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		I see there's a new Doonesbury book out. I feel like I've missed a few. Would you please tell me the sequence of titles that have come out since the last big anthology, The Bundled Doonesbury? Thanks. -- G. Polhemus, Carmichel, CA

		The Bundled Doonesbury (which came with a PC-only CD-Rom containing all the strips through May 1997) was followed by these annual collections: Buck Wild Doonesbury; Duke2000: Whatever It Takes; The Revolt of the English Majors; Peace Out, Dawg!: Tales From Ground Zero; Got War?; Talk to the Hand; Heckuva Job, Bushie! and, most recently, Welcome to the Nerd Farm!. Also published during this period: the large-format Dude: The Big Book of Zonker; two books chronicling B.D.'s wounding and recovery, The Long Road Home and The War Within; and Doonesbury.com's The Sandbox.

		What is that "Whack...hissss" sound that loads with each new comic? Where did it come from? -- Karen Hopkins, Nevada City, CA

		That appealing pair of tones is an actual audio recording of a digitally reproduced comic strip being snapped into the display chamber and sliding into viewing position. This remarkable feat of recording was accomplished at the sound studios of Mr. Fred Newman, the voice of Duke in the Duke2000 animated videos.

		The 3/4/07 Sunday strip shows Duke posting his "campaign videos" on YouTube. And I see that they are actually there. What's the story on these? Where did they come from? -- B.H., Philadelphia, PA

		Seven years ago, Former Ambassador Duke launched his maverick "Whatever It Takes" campaign for the White House with this stirring declaration: "I want to be the ferret in the pants of government." E-campaigning from his headquarters at the E-Z Rest Motor Lodge in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, Duke set out to prove that an average citizen, with nothing more than a laptop, a few spam speeches, and a sackful of soft money, could make political history. Duke's campaign was amply chronicled in the strip itself, but GBT also worked with Protozoa, a San Francisco dotcom (since defunct), to create a 3-D animated Duke, capable of interacting in the real world in real time. Using cutting-edge motion-capture technology, and drawing on the voice-and-movement talents of Fred Newman, this project resulted in several hours of innovative animation which was so ahead of then-existing bandwidth capabilities that only now, two election cycles later and thanks to YouTube, can it be widely viewed and fully appreciated. Duke's insurgent effort as a Reform Party candidate won him a small place in the history books, and put the outspoken candidate live on "Larry King", "Today", and dozens other shows. In a multitude of short campaign films such as "Healer-in-Chief", "Stirred, Not Shaken", "Forgotten White Guy", "Poodles" and "Apocalypse 2000" (with a Doors soundtrack), Duke managed to confound conventional wisdom on a dazzling array of topics. You can view the Duke2000 videos here on our site, at Duke's Video Dump, or on YouTube. Additional D2K episodes will be posted weekly over the months ahead. To find out more about the project, you can read this extensive article from Wired magazine.

		The banner line in the 6/4 Sunday strip reads, "In Memoriam since April 23, 2005." Supposedly a tribute to our fallen heroes. All fine and dandy until one reflects on Trudeau, his politics and his motivation. Certainly it isn't out of respect, because this way-left-of-center commentator has shown he is anti-military, anti-Republican and anti-President Bush...So, what's the point? -- W.M. Benton, Fort Collins, CO

		For many readers, Doonesbury has long been something of a Rorschach test -- they see in it what they are predisposed to see. Case in point, those who detect an antimilitary bias in the strip. It may interest -- if not confuse -- these critics to learn that if GBT has such a bias, the military itself has failed to notice. During the first Gulf War, the Pentagon organized a touring exhibition of the Doonesbury war strips, and during Trudeau's visit to Kuwait, where he met hundreds of soldiers, he was awarded certificates of achievement by the Ready First Brigade and the 4th Battalion 67th Armor, which made him an "honorary Bandit for life". More recently, the DOD, USO and VA have all worked closely with Trudeau on the strips depicting B.D.'s wounding in Iraq, and last December, Walter Reed Army Medical Center presented him with the Commander's Award for Public Service, the third-highest civilian award given by the Army. GBT's collection of B.D. strips, The Long Road Home, with a preface by Senator John McCain, benefits Fisher House, the on-campus facility for the families of wounded warriors. (A follow-up book, The War Within, is planned for this fall, also to benefit Fisher House.) And in July, Trudeau will be honored by the Vietnam Veterans of America with this year's President's Award.

		Those who have followed B.D.'s journey will be surprised to learn that the Washington Hilton has served eviction papers on Fran O'Brien's Steakhouse, the host of the Friday night dinners for amputees and seriously wounded (covered in Doonesbury during B.D.'s time at Walter Reed). Hilton "generously" provided two weeks notice on the eviction papers, which comes after months of requests by the owners of Fran O'Brien's for renewal of the lease. Shame on Hilton. Fran O'Brien's is due to close at the end of the month. Until then, if you would like to meet two people that America's wounded see as their heroes, stop by and thank Hal Koster and Marty O'Brien for hosting their Friday Night Welcome Home dinners. And it might help to let the Hilton organization know how you feel. ---- Lawrence Kelly, Stony Brook, NY

		Good idea! We are happy to provide contact info for two Hiltonians: Dan Boyle (212) 838-1558, daniel_a_boyle@hilton.com; and Brian Kellaher (202) 393-1000. Here's a Washington Post story about the closing, video of a local TV station report, and a letter/petition you can sign/send.

