40

Starred review from September 13, 2010
This monolithic overview of G.B. Trudeau's landmark newspaper strip is the most comprehensive book on the subject imaginable, a must-read for both fans and those interested in what amounts to a chronicle of American society over the past four decades. The book reprints virtually all of the strip's significant story arcs in sensibly abridged versions, trimming the fat for newcomers yet retaining all of the narrative qualities that have made the series a riveting but topical narrative. Despite the age of some strips, the material holds up and the then innovative wry attitude of its cast (and, by default, its creator) remains fresh, compelling and frequently hilarious. Forty years have done nothing to dull the edge of Trudeau's left-wing political stance, and his gift for blending sociopolitical commentary and multigenerational serialized narrative have only been refined over time. Mike, B.D., Zonker, J.J., Alex, and the huge cast have become like friends to faithful readers, and leafing through the pages is like taking a long look through a family scrapbook. A gorgeous tribute to a seminal comic strip.

November 15, 2010
Incredibly, this gigantic, crisply produced retrospective, covering 40 years of Doonesbury, Trudeaus brilliant comic-strip interpretation of American foibles and follies, contains a mere 13 percent of the 14,000 strips Trudeau has created in an astonishing, ongoing artistic marathon. But so well selected are the black-and-white and color strips found here, it will long stand as a definitive treasury of Trudeaus uniquely incisive and affectionately humorous take on family dynamics, romance, the pursuit of meaning, and all things political. To read strip after strip without having to wait for the next installment is to discover just how extraordinarily complex the world of Doonesbury is, and how deeply involved Trudeau is with his dozens of spiky characters. To help readers keep track, he provides a foldout Doonesbury family tree and bemused profiles of such primary cast members as Michael Doonesbury, B. D., Zonker Harris, Boopsie, Joanie and J. J. Caucus, Duke, and Alex, Mike and J. J.s daughter. Longtime fans, intermittent partakers, and newcomers alike will experience revelations in this grand collection of the wit, audacity, and wisdom of Doonesbury.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)