Since the Doonesbury cartoon strip appeared in 1970 Garry Trudeau has been skewering American social and political life and today the strip appears in around 1,400 newspapers worldwide and online at doonesbury.com.
I've been on board for most of that time, firstly through a daily dose in The Australian where it took over, if my memory serves me well from the inimitable Pogo, themn through an assortment of paperback compilations that appear on the list below, and most recently through a daily glance at doonesbury.com.
Given the fact that we started with a dweebish college student whose room mate was a right wing footballer you'd think there wouldn't be anything there that would sustain a forty-year run, but it has, and it's the closest thing in Hughesy's reading habits to a long running soap opera.
And the reader might wince at the soap opera bit, rest assured that Trudeau's still sharp as a tack.
Note: In the extensive bibliography below the utalicised titles are the ones I've been able to locate on my shelves. At some point in time I'll be out looking at some of this stuff for my Interesting Times project, and I need some record of what I've got, don't I?
(Listing, predictably, appropriated from Wikipedia)
Still a Few Bugs in the System (1972) (a.k.a. Even Revolutionaries Like Chocolate Chip Cookies and Just a French Major from the Bronx)
The President Is a Lot Smarter Than You Think (1973) (a.k.a. Don’t Ever Change Boopsie)
But This War Had Such Promise (1973) (a.k.a. Bravo for Life’s Little Ironies and I Have No Son)
Call Me When You Find America (1973)
Guilty, Guilty, Guilty! (1974)
“What Do We Have for the Witnesses, Johnnie?” (1975)
Dare to Be Great, Ms. Caucus (1975)
Wouldn’t a Gremlin Have Been More Sensible? (1975)
“Speaking of Inalienable Rights, Amy...” (1976)
You’re Never Too Old for Nuts and Berries (1976)
An Especially Tricky People (1977)
As the Kid Goes for Broke (1977)
“Any Grooming Hints for Your Fans, Rollie?” (1978)
Stalking the Perfect Tan (1978)
“But the Pension Fund Was Just Sitting There” (1979)
We’re Not Out of the Woods Yet (1979)
A Tad Overweight, But Violet Eyes to Die For (1980)
And That’s My Final Offer! (1980)
He’s Never Heard of You, Either (1981) (a.k.a. Adjectives Will Cost You Extra and Gotta Run, My Government Is Collapsing)
In Search of Reagan’s Brain (1981) (a.k.a. Is This Your First Purge, Miss? and We Who Are About to Fry, Salute You)
Ask for May, Settle for June (1982 (a.k.a. It’s Supposed to Be Yellow, Pinhead and Do All Birders Have Bedroom Eyes, Dear?)