Dressed For Failure, I See

Doonesbury Half Annuals #18

by G.B. Trudeau

Cartoons take a humorous look at Reagan's vacations, aerobics classes, parenthood, corporate takeovers, computers, and job interviews

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published September 1, 1984

About the author

Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip. In 1970, Trudeau's creation of Doonesbury was syndicated by the newly formed Universal Press Syndicate. Today Doonesbury is syndicated to almost 1,400 newspapers worldwide and is accessible online in association with Slate Magazine at doonesbury.com. In 1975, he became the first comic strip artist to win a Pulitzer, traditionally awarded to editorial-page cartoonists. He was also a Pulitzer finalist in 1990. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1977 in the category of Animated Short Film, for A Doonesbury Special, in collaboration with John Hubley and Faith Hubley. A Doonesbury Special eventually won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Special Prize in 1978. Other awards include the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1994, and the Reuben Award in 1995. He was made a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. Wiley Miller, fellow comic-strip artist responsible for Non Sequitur, called Trudeau "far and away the most influential editorial cartoonist in the last 25 years." In addition to his work on Doonesbury, Trudeau has teamed with Elizabeth Swados and written plays, such as Rap Master Ronnie and Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy. In 1988, Trudeau joined forces with director Robert Altman for the HBO miniseries Tanner '88 and the Sundance Channel miniseries sequel Tanner on Tanner in 2004. In 1996, Newsweek and The Washington Post speculated that Trudeau wrote the novel Primary Colors, which was later revealed to have been written by Joe Klein. Trudeau wrote the political sitcom Alpha House, starring John Goodman and Bill Murray. The pilot was produced by Amazon Studios and aired in early 2013. Due to positive response Amazon has picked up Alpha House to develop into a full series.

Reviews

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking a break from depressing reading of Hillary's Choice and The Hunting of the President. Trudeau also shows the dirty business of US politics but with humour. Paying attention to what is happening in the run up to November election Hillary vs Trump and the horror show it all is and then to read the background is like inviting the Black Dog to take up residence in my head. This after the same story around the Bush years but with a lighter touch by Molly Ivins who didn't go into an exposure of the dirty tricks in detail. Heartbreaking. I am going to read all of my Doonesbury books today to relieve the stress of spending too much time in the swamp.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zonker is interviewing for positions at big-name companies. He's confident that nobody would be insane enough to want to hire him, and utterly shocked when someone actually makes him an offer. He comes home, traumatized, and confronts his friend.

"You said there were no jobs out there, Mike. You lied to me!"