		Where can I buy Doonesbury action figures? I am particularly interested in a figure of Duke. -- Ed Landale, Medford, OR

		Actually, Duke is thus far the only Doonesbury character so rendered. In 1992, when Andrews McMeel published ACTION FIGURE: The Life and Times of Doonesbury's Uncle Duke, the book was packaged with a 3-D figure, artfully crafted by the wizards at Industrial Light and Design. Wearing a "Death Before Unconsciousness" t-shirt, Duke came fully equipped with removeable cigarette holder, weapons and martini glass. Regrettably, subsequent editions of the book (which is still in print) do not include the figure, re-production of which proved too costly. But the book-and-figure package pops up regularly on eBay, where one was recently snapped up for $23.96. Good luck!

		Here's another "how accurate is the strip?" question, this one re the 11/27/05 Sunday. Is the strip's dialogue, with GWB rationalizing DKE's hazing rituals, quoted verbatim? If so, where's it from? -- Rick Pluta, Lansing, MI

		The fact that the dialogue in panel seven is in quotation marks is the tip-off that these are Dubya's actual words, as per this Boston Globe article. The subject has been addressed in the strip previously, most notably during this September 1999 series, which incorporates a Yale Daily News photograph of an actual DKE brand.

		Who provides the voice of Uncle Duke on your Home Page? -- L. Jones, LA, CA Who created the "Dancing Duke" on the web site homepage? It's fantastic work! -- Chuck Stephens, Tulsa, OK

		The Home Page clip was originally created for Duke's 2000 "Whatever It Takes" presidential campaign. It was created using motion capture technology similar to that used for animating the characters in Polar Express. The movement and voice are those of Fred Newman, a performer, composer and sound designer whose many credits include "Prairie Home Companion" and the PBS series "Between the Lions". We urge you to check out Fred's Web site, where you can read all about his new book, Mouthsounds, which provides "the complete sonic scoop for actors, musicians, puppeteers, and other show-offs". Fred will teach you how to impersonate an ice cream truck, a growling stomach, an elephant stampede, and perform "Purple Haze" using duck quacks.

		What's the deal with the new "Blowback" feature? How is it different from the FAQ? How do I submit content? -- A. Sims, Madison, WI

		For years GBT has used this FAQ feature to answer selected queries from among those submitted to the DTH&WP. But Management has been criticized, understandably, for not making available a generous sampling of the other feedback the site receives. In response we have launched BLOWBACK, which will provide a constantly updated, judiciously edited supply of share-worthy e-mail regarding the strip and the site. Submissions to BLOWBACK can be made on the CONTACT page.

		I heard that the TV series Trudeau and Robert Altman did about the 1988 presidential election is coming back. True? -- Owen V., Portland, OR

		Starting Tuesday, February 3, the Sundance Channel will be re-broadcasting an updated edition of Tanner '88: The Dark Horse, written by GBT and directed by Robert Altman. This innovative weekly series tracking the fictional presidential campaign of Jack Tanner was filmed in real time against the backdrop of the 1988 primaries. The show starred Michael Murphy, Pamela Reed, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), and featured interactions with real-life candidates Bob Dole, Gary Hart, Pat Robertson, Bruce Babbit and others. Originally aired on HBO, Tanner '88 won a special jury prize at Cannes for best TV series. For the Sundance Channel broadcast, each of the 11 episodes will be introduced by recently-filmed interviews with the characters, who look back on their experiences in campaign '88 from the vantage point of campaign '04. You can read more about Tanner '88 in this Boston Globe article, or this CNN piece. This week�s schedule: Tuesday, 9 pm; Friday 11:30 pm; Sunday 5:30 pm.

		I'm hearing a lot about the new HBO TV show K Street and about how it mixes real actors with people in the political world playing themselves. Didn't GBT do this already? I seem to recall the 1988 campaign had Michael Murphy on the trail. I'm not hallucinating again, am I? -- Patty, Pacific Palisades, CA

		We can't speak to the hallucination question, but it sounds like you definitely saw Tanner '88. Written by Trudeau, directed by Robert Altman, starring Michael Murphy and Pamela Reed, with appearances by Bob Dole, Gary Hart, Bruce Babbit and others, this earlier HBO series has been acknowledged as a source of inspiration by K Street creator Steven Soderbergh. Tanner '88 won a special jury prize at Cannes, and is occasionally available in VHS format on eBay.

		Is there a new Doonesbury book coming out soon? It seems about time for our annual fix, but there's been no mention of it on the DTH site. -- Laura Lynch, Lawrenceville, NJ

		Our silence on the subject is an egregious oversight which we hasten to correct. This fall's annual Doonesbury collection, Got War? is indeed in the house. The warehouse, that is. And copies have probably arrived by now in your local bookshop. Members of the Quality Paperback Book Club will have a chance to order by snailmail, as Got War? and Peace Out, Dawg! are joint main selections of the Quality Paperback Book Club.

		Although we are pleased to be partnering with Slate, a steady trickle of e-mail indicates that the relationship has not been universally blessed: 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

		To us, joining up with Slate makes sense: we like the mag, we like the people who create it. Our shared audience appreciates opinionated commentary on popular culture and current events. Yes, Slate is owned by MSN, but GBT still controls the content of DTH&WP, and we continue to admin the site, as we have for seven years. 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.

