Customer Reviews

Heckuva Job, Bushie!: A Doonesbury Book (Doonesbury Collection)

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This collection of Doonesbury comics focuses a lot on B.D.'s attempts to reenter American life after having his leg amputated due to an incident in Iran. That being said, the sheer number of laughs present in these pages is simply amazing. The strips focusing on Alex's search for the right college and Zonker's on-the-job- faux pas at McFriendly's are hilarious, and serve as much-needed counterpoints to the multitude of strips depicting George Bush's incompetence.

Overall, this collection was much better than I expected, and I recommend it highly.

This book is a delight. I just wish the publisher printed all of the Doonesbury strips. For reasons beyond my comprehension, almost every comic strip reprint book, except from the "comics" related publishers such as Fantagraphics, skip a few strips. Since I can't imagine a prose book skipping pages, I can only assume it is the editor's way of saying, "This is only a comic strip, so a few skipped strips won't really matter." This book skips the strips for the week of September 5, 2005 and the week of November 14, 2005. The Sunday run is complete except, of course, it doesn't reprint rerun strips.

Gary TrHeckuva Job, Bushie!: A Doonesbury Book
Gary Trudeau is a fantastic long-time political comic writer who's acerbic wit and incisive commentary grabs the reader. He makes us laugh at the foibles of the character's even as we are apalled at their behavior. This is one of his best! THANKS for such a great read!

The best political satire generally appears in cartoons as it gives the artist the opportunity to use both imagery and text to make their points. Trudeau is one of the best at that craft and he once again demonstrates that fact in a collection of his "Doonesbury" cartoons from the years of the administration of George W. Bush. He uses his own tactics to point out the incompetence, arrogance and foolishness of the cast of characters that surrounded Bush. Trudeau also trashes their character itself, bringing up some of their tactics in their road to incompetence. My favorite segment was the one covering the "Chief Toady", the character named to the cabinet and whose task it is to eliminate the role of thinking in the Bush administration. It is very funny, but in the dark sense, as it is unfortunately so true.
If you enjoy quality political satire or disliked the administration of George W. Bush or both, you will love this book. There are also some very moving sections on the serious affliction of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that many war veterans suffer from.

The latter part of the infamous George W. Bush administration is the focus here. Trudeau at his best in this when "sonny boy" is being skewered!

As a longtime fan of Doonesbury;I have no hesitation in saying this is one of Trudeau's best compilations.I hve a large collection of Doonesbury books that includes just about all that have been published over the years.It's amazing to see how much the drawings and ideas have developed over these 40 or more years.All one has to do, is to compare "Don't Ever Change,Boopsie",published in 1971,with this book.The former book was small,4 X 6 3/4 inches,65 unnumbered pages,only 2 panels per page,extremely simple drawings(really just sketches),totally B&W,with artwork very basic compared with today ,and with a quality of paper,printing,color and construction that shows the huge advancements made over the years.However;even when one looks at a single panel from those earliest days,it is uncanny how the essence of the drawings remains the same as what the strip is today.The characters,although extremely simple sketches, are as recognizable as they are in the drawings today.
The year 2005,which this book covers gave lots for Trudeau to cover,particulary when he has to update the activities of so many characters we have come to know and love.Despite that,Trudeau has managed to focus on the great problems that the war has imposed on the country and forces involved.
Political satire is a great artform and I have been a fan of it for over 60 years and can remember running fot the newspaper during WWII to see the latest cartoons depicting events and characters of the Wars against the Axis and Japan.Even the Comics were dealing with the wars on a daily basis."Little Orphan Annie","Terry and the Pirates","Pogo ","Dick Tracy","Smilin'Jack".etc., were followed by just about everybody.Unfortunately,the Comics of today don't hold a candle to what we had in the 40's,and 50's and in fact, they are slowly disappearing in most newspapers and from the interest of most people.I,for one,hardly bother with them anymore,except for Doonesbury.
Journalism,and Comics and political ccartoons and satire are every bit part of journalism,has changed drastically over the last 20 years or so;resulting in a larger and larger part of the public losing interest in newspapers and the strips.Instead of objective journalism,what we get today is slanted towards the political leaning of the newspaper,radio,or TV Network.
I believe ,that not only the public but the media and the journalists ,suffer from this.
When one considers the richness of the material that is available today,both in America and abroad,political correctness and political bias on the part of the journalists and satirical cartoonists is so much involved that the product has been terribly dulled.
I love the talents of Trudeau,and I feel that his work would be immensely better if he were to apply his skills to all sides of the political scene.
Carter,Reagan,Clinton,and Bush were all fertile ground for satire and so is Obama;but why is he and those surrounding him being given a "pass"?

This guy has been funny and touching for four decades now. I can't imagine how he does it, but I have them all and I love them all. You think about Peanuts and you think peaks and long declines, but this strip is as funny as ever and his art is so much stronger. I don't agree with everything, but I enjoy it all.

As a history teacher/ professor for over 45 years, I've found that Doonesbury always explains what is going on in a way that I can pass on to my students. It doesn't hurt that Trudeau's political bent is also mine. I appreciate his work, have read all his 'comics' and now that our local paper refuses to include it, I read it online daily. Any time I am working up a lecture and have forgotten some of the finer points of an issue, I pull out his older works and revivify my memories. I can't wait for this current election to be over, just to see what he says about it. I'm looking forward to seeing what symbol he uses for the new President and Veep.