Doonesbury

Doonesbury has been since the early 1970s and remains today my favourite comic strip of all times. It has gone through some incredibly shallow periods, and there have been times when I have been really irritated at it. But the high points, like today's strip, more than redeem it. What other comic strip has real characters who not only age but also grow (Joanie, Michael, BD, and in this case, Boopsie!)? And at the same time, it has ridiculous cartoon characters who function as a wicked send-up of a famous person (Uncle Duke) or of a phenomenon (JJ). And as if that's not enough, it even has a talking cigarette, a bloviating waffle and a desperately out-of-his-depth centurion helmet who happens to be the President of the United States.