		Can I ask a question that�s not about the war? I want to get a complete set of strips without buying books that overlap one another. Would you please guide me in my shopping? T.A., NY, NY

		If a complete collection is your goal then old print media won�t get the job done. All the books have been judiciously edited by GBT. The CD-Rom bundled with The Bundled Doonesbury will give you the strips through May 1995 (warning -- PC only!), but the only all-inclusive archive is our DAILY BRIEFING feature, which gives you access to all strips by date. We hasten to re-iterate our regret that the subject indexing for post-95 strips is not yet available, though we have good reason to predict a complete index will be up before midsummer night�s eve.

		Holy shit! What are we doing in the Slate environment? -- Garry Trudeau, New York, NY

		Try checking your e-mail occasionally, Cartoon Boy. The Doonesbury Town Hall has just clambered aboard the bandwagon of the web's hottest online journal. It was lonesome out there in the ether, and now we are happily nestled among reams of sparkling content and bodacious commentary. All aspects of our site have made the move intact, except for the deeper realms of the Doonesburys hope Slate regulars new to our little show will make it a habit to read the strip, check out the headlines, weigh in on our weekly straw poll, and explore the other splendors of our multi-featured, one-stop news and entertainment destination.

		Where�s the translation of the French Sunday strip? -- S. Bleu, St. Louis, MO

		You've come to the right place. Click here for the TRANSLATION.

		What�s the deal with the archive? Are you really moving it over to MyComicsPage.com? -- S. Caque, Smithfield Valley, NY

		Most of it, yes. As many of you have already discovered, uclick (which has been hosting the Doonesbury Town Hall for lo these many years) has recently launched MyComicPage.com, a subscription comics site. For a $9.95 yearly membership, you set up a customized daily e-mail "comics page" with up to 140 cartoon features. Creators get revenue every time you read a strip, and deep archives are planned -- not just the 2-4 weeks of strips now offered by most comics sites. In support of this worthy venture, we�ve decided to limit the archive on the free Town Hall to one year of strips, plus a link to the six strips that ran on the current date 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years ago. Everything else will soon be moving onto MyComicsPage, so you'll need to sign up there to continue to enjoy unfettered access to the entire Doonesbury run. We apologize to those disappointed by this adjustment. From our point of view it�s for a good cause -- trying to find a viable biz plan that will make comics on the Net a long-term reality.

		The 7-28-02 strip gives the impression that people can pay to get mentioned in the strip. Is this true? Did Denny Klatz really pay 50 grand to get his name in Doonesbury? Is that figure negotiable? -- Mary B., Braiding, MD

		You're the first person to take this light-hearted premise seriously. How much would you be willing to contribute to the "Coalition for the Homeless" to have yourself immortalized? Please send your bid to management@doonesbury.com and we'll see if this puppy has wings..

		How many death threats do you get, you poor bastard? Why would people take time out of their busy lives to threaten the life of a cartoonist? -- Dan Mc., Greenbelt, MD

		We're not sure why anyone would. Fortunately, they don't.

		What exactly is done with the results of the STRAW POLL? Are they forwarded to elected officials, news agencies, or compiled in a central location? -- Donna Barnes, Riverside, RI

		Absolutely not. We feel a professional obligation to maintain STRAW POLL as an independent, under-utilized, self-referential feature.

		The 1-10 strip seems to suggest that Duke might make another run for the White House. Dare I hope? Please make a campaign Web site for him that's as cool as the Duke2000 site was. Then crank out 37 more of those awesome 3-D animated videos. Gollum got nothing on our man Duke. -- Ben F., San Francisco, CA

		Hey, Ben. It was great working with you on Duke's 2000 "Whatever it takes" campaign, and no, we didn't put you up to this question, even though we'd love nothing more than to build another site and strap Fred Newman back into the motion-capture suit, and would in a heartbeat if the company that bankrolled www.duke2000.com hadn't crashed and burned a few days after the election. True, the strip mercilessly mocked everything to do with the dotcom craze, but it hurt when we laughed...

		On the cover of the new book, PEACE OUT, DAWG! I am seeing Joe Camel in Zonker's hair. Am I beyond hope? -- James Heitzer, Denver, CO

		We hope not, because we see it too.

		Where can I get a Doonesbury 2003 calendar? -- A. Zacharias, Westland, MI

		Sorry, you can't. The golden age of Doonesbury calendars began in 1984 with the first Doonesbury Desk Diary and ended in 1991 with the last. The quote-laden DDD was the incubator for DTH's "Say What?" feature.

		Will there be an updated CD-ROM with the post-95 strips? I would buy it. -- Stan, Hewlett, NY

		There are no plans yet, but thanks for wanting one. We thought we'd post your query here as a gesture of support for such a product in future. And yes, a Mac version would be nice. We know.

		Do you really think your strip gives a fair and balanced view of things? -- Dirk B., Sarasota, FLA

		Absolutely not. Satire is by definition an ungentlemanly art, rude and uncivil. It is lacking in balance and proportion. It has none of the normal rules of engagement. It picks a one-sided fight and the more its intended target reacts, the more its practitioner gains the advantage. And as if this weren't enough, this savage unregulated sport is protected by the United States Constitution. Is this unfair? Of course it's unfair. But that's what makes cartooning such an effective form of social control.

