Comments on: Umm....is this right?

Umm....is this right?

ShawnString — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:28:12 -0800

I know Duke was based on him, but i was expecting...oh i dont know...a little nicer?

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:30:18 -0800

Winning the Most Surreal Attempt to Piss on Another's Grave award...

By: blakewest

blakewest — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:32:02 -0800

It's an appropriately hallucinogenic response. What do you think would happen to you if the real person you're based on died?

By: xmutex

xmutex — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:32:09 -0800

Pissing on graves is really quite cathartic. It's up there with pushing handicapped children down stairwells, and tripping grandmothers at the mall. Try it out.

By: Verdant

Verdant — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:33:49 -0800

The first time as tragedy, the second as farce perhaps?

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:33:49 -0800

His head asplodes! Wait, why is this pissing? The character based on him clearly can't get his head around the real Duke's death. Where's the piss?

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:34:00 -0800

maybe its the BOOM and his head vaporizing i have problems with...esp considering HOW he died.

By: mek

mek — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:34:13 -0800

Im not sure if its possible to piss on HSTs grave in a nonliteral sense.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:34:37 -0800

sorry about that apostrophe, I dunno where that came from

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:34:48 -0800

I'm with Shawn. Pretty tasteless on Trudeau's part.

By: me3dia

me3dia — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:35:14 -0800

I don't read this as anything but a graphical representation of *head explodes*.

By: Danf

Danf — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:38:16 -0800

Well let's see where he goes with it. . .it's only tuesday and he has the whole week to play it out. . .I will withhold judgement until Saturday.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:38:18 -0800

Actually, there may be some subtext here. I remember an interview with Thompson (by PJ O'Rourke of all people) where he slags Doonesbury and says something like "I think he had to put a character like me in there because all his other charachters are so boring," and "I hope people don't think Me and this guy are buddies or something." So maybe Trudeau's getting some revenge or something.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:39:36 -0800

Again, I ask thee who consider it tasteless to explain why it is so. Please, I don't get it. looks at comic again. Sees "graphical representation of *head explodes*" phrase, can't find the offensive part.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:40:51 -0800

blakewest has it here, folks. I'm shocked and appalled and outraged and incredulous and speechless and baffled that all of you are not able to understand the subtleties of this comic. Shocked.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:41:11 -0800

Yes, I'm sure Hunter would've wanted something solemn and respectful.

By: zaelic

zaelic — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:43:56 -0800

Aw, come on. What would Hunter T. say at a time like this? Would he be sensitive and empathetic? Or would he ... just.... laugh his head off?

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:44:21 -0800

OK, here's something a little nicer, then.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:50:23 -0800

I'm with Shawn. Pretty tasteless on Trudeau's part. As opposed to HST who was never tasteless.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:50:54 -0800

Consider, Gary no longer has the person his character Duke is based on. What to do with Duke? What would you do.. make him disappear in a puff of smoke seems reasonably witty.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:53:37 -0800

As opposed to HST who was never tasteless. I don't understand your comment. Are you saying HST drew pictures of people who committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head, in order to elicit laughs?

By: xammerboy

xammerboy — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:55:09 -0800

This is the guy who asked for his ashes to be shot from a cannon....

By: ahimsakid

ahimsakid — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:57:14 -0800

I don't see the pissing either. Let's wait and see what GT has in mind . . .

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:57:44 -0800

I liked and respected HST and see this as sort of entirely appropriate and even funny. Just my opinion though.

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:57:53 -0800

Well let's see where he goes with it. . .it's only tuesday and he has the whole week to play it out. . .I will withhold judgement until Saturday. Agreed; there's no point getting all up in arms over this without seeing where the storyline is headed. This is not a one-liner type of strip, it's an ongoing epic, remember. Let's see what happens letter before ripping Trudeau a new one. After all, yesterday, it began like this.

