Garry Trudeau

Millicent Fenwick, who became a congresswoman at an age when most people retire and inspired a comic-strip character with her outspoken, stylish manner, died Wednesday at 82. Mrs. Fenwick gained fame in the 1970s for her independence and outspoken insistence on high ethical standards and prudent spending. The former model, editor and author of an etiquette book also was known as a pipe smoker, and as the inspiration for Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury cartoon character, Lacey Davenport.

Garry Trudeau's Sunday Doonesbury cartoon which excoriated Newt Gingrich went way beyond the pale! It was not only disgustingly partisan, it was cruelly subjective. I guess there's a slim-to-none chance of seeing a similar cartoon slamming President Barack Obama. How could there be when our illustrious, squeaky-clean president has no baggage? Thanks to the ever-compliant media in Mr. Obama's back pocket, he has never been vetted, which makes the playing field quite unequal, don't you think?

Today's Doonesbury comic strip contains an image that might strike some readers as inappropriate, given recent events in Iraq. The strip, which was drawn in April, contains one frame with a character's head on a platter. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau said the beheading of an American citizen, Nicholas Berg, in Iraq earlier this month now has made his previously drawn image "clearly inappropriate." The Sun, like most newspapers, prints its Sunday comics weeks in advance of their distribution.

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau's latest attempt at humor was the most despicable, vile and disingenuous display of untruth ever published in The Sun ("Doonesbury," Jan. 17). I guess Mr. Trudeau conveniently forgot how the Democrats here in Maryland pulled off the most outrageous gerrymandering act ever. And to intimate that the only way Republicans can win in the future is by suppressing votes goes way beyond the pale. Shame on The Sun and shame on Mr. Trudeau for his disgusting, unfunny cartoon.

In the galaxy of multimedia products, Doonesbury is the subject of three "Toonscape" titles from Mindscape. And on the World Wide Web, Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau's incisive socio-political comic strip -- which debuted 25 years ago -- is revered and celebrated in words and comic pictures by fans who won't let go.In cyberspace, Doonesbury and his pals reside at the still-under-construction "Doonesbury Electronic Town Hall" (http://www.doonesbury.com), where visitors can check out a number of pages, vote in a straw poll or call up a long-ago Doonesbury strip.

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau plans to issue an apology on his Web site late tonight to anyone who might be offended by tomorrow's Doonesbury comic strip, which due to "poor timing" features the image of a man's head on a platter. Trudeau drew the strip in April, before the beheading of an American citizen, Nicholas Berg, in Iraq, a videotape of which was posted on a Web site on May 11. Doonesbury's distributor, Universal Press Syndicate, alerted newspapers on May 14, but many newspapers, including The Sun, had already printed the comic sections that will be distributed in tomorrow's editions.

Readers such as John Rutkowski must not understand that Garry Trudeau's series on the forced ultra-sound law for women seeking abortion is no attempt at being funny ("Idiotic 'Doonesbury' strip on abortion insults readers," March 20). "Comic" strip is a misnomer for Doonesbury, which is why The Sun runs the strip on the op-ed page and not the "funnies" pages. I must also take issue with the series being a jab at all those with "some" morals and religious convictions. Apparently, those who don't feel the jab are totally lacking morals and religious scruples.

ASPEN, Colo. -- Hunter Stockton Thompson, who coined the term "gonzo journalism" to describe the unique and furiously personal approach to reportage exemplified in his 1972 book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, died last night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Woody Creek home. He was 67, family members said. Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, a friend of Thompson's, confirmed the death. Thompson's son, Juan, discovered his body yesterday evening. "Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head.

REDMOND, Wash. - You could say the funny papers are perhaps beginning to turn into the funny Web pages. That appears to be one of the side effects of Doonesbury, the renowned satirical comic strip, setting up shop on Slate.com in an unusual partnership. The Doonesbury.com Web site has been folded into Slate, a deal believed to bring for the first time an established comic strip to a pure-play Web site. The sometimes controversial strip, penned by Garry Trudeau, will become part of Slate's opinion coverage, and the Web site will be titled DoonesburySlate.

Garry Trudeau, award-winning "Doonesbury" cartoonist, is getting animated.Some of his most famous "Doonesbury" characters -- Zonker Harris, J. J., Duke, B. D. and more -- are represented in a new collection of computer screen savers dubbed "Doonesbury Toonscapes."Mr. Trudeau is not apologizing for selling out. In fact, he is trumpeting it. That is because the royalties from the screen savers and other "Doonesbury" products are donated to several of his favorite charities.Screen savers are software programs designed to take over the computer screen when it is unattended.