		Any plans to resurrect the old Chat Halls? -- Mike Gibson, Geneva, SWITZERLAND

		We haven't had the time or energy to come up with a workable model for a new, flame-resistant Chat Hall -- but it's still on our To Do list. As Mr. Gibson and other denizens of this regrettably decommissioned feature know, after several years of robust but civil chat, a thriving conversational community was brought to its knees by the vile contributions of a few. But we haven't given up. Stay tuned.

		Where can I find the strips that Trudeau voluntarily pulled after 9/11? Are they in the new book? -- Adam K., Stanford, CA

		In the wake of the 9/11 attacks Trudeau pulled an already-shipped series, calling it "clearly unsuitable for publication during a time of national crisis." The strips, which followed up on the 9-2-01 "IQ-gate" Sunday, can be found on pages 49 and 50 of Peace Out, Dawg!: Tales From Ground Zero (an autographed copy of which can be conveniently ordered by clicking here).

		Where do you get off putting down the president? Just because someone is not an eloquent speaker doesn't mean he is an idiot. Have you ever considered the possibility that the man just gets nervous because his position means so much to him? By the way, aren't you Canadian, anyway? -- Paul M., Fayetteville, AR

		Trudeau was born in New York City and raised in Saranac Lake, New York, and he concedes that this explanation for the current president's malapropisms (collected as "Bushisms" by Slate) had not occurred to him.

How can I get a copy of an "SUV ticket"?
-- Gary McDole, Berkeley, CA

Does an actual "SUV ticket" exist, or should I create my own?
-- Matthew Smith, Clinton, UT

We've received numerous requests in response to the Alex-and-Mike series on "SUV tickets", and are pleased to be able to direct your attention to a Web site which actually provides them: http://www.earthonempty.com.

		Where would you prefer Doonesbury to appear -- with the comics or with the editorials? -- Burgstead, Wildwood, MO

		Unquestionably, there's a certain cachet to appearing on the Op Ed page with all the big foot national opinionists. On the other hand, the comics page has several times more readers, so that's where we prefer the feature to appear. In any event, the decision as to where to place a feature is completely in the hands of each newspaper that carries it.

		What is your most FA FAQ? -- Omar B., Walnut Creek, CA

		The most-repeated inquiry is, "Whatever happened to Ellie?", followed closely by, "Whatever happened to Thor?" Unfortunately, there is nothing in the archives to provide A's to these frequently asked Q's. It's worth noting, however, that it is not uncommon for a Doonesbury character to be reintroduced after a long absence (Kim is a prominent example), so either Thor or Ellie may in fact reappear some day.

I've been waiting two years for the "free stuff" to be posted. At least stop saying it will be up "by Spring"!
-- C. Clay, Baltimore, MD

Well? Spring of 2002 has passed, and still no "free stuff'. Do you have something to tell your audience about this long-advertised feature?
-- Terry, Jackson, MS

Gulp... okay. As much as we hate to be realistic, we're finally prepared to admit to ourselves -- and you, faithful site visitors -- that technological, teleological and yes, budgetary limitations prevent us from creating and posting the legendary "free stuff" in the foreseeable future. We console ourselves with the fact that the whole site is "free stuff", but it's a disappointment nonetheless. Please accept our hangdog apology for being unable to bring this particular Doonesbury Town Hall dream to life.

I've gotten confused about the books...What is the correct sequence after The Bundled Doonesbury?
-- PC. Ramirez, Santiago, CHILE >

The Bundled Doonesbury was followed by Buck Wild Doonesbury, which led to Duke2000:Whatever It Takes, which begat Revolt of the English Majors. The next offering, out late this summer:Peace Out Dawgs: Tales From Ground Zero.

Is "A Doonesbury Special" ever going to come out on DVD?
-- P. Fitz, Iowa City, IA

This 1977 collaboration between Trudeau and the great animators John and Faith Hubley, is included in a DVD called "A Hubley Collection: Everbody Rides the Carousel", available from Pyramid Films, 2801 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404, 800-421-2304. Pyramid also offers "A Doonesbury Special" and other Hubley work in VHS format.

Please settle an issue of dispute in my marriage. Is the plural of the strip "Doonesburyies" or "Doonesburys"? A reply that "Doonesbury cartoons" or "Doonesbury strips" is correct would not be fitting for a man of your intelligence and imagination.
-- Dan Jacob, New York, NY

Here at the DTH we use "Doonesburys", but we hasten to add that considering the wild inconsistencies in our style book, it's probably not worth fighting over.

I really want a Zonker kite! I missed out on the Doonesbury merch because I was broke at the time. Is there anywhere my newly-employed and cash-rich self can find these products?
-- Maree Sole, Auckland, New Zealand

Alas, the Great Doonesbury Sell-Out packed up its wares and rolled into oblivion long ago. These days the Zonker kite -- not to mention other treasures such as the Dr. Whoopee condom case and the Club Scud swizzle stick -- can best be scavenged at the world's biggest fleamarket: eBay.com. Happy hunting!