By: freebird

freebird — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:59:13 -0800

Complaining about "treating HST's suicide tastelessly" is less respectful to his legacy than any amount of cartoon cloud action. So there.

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:04:52 -0800

Consider, Gary no longer has the person his character Duke is based on. What to do with Duke? What would you do.. make him disappear in a puff of smoke seems reasonably witty. I don't think that Trudeau is going to get rid of Uncle Duke. Duke's his easiest lazy plot device.

By: Yelling At Nothing

Yelling At Nothing — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:06:19 -0800

This is tame, compared to suggesting that someone's body ought to be ejected out a sewage waste pipe, or burned in a trash bin. HST was not a guy to stand on ceremony or on taste; if he's watching from somewhere he'll appreciate the sentiment. Also, didn't he at some point kinda make peace with Trudeau over the character? I thought I remembered reading that.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:06:33 -0800

I don't understand your comment. Are you saying HST drew pictures of people who committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head, in order to elicit laughs? No, Alex. I don't remember him writing anything about suicide apart from the note which is reported to have been in his typewriter when he killed himself (an otherwise blank page with "word" typed in the centre.) HST was a monument to many things, including spectacular and enthusiastically applied bad taste. I'm sure he would have found Trudeu's homage hilarious and touching. BTW, this link is to only the first several (already published in our local paper) forming a single story. I'm guessing you've not yet seen the rest -- and that you may change your mind.

By: mek

mek — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:07:39 -0800

Agreed, freebird.

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:09:21 -0800

...and let, amazingly, life goes on.

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:11:47 -0800

Actually, the single sheet of paper in the typewriter said "counselor".

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:14:12 -0800

Actually, the single sheet of paper in the typewriter said "counselor". Oh well, I knew it wasn't "rosebud".

By: thinkpiece

thinkpiece — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:17:23 -0800

Of course it's a cliffhanger, but I'd say it's pretty clear Trudeau's pissed about HST's orchestrated exit scenario. As Duke functioned as a kind of alterego for HST, so did HST function as the alterego of GT's creation. So how to restore the disintegrated Duke? Seems like the Google reference is key, although I'm not yet sure where he's gonna take it. It all strikes me as meta gonzo.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:21:44 -0800

I think it is great, and perfectly appropriate. As several have pointed out, the idea of the strip is that Duke's hallucinations are being triggered by the news of Thompson's death. Trudeau used to draw lots of drug flashback sequences for Duke, this is a return to that tradition. It isn't supposed to be a reference to Thompson's suicide.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:22:19 -0800

BTW, this link is to only the first several (already published in our local paper) forming a single story. I'm guessing you've not yet seen the rest -- and that you may change your mind. Hwuh? Your paper prints all the Doonesburys for a given week at once? I mean, this link is to today's strip. What gives? Anyway, I'm on the fence on this: It is certainly tasteless given the details of the suicide, and I can't tell if Trudeau means that as an homage or a snap. If only I had access to that local paper of 327.ca's.

By: PlusDistance

PlusDistance — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:27:21 -0800

I think you're all overanalyzing it. Trudeau's been doing a lot of simple self-referential gags over the past few years (like the "reader mail" segments). Not really his funniest stuff, IMHO. Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted a second day.

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:27:47 -0800

The strip seems OK to me. I can't picture Thompson wanting us to get all solemn and sad at his passing, he certainly wasn't a sentimentalist. If you really want to honor his memory, get yourself a quart of Wild Turkey, some high powered blotter acid, a real fast motorcycle and go take a long ride in the dark. Passing on blind corners is mandatory.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:29:23 -0800

First, I have no idea where anyone could the idea that this is an "insult" to Thompson. Considering that he violently abhored the Duke character to begin with, using Duke in a strip about Thompson applying relevance to his death seems to be one of the nicer things Trudeau's done. Second, not sure where this "what will Trudeau do now that Thompson is dead?" logic came from. Duke hasn't really paralleled the actual life of Thompson since the Samoa storyline about 25 years ago. The only commonalities they'd had in the last few decades have been the drug habit and the house in Aspen.

