Recent FAQS
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.
-- R.A., Miami, FLA
Recently, the Kansas City Star reformatted their comics page, and Doonesbury has shrunk. All the characters seem to be squashed like pancakes. Can they do this? When I was a kid the same thing happened in the Des Moines Register. They made Charlie Brown's head look like an egg.
-- T.A., Olathe, KS
The size requirement remains in force, though papers will from time to time forget and try to shrink Doonesbury to fit their format. We are grateful to alert readers who pass word of such aberrations along to us here at the DTH&WP. We forward them on to Universal Press Syndicate, which follows up, reminding client papers of their contractual obligation. Thank you for your vigilance!
-- R.A., Miami, FLA
Recently, the Kansas City Star reformatted their comics page, and Doonesbury has shrunk. All the characters seem to be squashed like pancakes. Can they do this? When I was a kid the same thing happened in the Des Moines Register. They made Charlie Brown?s head look like an egg.
-- T.A., Olathe, KS
The size requirement remains in force, though papers will from time to time forget and try to shrink Doonesbury to fit their format. We are grateful to alert readers who pass word of such aberrations along to us here at the DTH&WP. We forward them on to Universal Press Syndicate, which follows up, reminding client papers of their contractual obligation. Thank you for your vigilance!
"The strip isn't really about masturbation or the prostate cancer study as such, but about the shifting nature of taboos and the inability of two adults to have a certain kind of serious conversation. It was inspired by a similar conversation I had recently with friends. The more traditional viewpoint (Boopsie's) is represented without mockery, so readers who share her discomfort shouldn't be offended. There's a laugh in there, but not really at her expense.
"Still, I understood that the mention of certain words per se would not be acceptable to some family newspapers, which is why we made the alternative strip available. This is likely a one-time departure from past practice, and it does not signal our intention to start supplying replacement strips (what Pogo's Walt Kelly used to call his 'bunny rabbit strips') every time there's a chance someone might be offended by the regular release. It's a 'South Park' world now, and younger readers are unlikely to be shocked or confused by anything they find in Doonesbury. Besides, our general experience is that most children don't understand Doonesbury in any event, and thus sensibly avoid it."
Microsoft is the evil empire. Have you sold your soul to the devil?
-- H. Waya, Philadelphia, PA
Does the word 'ethics' mean anything to GBT? Or does it just get in the way of $?
-- M. Green
I'd rather chew off my testicles than have anything other than the barest minimum to do with that sneaky, ugly-minded bunch of misanthropes at MSN.
-- John B., United Kingdom
Those not yet familiar with Slate might enjoy THIS RECENT INTERVIEW with its editor, Jacob Weisberg (who also creates Slate's popular 'Bushisms' feature). In the piece he discusses the DTH&WP-Slate relationship and hints at special projects now still in the brain-jamming stage.