Is Uncle Duke the only Doonesbury character who's been turned into an action figure?
-- D.S. Williams, Portland, Oregon

Yes. Although several character figurines were created for the "Doonesbury@Starbucks" collections, the only bone fide action figure is of Duke. His thoroughly-accessorized self was created in 1992 by the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic and was packaged along with the book ACTION FIGURE! THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DOONESBURY'S UNCLE DUKE. Astonishingly, the cover price for this all-Duke extravaganza was a mere $19.95. After selling out, the book was re-published last year as an action-figure-less stand-alone: Autographed copies can be ordered in our BOOKSTORE.

Will the "free stuff" ever be available on the site, as promised?
-- Evan Puziss, Mar Vista, CA

Holy mother of God! Still no free stuff? I need my fucking icons, dude! Get it on, buddy boy.
-- Patricia Troy, LA, CA

This long-heralded material (icons, screen savers, and wallpaper) is indeed on its way. The copy posted on our Free Stuff page promises delivery in Spring. A few overeager readers may have assumed that this meant LAST Spring, but experienced site visitors intuited that we meant Spring 2002. Also, please allow us to defensively mention the fact that, technically, this entire site is "free stuff" - except of course for the stuff you are free to buy in the Bookshop.

		Back in September of 1999 I recorded the final version of "Too Poor". Is there a Web site I can go to to record it again? -- Roland Beyer, Chula Vista, CA

		This very web site is the one you seek. Click on Jimmy Thudpucker's bio in THE CAST section, and you'll find a section called SESSIONS. Here you can enjoy Jimmy's NetAid anthem "Too Poor" -- along with ten of his other greatest hits, including "Ginny's Song" (written for California Congressional candidate Virginia Slade), "Take Your Life" (a bleak but stately ballad), and "I Do Believe" (Thudpucker's signature tune, sung in Dylan's signature voice).

		Is Garry Trudeau the same Garry Trudeau who was a member of Yale's Skull and Bones Society in 1970? -- Brian Smith, St. Louis

		No, he's the same one as the Garry Trudeau who was a member of Yale's Scroll and Key. George W. Bush is the same George W. Bush that was a member of Yale's Skull and Bones in 1968, though.

		I am trying to read the entire 30-year production of Doonesbury. Is there any way to download all the strips? -- Jason Upton, Satsuma

		Sorry. We're doing our best to give all the strips away, but we haven't been able to make it quite that easy. Your two choices are to read all the strips online in the DAILY DOSE portion of Doonesbury Town Hall, or buy the anthology, The Bundled Doonesbury, which comes with a CD-Rom containing the first 25 years of the strip (PC only, alas, no Mac).

		Who did the voices of Duke and Honey for the Duke 2000 videos? -- Jack, Tulsa, OK

		The 3-D animated Duke featured the vocal talents and captured-motion of Fred Newman, a performer and composer whose credits include the voice of "Skeeter" on Nickelodeon's Doug and the best-selling book Mouth Sounds. In Duke2000's live campaign appearances, Honey was played by actress Lauren Tom -- who also played the part during the original Broadway run of Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy. Her voice has appeared in "The Simpsons" and many other shows, and she recently appeared as a regular in the network sitcom DAG.

		Is the antenna headband that J.J. wore recently during her wedding to Zeke the same headband she wore when she married Mike? Was J.J. following the "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" tradition? Thanks! -- J.F.J.

		Close. She was following the "something used in a show" tradition. The aforementioned headgear first appeared during J.J.'s performance piece "Art-ville!" on September 11, 1986.

		Does the recently re-published book Action Figure still come with the Duke toy? -- Luke Meade

		The re-issued book comes sans Duke. The original action figure was crafted by Industrial Light and Magic, and was outfitted with sidearms, martini glass, and "Death Before Unconsciousness" t-shirt. Unfortunately, it proved prohibitively expensive to recreate it for the new edition. May we suggest eBay?

If the site insists on putting up new windows with advertising, I will have to find alternate means of viewing the comic.
-- Roberto Hoyle, Falls Church

The pop-ups are very annoying. Please stick with the banners only.
-- Scott Gregory

If you don't stop using that "damned" pop-up link window, I swear I am going to stop coming here. This is the sort of thing I would expect from a C-grade porno site, not from Doonesbury.
-- Ben Armstrong

We get pretty annoyed by the pop-ups, too (yes, we actually visit our own site) -- but we're even more put out by the collapse of the ad-banner market. Keeping this site free means the revenue-generating choices aren't pretty.

		I bought Jimmy Thudpucker's Greatest Hits in the late 70s. Is there any chance of getting these recordings re-released on CD? If so, please don't re-master them if you don't have to. Every time something gets re-mastered it sounds like crap cause the guys that knew how to do this right are either dead or deaf now (well most of them). -- Henry, Hollywood, CA

		Thanks for giving us a heads-up on the crapification problem. Unfortunately there are no plans to re-release this album on CD - which is why we have made all ten of the original tunes available as free downloads on this Web site. Just go to THE CAST and click on Jimmy Thudpucker's bio. There you can also download JT's NetAid anthem, "Too Poor," which features backup vocals by the Frag Gurls.

		Is it true that you have Philip Burke's portrait of the last five U.S. presidents above your drawing table? -- Douglas Cotter

		No. Burke's remarkable rendering of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush hangs above the sofa in the main room of the studio. The 6'x 9' painting was a commissioned piece.