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:37:52 -0800

Someone should get Hunter's nephew Zonker on the telephone, see what he thinks.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:38:16 -0800

Are you saying HST drew pictures of people who committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head, in order to elicit laughs? Dude. Unclench a little.

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:39:32 -0800

"Tasteless" is a odd word to apply to a little cartoon about somebody that, in real life, blew their brains out in their kitchen with their 6 year old grandchild in the house.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:51:09 -0800

Seems a fitting way to write about HST. The guy was many things, but not subtle. The strip is tamer then say Hunter's diatribe against Nixon.

By: petebest

petebest — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:52:02 -0800

I admit the reference to shooting oneself didn't occur to me until I read it here. Duke's famously had all sorts of adventures that start with his cranium opening. He and Duke Jr. shot a couple of bats that flew out of his head. Weird Don-Martinesque sounds and surrealistic images come out of Duke's head all the time. I read it as a depiction of a fictional character who reads his real-life counterpart is dead and reacts with a drug-fueled "wow". There was no reference to shooting in the strip that I saw. It could be implied, yes, but I didn't see it as such.

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:01:34 -0800

Ah, the grieving fascists are out.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:09:45 -0800

Ah, screw you naysayers. HST is watching, tippling a flask, and laughing his ass off right now. That's a fact.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:13:26 -0800

If only I had access to that local paper of 327.ca's. Hey, I'll put it up on eBay! (Just kidding.)

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:14:45 -0800

Hwuh? Your paper prints all the Doonesburys for a given week at once? I mean, this link is to today's strip. What gives? Well, that's just fine Canadian communications technology for ya. If only I had access to that local paper of 327.ca's. No sweat. I'll put it up on eBay!

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:16:07 -0800

Sorry for the double post. Some kind of weird lag in that fine Canadian communications technology...

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:23:42 -0800

In case folks didn't know, comic strips are provided to syndicates in 1-week bundles, one week ahead of time. That's why it took this long for a Duke storyline to appear (cartoonists aren't staying up late drawing comics the night before they appear). Most publishers publish them daily, but they don't always have to. That can cause ruffled feathers in the print world, as we saw when C. Schulz died and people were trading on the final cartoon before it appeared in most outlets.

By: ManInSuit

ManInSuit — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:25:05 -0800

Hmm. The way I read the comic is that the first ka-boom is figurative/hallucinatory, and the second one is meant to be, at least possibly, literal. Duke reads a rumour in email and his head figuratively explodes. Then once the news is confirmed, The POV (respectfully?) exits his office. There's an explosion that's not just audible to Duke and the Reader, but also to Honey in the next room. I thought this at least raised the possibility that, like HST, Duke shot himself. Am I alone in this reading?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:29:56 -0800

AlexReynolds gets offended and complains about something . . . *head explodes*

By: schyler523

schyler523 — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:34:41 -0800

"If you really want to honor his memory, get yourself a quart of Wild Turkey, some high powered blotter acid, a real fast motorcycle and go take a long ride in the dark. Passing on blind corners is mandatory." Seconded and momentarily considered... ManInSuit : I agree that that is a possibility, but let's see where GT goes with it...I'm sure it will be explained in the next installment.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:37:46 -0800

Why should we wait? 327.ca, what happens next? You got that auction going yet?

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:38:39 -0800

AlexReynolds gets offended and complains about something Delmoi, seriously, shove it up your ass. All I said was that I thought it was tasteless. You don't have to agree and I don't expect you to.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:41:10 -0800

Why should we wait? 327.ca, what happens next? You got that auction going yet? Well, y'know, for the right incentive I suppose I could give you a hint about what happens...

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:44:27 -0800

ManInSuit: or they could both be figurative.

