Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for July 06, 1979
July 05, 1979
July 07, 1979
Transcript:
Duke: Parachute? Me? Are you mad, Andrews? Man: A small risk considering the stakes, Duke... may I just remind you that at this point, the only thing standing between our whole way of life and armageddon is one 42-year-old balding bagman - you! Duke: Andrews, have you ever hurled yourself out of an airplane at 30,000 feet? Man: It's perfectly safe, Duke. Besides, the Iranian Air Force almost never patrols at night. Duke: Night? How am I supposed to find the damn target at night? Man: You just follow the tracers. Look, Duke, I'd do it myself if it weren't for my back.
Not exactly. From the beginning of the strip until Jan 1983, the strip noted the passing of time externally, but characters didn’t really age (so Mike, Mark, etc. were in college for over a decade). The strip went on hiatus Jan 1983 until Oct 1984.
When it returned it began aging the characters appropriately. It also sped things up by having some things happen during the hiatus. The gang graduated during the musical, and Mike and JJ got married.