in itself, but the real reason why you absolutely have to buy this if you're at all into Doonesbury is the CD-ROM. We're talkin' every single strip from the beginning 'til '95! As you may know, it's virtually impossible to assemble a complete collection otherwise--there are jillions of books, nearly all of them out of print, and if you stick with the larger anthologies you'll find that many key strips are quite absent. Quite a must-buy, this is...

The CD rom is the selling point here so if you don't have access to a CD rom this is a pass. If you have access to a CD rom this is a must have. 25 years of Doonesbury. A window on the 1970's, 80's and early 90's. From Watergate, to Iran Contra to the Gulf War it's all here. The CD rom even includes the Doonesbury TV special from the 70's. Oh yeah, you get a book too with recent strips but that is definitely secondary here. If you have any interest in Doonesbury this is the purchase for you.

Having been a Doonesbury fan since Watergate, I was thrilled to receive this book as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend. We were anxious to open the CD and install it when we realized that it was Wintel only. We were shocked and found it all the more ironic, given all the Mac references and digs against Microsoft in the strip. My faith has been shaken! Please tell me Trudeau hasn't sold out to the dark side! Does anyone know if a Mac version is available? If not, can the CD can be read in any way on a Mac? I don't want to open the software and be stuck with it unless I can use it. I would undoubtedly give a rave review but not without cross-platform availability.

Let's start with the good. The CD is an absolute must have! I might have paid $100 for the CD alone, (depending on my propensity to spend when I thought about it). Getting all the comics from 1970 up to sometime in 1995 plus more is just incredible.

Having said that, the book is a disappointment, it has a lot of comics that were previously published in the past few large format books. I thought that large format books didn't repeat each other (with the exception of Flashbacks), but this book rehashes Virtual Doonesbury and Planet Doonesbury, plus some newer stuff after Planet Doonesbury. Hey G.B., don't do that again, I'll let it pass this time 'cause of the CD, but now I'm going to be hesitant to buy in the future without reviewing your books for old comics. Finally, although I have Windows (it works on NT 4.0), I agree with the complaint that it doesn't run on Mac. It does seem quite out of character for G.B.'s anti-Microsoft (and somewhat pro-Mac) writings.

Run the Cd and view it with Windows Explorer. Open the DA file. Doubble click DA.exe

Strips can only be viewed in order but at least you can see them. Most of the other features work too.

Been a fan for years and years and before that Pogo,and before that L'il Abner. Through the years, these three strips have provided excellent political satire.I have collected almost all the books on Doonesbury that have come out over the years.No doubt about it ,the story lines and artwork have improved massively over the years.For example ,just compare an early book,
"Even Revolutionaries Like Chocolate Cookies" from 1970 with one of the more recent like "Got War"(2003)and you'll see that remarkable growth.Everybody has had trouble keeping the characters sorted out and when I first saw this book I was totally blown away ,particularly over the CD with its 9000 strips;virtually the whole works.However,as other reviewers have mentioned the enthusiasm wanes as one begins to use it.Having said that, the book and CD deserve a 5 Star rating ,nevertheless the fans deserve an updated and improved CD,without the hassel as mentioned.I think it would only be reasonable if one were to be included with the next book.The reviews show that the fans were definately given less than expected.
Another great resource for Doonesbury fans is a little gem
called "Doonesbury Trivia" an unofficial Final Exam by Jeffrey A. O'Hare.It was published in 1984.The copy I have is the only one I've seen.It also has a note on the back that it "is not authorized by G.B.Trudeau or by any other firm associated with Doonesbury". Still,it is well worth looking for.
I have also been cutting out the strips for the last few years;though only God knows what I'll end up doing with them.
By the way,"Rolling Stone Magazine" did a special on Doonesbury on August 5,2004.It shows the very elusive Trudeau at work on a drawing,talking with a soldier in Kuwait and with his wife Jane Pauley; a good addition to your collection.And did you know,Gary Trudeau and George W.Bush were Harvard classmates?
You might want to read my Review of "Flashbacks" 25 years of Doonesbury,I also wrote today,December 4,2005."Now you know the rest of the story."

I really enjoy this cartoon and so I immediately purchased this item, but the CD-ROM baffled and infuriated me. There was no way to navigate around the CD, so one just has to enter in a subject at random and be satisfied with the strip that pops up. Also images appear curiously low on the screen and there are no scroll bars on the side of the screen so a user can move up. Perhaps I got a defective CD.

I too was annoyed to find that the first 2/3 of this book rehashed the Virtual Doonesbury and Planet Doonesbury books I already owned. Even more irked to find the CD doesn't support Mac users! It's still Doonesbury and these are great strips but I wish Trudeau would think of his FANS when putting these books together. I feel betrayed!