By: gompa

gompa — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:45:32 -0800

Ye gods, what a mess this has turned out to be. You know what's a truly tasteless tribute to the good doctor? Taking self-righteous offence to the lack of delicacy with which his disappearance from the Doonesbury strip is portrayed. Thompson didn't like Uncle Duke very much, and he detested delicacy and self-righteousness. The third panel of this Doonesbury strip (Verdant also linked to it above) is a brilliant homage. Here's an interview in which Thompson growls about his distaste for Uncle Duke. Here's Thompson's Playboy interview, just because. Here's the text of Richard Nixon's infamous "Checkers speech," which is the kind of sanctimonious bullshit Thompson himself found offensive. So: can we close the book on the "tasteless" debate now? Please?

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:49:31 -0800

So: can we close the book on the "tasteless" debate now? Please? It's not a debate, it's called expressing an opinion. But thanks for your sanctimony.

By: iamck

iamck — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:49:54 -0800

I want a shotgun that goes KA-BOOM!

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:53:56 -0800

woah...chill out all...i didn't mean to put this up as a "OMG how could he be so tasteless, etc" my complaint was (and hopefully it will all be cool by sat) i was hoping for something a little less..coincidental. Hmm. The way I read the comic is that the first ka-boom is figurative/hallucinatory, and the second one is meant to be, at least possibly, literal. exactly. really didn't mean for this to become a flame-fest. i swear

By: graventy

graventy — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:56:52 -0800

327.ca writes " Well, y'know, for the right incentive I suppose I could give you a hint about what happens..." How about us not kicking your ass? ;)

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:57:43 -0800

It's not a debate, it's called expressing an opinion. But thanks for your sanctimony. Note to self: look up definitions of "expressing an opinion" and "complaining" to alleviate confusion.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:02:30 -0800

Specklet: this may help you out.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:03:43 -0800

How about us not kicking your ass? ;) You're offering not to kick my ass if I give you a hint about what happens...? Heh, all right then! Honey hears the KA-BOOM and says, "Sir? Are you okay in there?" Then shg90..q7f20 NO CARRIER

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:10:00 -0800

Gee, thanks AlexR!!! I didn't know they had dictionaries available online!!!

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:12:17 -0800

No prob. Happy to help.

By: absalom

absalom — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:13:12 -0800

Someone seems to be easily offended. Just saying.

By: absalom

absalom — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:16:09 -0800

gompa: On a totally unrelated note, it's funny you linked that intervew, since it never (as far as I know) got offically published. I was turned onto it because the interviewer is my ex's cousin. He's also a total prick, so they should have gotten along famously.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:51:20 -0800

Aex: You gotta admit, you get offended every time the breeze changes direction around here.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 12:58:52 -0800

You gotta admit, you get offended every time the breeze changes direction around here. Don't know about you, xmutex, but I've moved on to other more interesting articles in AskMe and Mefi. I think I mentioned once that I thought this unfunny cartoon was tasteless. I haven't changed my mind, but I'm not getting into a tizzy over it, either. Fight amongst yourselves, if it makes you feel more important. /rolls_eyes

By: berek

berek — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:01:29 -0800

Um, is it just Berek, or does anyone else find this incredible fawning over a third rate hack unseemly?

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:03:31 -0800

Now approaching Trollsville. Pay Troll ahead.

By: rcade

rcade — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:08:54 -0800

Again, I ask thee who consider it tasteless to explain why it is so. I'll make the attempt: The comic strip is tasteless because making Duke's head explode figuratively, while his significant other is in the other room, appears to mock how Thompson made the sick -- even by his standards -- decision to blow his brains out with his wife on the phone and loved ones in the house. I don't care what all the affectionate obits say -- that was a pretty violent mindfuck to lay on your loved ones. I feel like Trudeau's taking a shot at Thompson here, and it would be disappointing to find out otherwise, since Doonesbury could use the edge: It's about as hard-hitting these days as Tank McNamara. Even if it is tasteless, Thompson seemed like a person who would rather have people pissing on his grave than shedding tears over it. (Do not infer from this post that I disliked Thompson, as much of a misanthrope as he was. The guy was an Elvis figure to journalistic wretches. I miss him already.)

