Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for July 25, 2011

Vista Bill, where were you yesterday?

Now it’s my turn to misunderstand today’s strip. Yesterday’s had a great punchline. Trudeau must be setting us up for something. Jeff’s going out, yes, but what does he mean by, “I’ll go pick up some girls?” The last panel is not at all funny, not to me at least. Jeff’s chances in the pickup game are about the same as a snowman’s on the surface of the sun. GT has something else up his imaginative sleeve? What is it? Anybody wanna risk a prediction?

I predict he’ll successfully pick up at least one girl. . (But her boyfriend will make him put her back down.)

My guess is that Jeff, in his quest for “girls,” will go consult with Zipper, his collaborator in virtual reality. “Girls” means anyone who will confirm his self-image—maybe even some Afghan houri who dotes on Sorkh Razil.

Yeah, you were kidnapped and nearly killed weeks ago! You should be over it by now!Thanks, Mom. And thanks for noticing he was gone, too.I see why Jeff is guidance-challenged.

Heh. heh. heh. Chip off the old block, huh Dear? Dear? Put that down!

Remember, dear Doonesburyans, that Jeff Redfern is not, repeat not, a free moral agent. Artist Gary Trudeau (GT) is the only free moral agent in Doonesbury — the puppet master who holds the strings that cause Jeff to dance to his tune. This is true of all, repeat all, of his “comic” characters going back over four decades. So what does this realization mean?IMO it means that it doesn’t matter whether or not Jeff is stupid (he’s not). It means that it doesn’t matter whether or not he can “get a date” (he can’t, not on his own). It means that it doesn’t matter whether or not he can get or hold a job (he doesn’t seem to want one). It means that it doesn’t matter whether or not he bathes daily (he must, having having been born into such a fam). The only thing that matters is whatever it is that GT intends to “force” us to see via his “craft or sullen art” (Google Dylan Thomas’s poem, “In My Craft or Sullen Art”).Without a doubt GT is planning something . . . . And remember that he, GT, is a liberal leftwing patriot (LLP). (Eat your heart out, Arianna Huffington.) So if you’re not an LLP, then prepare yourself. And even if you are one, prepare yourself also. For not only is he an artist, he’s also a genius. IMO nobody else the the world of “comic strip” artistry can touch him. Not even Dilbert. Not even Calvin and Hobbes. Not even close. What to do? Fear not. Just fasten your seatbelt and enjoy a theme-park ride far outstripping Walt Disney’s wildest dream. (Sorry, Walt old friend.)Remember how fast a “star” — such as Amy Winehouse — can wink out into “that good night” (also Dylan Thomas, as in "Do Not Go Gentile into . . .). Bottom line: We’re lucky beyond measure that we still have him with us. (He could get hit by a truck or crash in a private plane at any time.)

Well Dylan, I am not a LLP. I still get a good laugh at his work.

It’snice to see that GBT does not infuse politics into some stroylines.

Jeff Redfern: determined to carry teenage angst into his 30s.

I am good with GT being into politics. If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

He picks things UP, and he puts them down…

Jeff chose the easiest of the options his mother gave him…

Dylan Thomas: “Do Not Go Gentile into [that Good Night].”

So this Welsh poet was recommending we convert to Judaism before we die? Who knew?:-)

I’m glad to see that this story continues. I feel sorry for Jeff & for his parents, considering that he continues to live in a dream world.I am glad that G.B. Trudeau found another use for him, in this satire of the pawns of the plutocrats (“Protect the rich! They are the only ones who create the jobs!”—such nonsense), but I am also sorry that he didn’t perish in the rescue of Tyrant Trff, who should also have died.Trudeau has much too soft a spot for his reprobate characters: Duke, Earl, Trff, Jeff. I understand his reason to keep them, but they need some greater come-uppances, especially Jeff.

>Jeff’s chances in the pickup game are about the same as a snowman’s on the surface of the sun.

yes, I think that is the point and the source of further entertainment to come.

Pluto-crats is an apt name. Every once in a while, they come up with a new moon for us.

lwp, I suspect DTΠ recognized my attempt at a joke, but I think it escaped you. My bad.

What is Rick’s fidelity record relative to his relationship to his wife Joanie? And if it is worthy, why would he speak openly in front of her about Jeff running procurement for him? She’s obviously intelligent, as are all the Redferns, so she would catch on immediately. And there would be consequences.

WOW DylanThomas 3.14159 settle , its only a comic strip! It’s not a Danish manifesto.

What is a Danish manifesto? Is it anything like a Pastry declaration?

You can see the dripping sarcasm in the first panel, “Nice of you to … Jefffury”

In other words Jeff can pick up pretty much any thing he wants, within the constraints of the comic format.

It is conceivable that Rick was joking.