Garry Trudeau becoming today’s Bill Mauldin?
Skip to comments
I read with interest the story posted last week regarding Doonesbury.com adding a blog to its site featuring entries from soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and then another story linked from Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter about Garry’s decision to use his B.D. character as a way of highlighting the sacrifices soldiers are making overseas and it occurs to me that perhaps today, Garry Trudeau is our generation’s Bill Mauldin.
Bill Mauldin served in WWII and created two characters now famous: Willie and Joe who became the everyday man serving in the war. The cartoons served as a way of helping soldiers cope with the demands (and sometimes absurdities) of war.
Garry’s use of his B.D. character to bring into our homes the personal effects of war has touched many lives. For those of us with no direct connection to a soldier serving overseas or dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Doonesbury is a glimpse into that world and with the readership in the millions, he has a strong platform to have a real impact.
While on the opposite side of the political spectrum as Garry, I’ve come to admire his generosity (he is donating the proceeds from his book “The War Within: One More Step at a Time“ to the Fisher House which provides temporary homes for families of injured soldiers being treated at military and veteran medical centers) and his class. He, more than any other who has publicly opposed the war in Iraq, has found a sincere and genuine way to support the troops yet be completely anti-war.
Technorati Tags: Garry Trudeau
Comments 1
Comments are closed.