By: gompa

gompa — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:16:40 -0800

Now approaching Trollsville. Pay Troll ahead. Alas, Miko, this thread blew past Trollsville hours ago. AlexR has sped on ahead to Smugstown, which he insists is quite lovely this time of year, and berek has inexplicably attempted to hijack the remaining passengers and force them to join him in Assholevania. Me, I like it here in Fort Travesty. Think I might sit a spell and drink tequila. *takes swig, proffers bottle*

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:19:14 -0800

Aaahhh .... Smoooth.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:21:07 -0800

"I feel like Trudeau's taking a shot at Thompson here..." BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahaa...ha... hee... erm... um... * ... (cough) You mean you weren't being funny? Sorry. Carry on.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:21:29 -0800

Me, I like it here in Fort Travesty. Think I might sit a spell and drink tequila. You're confused, gompa. You got off on Sanctimonia, instead.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:27:04 -0800

Gimmie that tequila. Better I should suck down a couple shots than say what I want to about a certain whiny someone.

By: gompa

gompa — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:34:08 -0800

Sometimes, Specklet, I hear the wind cry "sanctimony . . . sanctimony . . ." And each time I do, I feel for just a moment this strange sense of shame, like the Southern Baptist Convention has named me Self-Righteous Killjoy of the Year or something. A feeling like that. But then I just take another nip of this here tequila, and it passes. It always passes. *takes another swig, hands bottle to Specklet*

By: manicroom

manicroom — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:41:42 -0800

NO CARRIER Thanks for the laugh 327.ca. It's about as hard-hitting these days as Tank McNamara. I actually didn't start reading Doonesbury regularly until BD lost his leg. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a buddy over there...

By: Postroad

Postroad — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:42:35 -0800

If you want to see verbal pissing on H.T's corpse, check out what Wall St Journal and Weekly Standard (or was it National Rev?) had to say! venom galore

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:10 -0800

...like the Southern Baptist Convention has named me Self-Righteous Killjoy of the Year or something... Your sanctimonious posturing is well-informed and interesting. I would like to subscribe to your blog.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:03:51 -0800

Not bad, but I'm looking for more of a "kebang"...

By: painquale

painquale — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:25:44 -0800

My favorite part was when AlexReynolds called everyone else sanctimonious. It was exciting!

By: enrevanche

enrevanche — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:26:39 -0800

If you want to see verbal pissing on H.T's corpse, check out what Wall St Journal and Weekly Standard (or was it National Rev?) had to say! venom galore Postroad, I didn't see the Standard or National Review's coverage, but the Wall St. Journal's remembrance was written by Tom Wolfe, who related some amusing personal anecdotes and discussed HST's writing in absolutely glowing terms... Wolfe called Thompson "the twentieth century's greatest comic writer in English" and even compared him (favorably) to Mark Twain! If there was venom there, I certainly missed it (and if there was another WSJ article I missed that too.) I *did* see William F Buckley's syndicated column, which was definitely (and needlessly) pissy, but even WFB devoted many inches to the high esteem in which HST was held by many writers, including Buckley's son Chris.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:41:01 -0800

WELL, HIS HEAD ASPLODE

By: ScottMorris

ScottMorris — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:03:29 -0800

I had to sign up to comment. Speaking of tasteless, here is my own cartoon tribute to Hunter S. Thompson. Considering the nature of Thompson's life and work, I think a tribute like mine or Trudeau's is entirely appropriate.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:08:36 -0800

SHANCTIMOMINOUS! ASPLODE! *chews on lime wedge* Okay, I go backa work now.

