I Wonder Whether Garry Trudeau Knows…

Cidu Bill on Sep 23rd 2008

…that these actually exist

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Filed in Doonesbury, G.B. Trudeau, Sarah Palin, action figures, comic strips, comics, humor | 14 responses so far

14 Responses to “I Wonder Whether Garry Trudeau Knows…”

  1. Lord-z Sep 23rd 2008 at 04:15 am 1

    I think the Trudeau makes his strips three weeks in advance, so he might not have heard when he made this one.

  2. Powers Sep 23rd 2008 at 07:08 am 2

    More interesting is that Trudeau doesn’t usually depict actual political figures’ faces.

  3. Lord-z Sep 23rd 2008 at 08:24 am 3

    Well, he has done it before, when it wasn’t the actual character. Reagans likeness became Ron Headrest in the mid eighties, I think.

    Al Gore actually appeared fullfaced in 1988, when he ran for president. Trudeau did an entire week on him.

  4. Nicole Sep 23rd 2008 at 08:34 am 4

    Hmmm — they have been around for a week or two. I don’t think they come with pagent wear. You can get on in a business suit, hunting outfit or ….ahem … a school girl outfit (a little creepy if you ask me)

  5. Steve Sep 23rd 2008 at 09:31 am 5

    I think Trudeau has a much shorter lead time than most strips, somewhere around a week and a half, so he probably was aware of the action figures.

  6. Jon88 Sep 23rd 2008 at 10:45 am 6

    It seems he also doesn’t know the “even” divides after the E. (What, somebody thought “lies” couldn’t sit by itself on the third line?)

  7. Dave Van Domelen Sep 23rd 2008 at 11:11 am 7

    The herobuilders.com version also doesn’t talk. Which, frankly, could be seen as more feature than bug.

    (I’m tempted to get or make one just so I can give it Gurren Lagann accessories and pose a picture of her saying “With this drill I will pierce the ANWR!”)

  8. FlyingFish Sep 23rd 2008 at 03:04 pm 8

    (”If there’s a dictatorship, we break it down! If there’s no democracy, we make one with these hands!”)

  9. Jack Sep 24th 2008 at 02:02 pm 9

    It seems that most political cartoonists (left and right) are what preschoolers would refer to as “mean.”

    And those little ones would probably be right. But when they make fun of each other the way that adults make fun of each other, the adults just yell at them.

    I see little substance in most political strips these days other than a desire to make fun of one’s political nemeses.

  10. Mark in Boston Sep 24th 2008 at 04:18 pm 10

    But Jack, look at the political cartoons of 100 years ago, or even 200 years ago. Just as nasty.

  11. Patrick Sep 24th 2008 at 05:43 pm 11

    Actually they were nastier, Mark. Modern political cartoons don’t have anywhere near as many fart jokes. (I’m serious. You could look it up).

  12. Charlene Sep 24th 2008 at 07:55 pm 12

    Modern political cartoons also don’t suggest that it would be A-OK if the opponent was murdered in cold blood.

    Modern political cartoons are wimpy.

  13. Jack Sep 25th 2008 at 07:23 pm 13

    I don’t dispute that cartoonists have exemplified this trait of meanness for some time. I appreciate everyone’s reminding me of that, though, because sometimes we do tend to forget the past. We tend to forget, for example, that figures who are now beloved in the annals of history were once demonized, even hated, by a large percentage of people in the country (Abraham Lincoln is one name that comes to mind).

    The question I ask is: Does meanness become any less “mean” because it has been going on for hundreds of years? Should we think that we’re sitting pretty because our comics are less “mean” than those of yesteryear? Or do we hold ourselves to a higher standard?

    Of course, I’m not interested in offering my opinion any further, because it is probably better at this point to give people something to think about on their own rather than offering another dogmatic opinion. I feel like I’m in a philosophical discussion.

  14. CIDU Bill Sep 25th 2008 at 08:26 pm 14

    And a variation on your question, Jack: Is it still “mean” if you’re just doing your job? After all, the political cartoonists, radio show hosts, the Bill O’Reillys and the Ann Coulters and the Ted Ralls don’t make a living by being gentle and even-handed: They provoke, or else they get replaced by somebody who does.

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