But This War Had Such Promise

by G.B. Trudeau

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0030075211
• ISBN13: 9780030075216
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: Holt McDougal
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Ineresting but slight collection

This book is actually excerpted from the longer book But This War Had Such Promise (His A Doonesbury book) and I'm not sure why the publishers did it this way except maybe to have smaller units to sell for a slightly lower price which would net more profits. Anyhow it's a quick read, but it's more important for its insights into 1970s counterculture. Even in the early days, Trudeau never let his liberal bias interfere with a good story, but much of the material comes from the era. Mark is dealing with his father charging him for upbringing, Mike is starting the Walden Commune which increasingly seems like a bad roommate situation, B.D. is leaving Vietnam (and outright calling him a gook which is one of those things you really won't see in the Sunday comics these days - for better or worse - no pun intended). For the most part, this is an interesting trip back to the early days of Doonesbury complete with the communes, the manageable number of characters (Trudeau does compare the comic strip to a Russian novel every so often) and 60s politics. Sadly it's before Uncle Duke, Joanie and the rest of the characters that would really rock the comic in the 80s, but it's definitely a great little read. Too bad it's so short.

G.B. Trudeau sends B.D. to Vietnam, circa 1971-73

In "the more things change the more they remain the same department" the back cover of this collection of Doonesbury strips from 1971-73 has an editorial from the "Dallas Morning Star-Telegram" explaining how for the second time in a month "Doonesbury" was not appearing in the comic section. Last month "Doonesbury" was moved from the comic section to the editorial page of my local newspaper. The excerpt from the editorial explains G.B. Trudeau had not provided a "comic" but rather "an unrestrained violent editorial comment on the war in Vietnam" of "an intemperate nature we don't use on the editorial page." The rationale provided by my own newspaper for moving Trudeau's strip had to do with the plotline in which B.D. loses a leg in Iraq (not to mention his helmet) and returns home to rebuild his life. It should also be pointed out that this year is an election year and as things heat up between President Bush and Senator Kerry, we expect Trudeau to do the same. "But This War Had Such Promise" is a line spoken by B.D., who volunteers to go to Vietnam to fight the Commies (and to get out of having to write a term paper), and finds out the war is not all he had hoped it would be. Given what is happening with B.D. today, going back to read again Trudeau's assault on the war in Vietnam is, to say the least, ironic. This is the third of the classic "Doonesbury" collections, following "Still a Few Bugs in the System" and "The President Is a Lot Smarter Than You Think." Trudeau's drawing style is quite rudimentary compared to today; if you have seen any reprints of the strips Trudeau did on John Kerry October 21-23, 1971 these are done in the same style. No, those three strips, including one where B.D. attacks Kerry as a "flaming hypocrite" for throwing away his medals because of how much they cost the government, are not in this particular collection and do you not think that it is ironic that Trudeau has "flip-flopped" on Kerry in the last thirty-plus years? The strips with B.D. in Vietnam. where he first meets Phred the terrorist, are the highpoint of "But This War Had Such Promise" and makes everything else pale in comparison, such Bernie playing Jekyll & Hyde with magic formulas and young Rufus Jackson trying to work the system. But you also have the establishment of the commune at Walden Pond, so there are strips of historic value as well in addition to the intemperate politics of sending cartoon characters off to a war in Southeast Asia. It would be interesting for Trudeau to put together a collection of all of the Vietnam related "Doonesbury" strips, as well as a "Nixon" collection, but that would make sense so I doubt it would be done anytime soon.