		It seems to me that after the election the Duke2000 web site is no longer available. I'm looking for his short campaign movies, particularly the last one - "Apocalypse 2000". Is there somewhere out there I can find them? -- Nikolaj Borg, Arhus, DENMARK Can I get any or all of the short Duke2000 QuickTime movies on a CD-Rom? -- Jeffrey A. Sartain, IL

		Alas, since the Digital Library of Congress has not yet been constructed, www.duke2000.com is currently unavailable. We are looking into making the whole site available on DVD, and putting out the short films -- including the impressively apocalyptic "Apocalypse 2000" -- on video. Rest assured that if these goals are achieved we will trumpet the news from the ramparts of this Web site.

		The 11-26 Sunday strip referenced the fact that it was written before the election, so GBT didn't know who was elected president. It WAS intended that way, right? The fact it was twice as funny since even then we STILL didn't know who the president was was an unintentional bonus. Right? -- Brian Postow

		Right. Hard enough to hit an invisible target you have to fire at five weeks in advance - the lead time for the Sunday strip. The bonus was that unforeseeable events led GBT to split his own arrow with a single shot.

� The Sunday, December 10th strip says Bush & Cheney have five arrests between them. Are you serious?
-- Myra, Anderson, CA

What are these five arrests? I'm delighted to know they exist!
--M -- Lee Hartsfeld, Heath

You said today that the Republican ticket has five arrests between them, and I wanted to see what they were. It's interesting that you claim the facts in your strip are all true, but I can't find out where to verify them. Maybe it's no big deal. You're an entertainer. Who am I to ask that you provide more than a good laugh? Otherwise, you'd have a whole soap-box section, a bunch of pages ranting about arrest records and social statistics. Boring. I don't know. Now I'm rambling. It's Sunday morning and I'm drifting across the Web on a mindless knowledge-sweep. Gathering, gathering. Is it someplace I'm not seeing? The Doonesbury Citation Index? Let me know if I'm just being a bad surfer.
P.S. I hit the button and nothing happens. If you get about six of these, I apologize.
-- Mike, Minneapolis, MN

Cheney had two DWI's during his youth. In addition to the 1976 DWI that came to light just before the November election Dubya had two college-era busts for youthful hi-jinx -- one for stealing a Christmas decoration off a door, the other for a brawl at a Princeton football game.

		Why do you use what could generally be an entertaining strip to slander people who put their lives on public display? If you get your rocks off disparaging the character of a person through imaginary characters in a comic strip, you should be ashamed of yourself. --K. Bommer The November 1st strip was a thinly veiled, poorly executed and underhanded attack on Bush. I frankly consider it an insult to your readers. Where is your integrity? --M. Freedman

		GBT sent the following letter to the editor of the San Antonio Express, one of several papers that declined to run some of this week's series: Dear Ms. Burkett: I have just read your recent editorial concerning the strip you decided to drop. First, let me concede the obvious point that you had every right to remove it from your paper. I recognize your decision for what it is -- editing -- and have always been alarmed by how many people seem to equate it with censorship, which is something very different. Having said that, please allow me to make the case why I feel removal was unwarranted. Setting aside the important contextual aspect (it's coming from Duke, who overstates everything), there were only two issues of contention. Has Bush suffered from alcohol abuse, and has he ever used cocaine? Bush admits to the former, and won't deny the latter, saying only that he denies drug use from the mid-70s on. About his early years, he will only say "when I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible," a Zen-like, content-free assertion that apparently covered, among other things, a DUI arrest. What should any reasonable person conclude about such a carefully bracketed denial? At some point, common sense has to take over: If he's never used cocaine, why won't Bush deny it outright? What would it cost him in terms of privacy, since he's happy to issue denials on many other personal issues (e.g. adultery)? Here's why this matters, and it's got nothing to do with the "gotcha" journalism the Bush camp so deplores: Last year, in Tulia, Texas, 40 African-Americans, or 12% of that town's black population, were arrested in a cocaine bust. Some of those later convicted were given sentences ranging from 20 years to more than 300 years. As far as I know, not one of them was allowed to plead "young and irresponsible." Sincerely, Garry Trudeau

		I have heard that G.B. Trudeau does not sell strips that were used in production. Is that true? I have had one for many years. --Giovanni Soro, New Canaan, CT

		Actually, GBT has been using originals for fundraising purposes for many years, offering each in exchange for a check made out to "Coalition for the Homeless" for $850 (daily) or $1500 (Sunday). If this appeals to you, feel free to e-mail us here at Doonesbury Town Hall and find out if the specific strip you are interested in is still available.

		Did Doonesbury ever win a Pulitzer Prize? --Sandra Czaplicki, Buffalo, NY

		In 1975 GBT became the first comic strip artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, leading the Editorial Cartoonists' Society to pass a resolution condemning the Pulitzer Prize committee. Trudeau, assured the award was irrevocable, supported the resolution. His grandmother noted: "I'm perfectly thrilled and delighted. I've kept my fingers crossed for fear he might end up in jail."

		Mr. Trudeau, are you now or have you ever been a fan of Pogo? --Anthony Santosha, Athens, GA

		Both, and big-time.

