Editing Doonesbury (section)

==Criticism==
When the strip became a success with its often seemingly static imagery where the essential action is entirely in the dialogue, veteran cartoonist [[Al Capp]] grudgingly admitted: “Anybody who can draw bad pictures of the White House four times in a row and succeed knows something I don’t. His style defies all measurement.”<ref>{{cite magazine |title=DOONESBURY: Drawing and Quartering for Fun and Profit |url=https://time.com/archive/6851747/doonesbury-drawing-and-quartering-for-fun-and-profit/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=February 9, 1976 |publisher=Time Magazine |access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref>

[[Charles M. Schulz]] of ''[[Peanuts]]'' called Trudeau "unprofessional" for taking a long sabbatical.<ref>{{cite book | last = Soper | first = Kerry | title = Garry Trudeau: Doonesbury and the Aesthetics of Satire  | publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]  | date = October 1, 2008  }}</ref> (See also, similar comments by Schulz about sabbaticals taken by [[Bill Watterson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/selling-newspaper-comic-strip/|title=Selling Out the Newspaper Comic Strip |website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=August 15, 2015 |access-date=November 18, 2017|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123721/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/selling-newspaper-comic-strip/|url-status=live}}</ref>)  Nor was the return of the strip itself greeted with universal acclaim; in 1985, ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]'' listed Trudeau as one of the country's "Most Overrated People in American Arts and Letters", commenting that the "most publicized return since [[Douglas MacArthur|MacArthur]]'s has produced a strip that is predictable, mean-spirited, and not as funny as before."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 42 Most Underrated/Overrated People in American Arts and Letters|magazine=Saturday Review|date=April 1985|pages=31–35}}</ref>

''Doonesbury'' has angered, irritated, or been rebuked by many of the political figures that have appeared or been referred to in the strip over the years. A 1984 series of strips showing Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]] placing his manhood in a [[blind trust]]—in parody of Bush's use of that financial instrument to fend off concerns that his governmental decisions would be influenced by his investment holdings—brought the politician to complain, "''Doonesbury''{{'s}} carrying water for the opposition. Trudeau is coming out of deep left field."<ref name="msnbc35">{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/doonesbury-still-feisty-after-35-years-wbna9998791 |title=''Doonesbury'' still feisty after 35 years |date=November 17, 2005 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Today.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104203912/https://www.today.com/popculture/doonesbury-still-feisty-after-35-years-wbna9998791 |archive-date=November 4, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some [[Conservatism|conservatives]] have intensely criticized ''Doonesbury''. Several examples are cited in the [[#Milestones|Milestones]] section of the strip's website. The strip has also met criticism from its readers almost since it began syndicated publication. For example, when Lacey Davenport's husband Dick, in the last moments before his death, calls on God, several conservative pundits called the strip blasphemous. The sequence of Dick Davenport's final bird-watching and fatal heart attack was run in November 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1986/11/06|title=Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for Nov 6, 1986|date=November 6, 1986|website=GoComics|access-date=November 18, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916182920/http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1986/11/06|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Liberalism|Liberal]] politicians skewered by Trudeau in the strip have also complained, including [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] such as former U.S. House Speaker [[Tip O'Neill]] and California Governor [[Jerry Brown]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/10/26/doonesbury-at-20-postcards-from-the-edge-of-the-envelope/|title=Doonesbury At 20: Postcards From The Edge Of The Envelope|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=November 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127131456/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-10-26-9003290989-story.html|archive-date=November 27, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

Strips about post-World War II American wars have also generated controversy, including [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], [[Invasion of Grenada|Grenada]], [[Invasion of Panama|Panama]] and both [[Iraq war (disambiguation)|Gulf Wars]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/27/iraq.iraqandthemedia|title=Doonesbury at war|first=Dan|last=Glaister|date=May 27, 2004|access-date=November 18, 2017|work=The Guardian|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916182525/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/27/iraq.iraqandthemedia|url-status=live}}</ref>

After many letter-writing campaigns demanding the removal of the strip were unsuccessful, conservatives changed their tactics, and instead of writing to newspaper editors, they began writing to one of the printers who prints the color Sunday comics. In 2005, Continental Features refused to continue printing the Sunday ''Doonesbury'', causing it to disappear from the 38 Sunday papers that Continental Features printed. Of the 38, only one newspaper, ''[[The Anniston Star]]'' in [[Anniston, Alabama]], continued to carry the Sunday ''Doonesbury'', though of necessity in black and white.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/continental-complaints-led-to-drop-doonesbury-poll/|title=Continental: Complaints Led to Drop-'Doonesbury' Poll – Editor & Publisher|website=Editor and Publisher|access-date=November 18, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916184542/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/continental-complaints-led-to-drop-doonesbury-poll/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some newspapers have dealt with the criticism by moving the strip from the comics page to the editorial page, because many people believe that a politically based comic strip like ''Doonesbury'' does not belong in a traditionally child-friendly comics section. The ''[[Lincoln Journal]]'' started the trend in 1973. In some papers (such as the ''[[Tulsa World]]'' and ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'') ''Doonesbury'' appears on the opinions page alongside ''[[Mallard Fillmore]]'', a politically conservative comic strip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://knoxblogs.com/editor/2006/11/16/no_ducking_out/|title=No ducking out|date=November 16, 2006|website=Knox Blogs|access-date=November 18, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916225335/http://knoxblogs.com/editor/2006/11/16/no_ducking_out/|url-status=live}}</ref>