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:34:03 -0800

Appropriate or not, Trudeau almost caused me to ruin my keyboard by blowing coffee all over it laughing. "Nasty karmic shift" indeed! I'm looking forward to the rest of this week.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 16:02:20 -0800

I actually didn't start reading Doonesbury regularly until BD lost his leg. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a buddy over there I've been reading Doonesbury since Day One. No Shit. When I went to England in 77 for six months the one thing I asked my mom to do for me was to save the Sunday Doonesbury-- God love her-- she cut out and saved every one including the dailies. I still get nostalgic when I think of how young and fresh everybody was in Still A Few Bugs In The System Trudeau was a great cartoonist during the Nixon years-- there was no one else in the funny pages to compare either before or after. A pulitzer prize winning daily strip!? A comic strip that combined politics, sociology, and absurd humor as seen through the eyes of regular characters? (Some folk think Pogo came close.) So I stuck with him through the dull years as he aged the characters. They all married and had kids and got dull, dull, dull, and I kept thinking Trudeau would announce his retirement. But I think Bush's reign has given him a second wind. I was as shocked as anyone when BD lost his leg. And now this. I think my eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped to the floor at breakfast this morning. I can't wait to see tomorrow's paper.

By: konolia

konolia — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 16:29:58 -0800

Coming out of retirement just to say that after all the nasty things said about Reagan when he died, no one on this website should object to this cartoon. I had a grudging fondness for HST until he did what he did, with the wife on the phone and the grandkid in the next room. As to Uncle Duke, he is fictional. Who cares what happens to him?

By: mmahaffie

mmahaffie — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 16:33:33 -0800

I think "Nasty Karmic Shift" was yesterday's strip. I read Doonsbury via slate and that's how Slate has the line-up. I am impatient for the third in the series....

By: Ruki

Ruki — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:23:23 -0800

Hunh. I walked into my living room after reading today's strip and said to my husband "Wow. Doonesbury was really tasteless today. What an appropriate tribute." And we both liked HST.

By: wendell

wendell — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 23:11:58 -0800

The Wednesday strip is online and Uncle Duke lives! (sorta) "I've stumbled into some sort of tribute, haven't I?"

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 05:11:18 -0800

I'm in the hilarious and appropriate camp on this one. Trudeau could have ignored Hunter's death or done some sappy single panel tribute that's unbefitting to Doonesbury, Thompson, and Duke. But he chose to treat it "in character" with a playful nod to fans of all three. It's nice to see Trudeau rattle some cages again. It's been a while since I've been so anxious for the next strip in a Doonesbury storyline.

By: terrapin

terrapin — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 05:44:39 -0800

The Washington Post has an article today on the Doonesbury tribute. Some points (all emphasis mine): "Trudeau said ... he had no plans to have art imitate life [with Duke being killed off]. Reached by phone in his New York studio, he said that he had done a week's worth of strips as a tribute to Thompson and that he hoped Tuesday's would not be misinterpreted." "After the literally explosive 'Doonesbury' strip ran yesterday, neither the cartoonist, his syndicator nor the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors -- a newspaper group that keeps an eye on such potential controversies -- reported any blowback. There were no complaints, said Universal Press Syndicate editor Lee Salem. 'We've had nothing move over our listserv about it,' said Penny Bender Fuchs, the AASFE's executive director." Guess they didn't check in with some folks on this site though.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 05:56:38 -0800

I came to post the Washpost article but will instead wave at konolia. And thank goodness Duke lives! I'm like SOLG - I've read all of them since day one - and can't imagine life without Mike and the gang.

By: terrapin

terrapin — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 06:08:34 -0800

Still reading the hometown rag, huh, CL? ;)

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 08:33:07 -0800

My jaw is agape due to the inability of seemingly intelligent people to not be able to understand a quite straightforward and not at all obtuse fucking COMIC STRIP. For those with their panties in a wad, you don't understand HST, and he's laughing at you, because you're exactly the kind of person he detested. Go tirelessly defend and crusade for someone who would give a shit. I didn't worship HST like some people, but understanding his viewpoint is not very difficult given even a cursory attempt.