		What the hell is a "hand-picked" member of GBT's entourage? --Molly Alverson, Parage, YU

		It's usually the duty officer at the New York home office. To lower expectations about the quality of GBT's answers, they are frequently assigned to poorly-informed student volunteers. The Town Hall, accordingly, accepts no responsibility for accuracy.

		About four years ago, Fox Trot cartoonist Bill Amend did a bunch of Web Page Parodies of various comic strips, including Doonesbury. Did Amend have to obtain permission to do this from GBT and the creators of the other parodied strips? --Rob, Edmonton

		There is a long tradition in the comics of occasionally parodying or referencing another strip or character. GBT was unaware of the parody, but assumes he should be flattered by it.

		I have all of the Doonesbury books except "Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy," listed as coming out in the mid-'80s. Is this the script of the play published by Samuel French, or is it something more (or less)? --Steve Sorkin, St. Louis

		This out-of-print trade paperback -- published in 1984 by Henry Holt -- contains the script of the musical and 54 black-and-white photos of the original Broadway cast. The bare script is still available from Samuel French.

		"Killer App", a TV series from Trudeau and Robert Altman, was supposed to premier in March '99. I haven't heard anything about it lately. Is it still a go? --Lar Schroder, Denmark

		"Killer App" walks among the undead in pilot purgatory at Fox. Where and when it will surface is still not clear.

		Is it true that GBT is the former prime minister of Canada, or is related to him, or is at least Canadian? --

		No. But it is a question that has appeared regularly in newspaper Q&A columns for years, so we thought we'd include it here.

		How come no Doonesbury character has ever had a belly button? --Amos P., New York, NY

		Our Flashbacks search engine doesn't do belly buttons, but we can think of at least one instance when belly buttons appeared--during Boopsie's gig posing for the SI Swimsuit Issue. In one strip alone, over four belly buttons were lovingly rendered .

		Many Australians get their world view of American politics from Doonesbury. Is this good for a first approximation? --Mark K., L., NS, Australia

		Absolutely. It's certainly no worse than Americans getting their world view of Australia from Mel Gibson, who grew up in suburban New York.

		I liked the Jimmy Thudpucker music in the animated special. Any chance of a CD release of the "Greatest Hits" album through the Sellout? And who was he, anyway? --Ben V., Seattle, WA

		The voice of Jimmy Thudpucker belonged to Jimmy Brewer, a journeyman studio singer who won the part in an audition in Los Angeles. The album was produced by Booker T & the MGs guitarist Steve Cropper, who went on to play behind another high-concept act--The Blues Brothers. As far as anyone knows, MCA has no plans to release a CD.

		What kind of relationship, if any, does Mr. Trudeau have with Hunter S. Thompson? --H. Delano R., Long Beach, CA

		Non-existent. The two have never met, although there was a brief but acrimonious exchange of letters in the mid-70s. Since that time, Thompson has uttered numerous public threats against Trudeau's person, threats Trudeau takes seriously.

		Remember Lacey Davenport's sweet, bird-watching husband Dick? He spotted a rare bird and died happily. What kind of bird was that? --Elaine U., Santa Barbara, CA

		It was a Bachman's Warbler.

		GBT has long written a politically relevant strip. Have the contents of any of his strips ever resulted in a state or Congressional investigation? --Jackie K., Crown Point, IN

		Yes, state. A series of strips in 1985 focused on a Palm Beach law requiring domestic employees to carry ID cards within the town. Local police were authorized to stop and detain any "undesirable" without a card. The analogy to similar laws in South Africa at the time was duly noted, and the Florida state legislature passed a bill, informally known as the "Doonesbury Bill", banning the ordinance and others like it throughout the state.

		Who do I contact to get permission to reprint a Doonesbury in my union newsletter? --David L., S. Deerfield, MA

		The permissions editor at Universal Press Syndicate is Mary Suggett. She may be reached at (800) 255-6734.

		What's the best way to get a copy of the Doonesbury musical soundtrack on CD? I saw the show about a decade ago, but the disc is out of print and damn hard to find. --Kenny N., Silver Spring, MD

		The soundtrack was released by MCA in 1984 on LP and tape. It was never available on CD. As you note, it is out of print, but it's the sort of thing the web was designed to find. The script of the show, BTW, is still available from Samuel French publishers in New York.

		How did GBT select the flavor for Doonesberry, the Ben & Jerry's sorbet? --

		It was an arduous process, involving hard work, luck and two trips to Burlington, Vermont, one of which was devoted to tasting ice cream. Originally, the flavor was to be called "Zonker's Own", and it was a rich concoction of pretzels, chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla ice cream. At the last minute, however, B&J founder Ben Cohen decided to go with the flavor's original name, "Chubby Hubby," and the Doonesbury project was postponed until the introduction of the sorbet line. From the original six flavors, the all-berry recipe emerged as the best candidate from a simple naming standpoint. It has since become B&J's most popular sorbet flavor.

		What's up with the new book? --

		The new book is "Planet Doonesbury," which has just been published by Andrews & McMeel. An autographed version will be available from The Sellout in a few weeks.

		Why only two questions answered per week? --Brett B., Los Angeles, CA

		It's all we can handle, and even then, one of the two is usually inconsequential and easy to answer.

		What strip or series of strips was it that won GBT the Pulitzer Prize? --Matt G., Iowa City, IA

		The Pulitzer committee did not cite a specific strip, but most of the strips submitted with the nomination were related to Watergate.

