Customer Reviews

Dude: The Big Book of Zonker

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What a surprise ,when I spotted this latest Doonesbury book. I have been a fan of this strip ever since it started and it gets better all the time.I have almost all the books that have come out over the years and in some ways this is the best yet.

Rather than cover a span of the strip over a period of a year or so;this book takes a radically different approach. It takes one of the main characters,Zonker, and follows his journey through life from the earliest days of the strip up until his friend ,B.D.,returns from war,missing a leg; and is finally resorted to getting a job. As expected, his job doesn't work out and he must decide what to do with the rest of his life. What do you know;he decides to go back to college;"to retool for the future".

When snapshots from the strip are all gathered together like this;it brings back many fond memories.

I've always enjoyed the stories and issues in the strip;but I have also been intrigued by the growth and changes that have taken place in the illustrations and the artwork.

I have also followed the strip "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould and those who continued it;ever since I was a kid.Way back in the days of Mumbles,Gravel Gertie,Junior,Tess,Pruneface, and all.

Both of these strips are a real study in the improvement in the artwork.Without a doubt, Comic Strip Art has developed into an important artform.

As you go through this book,pay attention to the art and see how it progresses from a very simple form of sketching to a greatly sophisticated art form.If there is any place where this book falls short,it in that most of it is in Black& White and doesn't reproduce much of the outstanding color panels of recent years.

In spite of that: I thoroughly enjoyed this latest addition to my Doonesbury collection.

Zonker, one of the chief characters in the daily cartoon "Doonesbury", is an excellent collection of "Zonker's Greatest Hits". We follow Zonker from his introduction more than 30 years ago to his contemporary trouble-making.

Doonesbury really is a national treasure, and Zonker is the funniest character in Doonesbury. Among the funniest episodes are the ones where Zonker talks to his plants (and they talk back). Very original, very humorous.