Characters

FAQs

Beta-fresh answers, uploaded occasionally

Lets face it, our favorite comic strip is often obscure or inconsistent, and key characters are sometimes left stranded for years. Long-suffering readers are within their rights to demand some clarification. Use the "Ask GBT" form to email us your questions, and we will answer those we can on the Blowback page, and also archive the answers here.

Q: I seem to recall that when Joanie Caucus married Rick Redfern, the wedding invitations contained several errors. For rather embarrassing personal reasons, I would love to see that series of strips again.
-- Jennifer, Boulder, CO | Characters | August 07, 2008 11:28
A:Despite the typographical problems you mention, the Rick-Joanie nuptials in the summer of 1981 went off without a hitch. Twenty-seven years later we appreciate your giving us an opportunity to revisit the happy occasion.
Q: When did Honey Huan enter Duke's life? Did her appearance have anything to do with improved Sino-American ties following Nixon's 1973 tour of The People's Republic?
-- Vasu, San Francisco, CA | Characters | July 28, 2008 14:07
A:The remarkable and long-lived relationship of Honey and Duke began three years after Nixon's historic visit, when Duke, then the Governor of American Samoa, was appointed U.S. Ambassador to China. Immediately upon his arrival in Peking the plucky and resourceful Ms. Huan was appointed his translator, an assignment which proved fortuitous for both parties, as this sampling of 1976 strips shows.
Q: I saw the reference to Benjy in the strip recently, so I take it he gave up his punk name "Sal Putrid." What ever happened to him?
-- Mark, Greenville, NY | Characters | June 19, 2008 16:44
A:During the late 80s Mike's younger brother adopted a new nom de employ, and embarked on a remarkably successful career as a condom salesman. For those who missed it, here are the strips chronicling the glory days of "Dr. Whoopee."
Q: B.D. and Mark seem to have a strained relationship. The source of this conflict must be way back, since I have no recollection of the two having issues. When did it happen? What was its root?
-- Mike Irwin, Sequim, WA | Characters | May 22, 2008 11:47
A:Football hero B.D. and campus radical Mark banged heads from the start, different by nature and in principle. Though they met in the Walden dorms and went on to become habitues of Walden Commune, their interactions during the first five years of the strip were only occasional -- and usually confrontational. Here's a look back.
Q: In the Flashbacks section I recently saw a week of 1973 strips about a young, blond just-returned Vietnam POW who comes to Walden. Wikipedia informs me that this was about the time when young Lt. Cmdr. John McCain got back from his long stay at the Hanoi Hilton. Was the POW character modeled specifically on him?
-- Carl R. Schilt, North Bonneville, WA | Characters | April 25, 2008 16:36
A:No, but we appreciate your asking the question. It provides us an excellent opportunity to post these strips about former-POW Skip Willis. Enjoy!
Q: I have a vague memory of Roland Hedley reporting from Afghanistan at some point. Did that actually happen, or did I imagine it? If so, when was it? Thanks.
-- Bob C., Portland, OR | Characters | April 16, 2008 18:39
A:Indeed. In the summer of 1980, seven months after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Roland abandoned the abundant epaulets of his traditional reporter garb and donned more colorful attire in order to report from near the front lines. As this series of strips shows, his highlight reel is the richer for it. Roland's gambit echoed that of Dan Rather, who reported from inside Afghanistan while wearing traditional Mujahadeen garments and headdress -- winning him the nickname "Gunga Dan".
Q: In the 2/22/08 strip Mark refers to his "imaginary boyfriend". Is there something about Chase that I've misunderstood all these years?
-- Kevin Billinghurst, Vaxholm, SWEDEN | Characters | March 14, 2008 16:57
A:In recent exchanges with B.D., Mark has referenced an off-stage boyfriend who, mysteriously, has yet to surface. As to Chase, it sounds like you missed the strips which chronicled Mark and Chase's messy breakup. We're happy to bring you up to speed by providing this link.
Q: Did Zonker Harris ever officially graduate from Walden College? If so, what major did he accumulate enough credits in?
-- James Falk, New York, NY | Characters | December 25, 2007 03:36
A:Zonke's extended career as an undergraduate -- which he referred to as "the best nine years of my life" -- ended unexpectedly when the budding tannist was forced, against his will, to accept a degree. As dramatized in the 1983 Broadway show Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy, Zonker's big moment brought two revelations: that his first name is "Edgar", and that he had no idea what his major was.
Q: How'd Joanie and Rick get together? Was courtship involved?
-- Joshua Eliason, ISRAEL | Characters | November 30, 2007 16:33
A:Berkeley law student Joanie Caucus was working on roommate Ginny Slade's Congressional campaign when Rick Redfern journeyed west to cover it for the Washington Post. Courtship indeed ensued, though Rick was unaware of it at the time. The denouement of this three-week series chronicling their coming-together was dropped by 30 papers, leading M.I.T. students to picket the Boston Globe.
Q: In a recent Flashback strip, Joanie's first husband, Clinton, plays a tape recording from their "youngest daughter". What happened to this other daughter? Does J.J. have a sibling we don't know about?
-- Frank Light, Cincinnati, OH | Characters | November 05, 2007 14:53
A:You have come across one of the few anomalies in the structure of the Doonesbury universe. Evidence would indeed suggest that at one time there was another child. And then there wasn't. So it goes.