		Does GBT every worry that Mr. Butts was probably the inspiration for Joe Camel? --Andy S., Sunnyvale, CA

		No. Mr. Butts did not spring from ad-man Mike Doonesbury's compromised imagination until 1989, long after the introduction of Joe Camel.

		I'm a Thudpucker fan, and have a tape of the original album of the Doonesbury musical. Who did the music and lyrics? --Marc P., Bedminster, N.J.

		The music for "Doonesbury: The musical" was composed by Elizabeth Swados. About half the tunes for "Jimmy Thudpucker's Greatest Hits" were written by Jimmy Brewer, the vocalist who played Thudpucker. The others were written by the producer, Steve Cropper, and keyboardist David Foster. All the lyrics on both projects were by GBT.

		Will a videocassette version of the wildly popular Doonesbury prime-time cartoon special (aired in 1977) ever be available? --Doug L., Valencia, CA

		"A Doonesbury Special" is available in video from Pyramid Film and Video, P.O. Box 1048, Santa Monica, CA 90406, phone: (310) 828-7577, fax: (310) 453-9083. We hope to make the video available on the Sellout page in the near future.

		Why do some newspapers omit the first two frames of Sunday strips? --Aaron T., Ann Arbor, MI

		The elegant technical term for the first two frames of a Sunday strip is the "throw-away." It is used--or not used--according to how much space the individual newspaper is willing to devote to a single strip. Typically, in a half-page format, the panels will be used; in a third -page format, they're dropped. Obviously, the strip has to work either way, so the content of the opening panels tends to be a (sometimes) artful vamp.

		Why was Tulsa, Oklahoma, chosen to be Mike's hometown? --Steve W., Tulsa, OK

		The selection of Tulsa, mentioned in the strip's debut, was the first of thousands of occasions on which the creator went with the first thing that popped into his head.

		I hear there are some upcoming strips about the president's difficulties that use language heretofore unfound on comics pages. Any problems with client newspapers yet? --Mike S., Springfield, NJ

		The strips, about a scandal facilitator who arrives at Alex's school, do contain language that warranted a cover letter of warning from the syndicate. About a half dozen papers so far have indicated they may not run them. Stay tuned.

		In a previous FAQ, GBT mentioned that one of his influences for the early strips was Jules Feiffer. What other artists or writers have been important influences? --Paul T., Los Angeles, CA

		Charles Schulz, for the exquisite care with which he wrote character-driven (as opposed to gag-driven) humor; E.L. Doctorow, whose Ragtime was fashioned around a wholly original interplay between fictional and historical characters; and Robert Altman, whose MAS*H was not only a powerful act of subversion, but was built on overlapping dialogue which frequently collapsed into honking incoherence, a vivid reminder that in real life people mostly don't listen to one another.

		Have there been any other animated Doonesbury films since "A Doonesbury Special"? --T. Bates, Beaverton, OR

		Only one. In 1994, the State of Massachusetts comissioned a 30-second anti-smoking spot starring Mr. Butts. It was called "Mr. Butts Goes to Washington".

		Some years ago, a number of Hispanic characters were featured in one panel as part of a question-and-answer story arc, with Zonker pretending these characters had appeared before in order to demonstrate the strip's diversity. Did these characters ever turn up again? --Ronald Byrd, Sherwood, AR

		Of course not. They were temp players brought in while the strip was undergoing sensitive license-renewing negotiations. We're not proud of it, but until the comics industry is deregulated, this sort of charade will remain commonplace.

		How did you get your middle name? My sister's middle name is Beekman and many generations ago, our family owned a tavern in NY state -- the Beekman Arms. --ShuBeTeach, Portland, OR

		Beekman is GBT's grandmother's maiden name. Details about that side of the family are a little scarce, but New York seems to have been a hotbed of Beekmans at one time.

		Any reactions to the spate of "Mallard Fillmore" strips bashing "Doonesbury'? --Eric P. Bloomington, IN

		Satirizing colleagues enjoys a long tradition in the comics industry. Many other strips -- from "Shoe" to "Bloom County" -- have commented on "Doonesbury" through the years, but GBT has chosen to view all such mentions as the glowing, respectful tributes they so obviously aren't.

		No question here. Just a hello. Lived in Woody Creek in the 70s not far from Duke, got runner-up in George Hamilton tanning competition in early '80s, left Aspen to follow the bonfires in NYC for six years, found myself jobless and clueless at decade's end, then followed the zeitgeist to Seattle where I have lived working for a startup software company. Is this life imitating art or ???? ----George Morrison, Kirkland, WA

		You'll be hearing from our lawyer.

		I am an AOL user and I would like to get the updated files for the Doonesbury Election Game: Campaign '96. Can you help me? --James, Marina Del Rey, CA

		Sorry. While the Election Game is still available from the Sellout, there are no updated files that we're aware of. The company that originally published the game has changed hands -- and names -- twice, and the upgrading of early product has not been a priority. Of course, it was never designed to bridge elections in the first place.

		Is there a large format book covering the 1994-95 years ("Cigarette Holder Man", "Washed-out Bridges", "Doonesbury Nation")? I've checked in my local bookstores to no avail. --Jon Hansen, Bloomington, IN