Doonesbury Sucks, And Here's a Detailed Explaination Why

Evan sends:

I think Trudeau's main strength is that he appeals to newspaper staffs and in particular to the editorial page. His sensibility evokes NPR at its most earnest, a very mannered "isn't that obvious?" conformity that embodies the editorial we. There is real wit at work here – sometimes even a joke with a punchline – but it's so plainly self-blind that after a few strips it starts to wear thin.

...

In between comparing himself to Walt Kelly and whining that no one gives him credit for his sloppy pencils (after 26 years the man hasn't learned to ink his own meager output), Trudeau muddles on with Baby Boomer cluelessness. Part of the Doonesbury tradition from the past decade has been its stilted portrayal of anyone younger than 25, as many recent strips demonstrate. The attempts at hip jargon are so pathetic – "dopest", "dawg" – that I wonder if it's an elaborate put-on. Why include characters you can't write dialogue for? Maybe it's Trudeau harkening to the strip's collegiate origins, maybe it's a generational narcissism straining to identify with contemporary youth, maybe it's just middle-age desperation. It's all part of the Boomer attitude, I guess. They either detest the more recent generations or they worship them as reflections of themselves. Sometimes both in the same day.

He also thinks that Trudeau can't draw.

posted by Ace at 03:24 PM

| Access Comments