Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 10, 2011

Ta tata da da…. The New Odd Couple

It seems a completely different artist was working on Sunday’s and last week’s strip.

Several readers noticed the improved draughtsmanship of Sunday’s strip on Ray. Today’s strip returns to GBT’s signature tricks: flat characters (contrast the rounded, fleshed-out faces on Sunday) and stark reversals of the light from positive to negative in panel 3 (contrast the carefully graduated lighting on Sunday, with the heads and noses—-and even the silhouettes in panel 6—-outlined in white).(Sorry, Gweedo, I had to delete my comment to rewrite it)

A live-in chaperone?!?

Joanie’s leaving her second husband?

Doonesbury’s artwork has always taken second place to its storyline.

She can make sure Alex doesn’t earn money through college by posing nude, in case she has any political aspirations.

And what happened to Drew? Did I miss a whole story line here somewhere?

Squandered youth or a new character roomate?

What happened to Drew?

Gary has often used hired assistants for inkers. I believe Berke Breathed was one before he went solo, taking a lot of his art influence with him, like the non-balloon speech style. I heard this a long time ago, and could be totally wrong.

I believe Joan is moving closer to DC to help her friend in the 2112 eleiction, as was hinted at a bit ago. The Drew story is probably forthcoming, just it’s taking place in a non-linear fashion.

…GASP…scandle in the Doonesbury world!…Now,none of his points are valid!..Suddenly,the Tea Party makes perfect sense…Oh you liar,Trudeau…my..my whole world crumbling…must… watch… FOX news instead…GASP…

Joanie is going to Massachusetts to help Elizabeth Warren (of consumer financial watchdog fame) run for Senator. The thread was there in earlier strips.

Drew probably moved back to California or somewhere else for career opportunity after completing her education at MIT.

The Pats (God, I hate them) are still in it.

The reappearance of Joanie Caucus—-last seen sharing her revived political fervor with her husband Rick—-suggests that GBT is not about to resume the Alex/Leo romance.Sensing the onset of a very strong political season, GBT—-who cannily predicted Occupy Wall Street with his 18 Sept. fantasy of the 400 besieged “moguls”—-brings the pre-Leo, undergraduate Alex back just briefly enough to establish the Massachusetts political scene.I may be wrong, of course, but if my guess is right, the remainder of this arc will be about Joanie, not her granddaughter (Mike sired Alex by his ex-wife J.J. Caucus, Joanie’s daughter who eventually ran off with Zeke).

The comments above (and some of those made re Sunday’s strip) prompt me to weigh in. As the Duty Officer of the Doonesbury web site and a close associate of GBT’s for over 30 years, I can assure you that he continues to draw every strip himself, as he has since day one. Don Carlton has been his inker almost from the beginning, and for the past decade or so, the Sundays have been colored by George Corsillo. For an in-depth look at the creative process behind the strip, I would refer you to Brian Walker’s book “Doonesbury and the Art of G.B. Trudeau,” published in 2010 by Yale University Press.

I just wanted to see her be able to run the organization that she developed to protect consumers against the banking industry.

Grandma goin’ to college!