Cover Image: #SAD!

#SAD!

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A timely collection of recent Doonesbury strips surrounding the election and first year-ish of the Trump administration.

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A few of Doonesbury comic strips that relate to the orange one. We must laugh or we cry. It is better to laugh.

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#SAD is a momentarily fun book to read though it is completely forgetable once it is over. Gary Trudeau takes the insane and dangerous narratives, tropes and moments from Trump's presidency and inflates them in ways that seem fairly standard and, frankly, sometimes boring. I know he is trying to be witty and insicive but it just didnt have any appeal to me. I usually love Gary Trudeau's work so this was very suprising but thankfully, I have his cartoon to read every Sunday morning.

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Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing on September 18, 2018

Satire doesn’t change minds, but good-natured mockery can be therapeutic. That, at least, is Garry Trudeau’s theory. Even as President Trump mocks everyone he perceives as an enemy (in childish terms that are far from good-natured), he hates being mocked. Hence this collection. And since I have been a Doonesbury fan from Doonesbury’s first appearance in my local paper a very long time ago, I am well acquainted with the therapeutic benefits of Trudeau’s political humor. Never has it been needed more.

It’s easy to mock Donald Trump. Every time he opens his mouth or Twitter account, he provides a satirist with new material. Trump’s self-aggrandizement, his claims that everything to which he is connected is the biggest or the best, have become a form of unwitting self-mockery. Trudeau’s satire zeroes in on the president’s ill-informed opinions (“TrumpFacts” is an alternative reality service that provides callers with alternative facts), his rambling, vague, and self-contradictory proclamations, and his habit of blaming everyone around him for problems of his own making. I particularly liked the strip in which Trump blames Paul Ryan for failing to keep the promises that Trump made (“the best promises in history”).

Trudeau widens his net to mock Breitbart, Bill O’Reilly, disinformation in Texas textbooks, and voter suppression efforts, among other political targets. He also takes an occasional break to check in with Zonker’s quest for spiritual awareness (and marijuana business), Roland Hedley’s tweets, Joan Caucus’ takes on post-feminism, and Sam’s disbelief that a feminist movement was ever needed to advance an idea as obvious as gender equality (it’s like a movement to make people believe in gravity).

The first pages document the Trump campaign and the rest of the strips track the early stages of the Trump presidency. He also takes some digs at Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, the wall, congressional hypocrisy, and evangelical hypocrisy (Christian values aren’t what they used to be). Isn’t it fun to live in the age of Trump?

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G.B. Trudeau is back to reflect on Donald Trump's first 500 days in office. Some of the satire will make you laugh, some will make you cry but it is also guaranteed to leave you shaking your head. This book is a take on how ordinary Americans are coping with the unpredictable POTUS. Emotions abound, be it desperation, worried anticipation of what will come next, shock at what used to be unthinkable, fear of the future and out-and-out laughter because sometimes laughter is all that prevents tears of discouragement. Take a peek in Doonesbury and see how ordinary citizens are adapting to the unadaptable. You will be rewarded with HUGE belly-laughs. Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for an e-ARC of #SAD! Doonesbury in the Time of Trump by G.B. Trudeau in exchange for an honest review.

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A must for not just fans of the weekly Doonesbury strip, but also for anyone who appreciates this level of sharp political satire Trudeau has been crafting for almost five decades now.

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If you like Doonesbury, or political satire, this is definitely for you. The book is a collection of comics from 2015-2018, topically political and indexing the era leading up to and into the Trump Presidency. A great quick read, and if you like but haven't been keeping up on Doonesbury's strips in the last few years - go read it!

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#SAD! from the sharp mind of G.B. Trudeau is an accurate portrayal of the insanity that is this illegitimate administration.

There has been a common comment ever since he took office that reality is so surreal that it is hard to write satire because the actual events are mind-boggling in themselves. Trudeau both illustrates this and uses it to his advantage. With almost every other figure he had to paraphrase what was said to subtract the subterfuge and leave the chilling core of what figures mean with what they say. Trump is too stupid to use subterfuge and he does not have enough command of the English language to weave a complex web of plausible alternatives. So, true to the common comment, Trudeau often uses Trump's own words to make it absolutely clear to any rational mind that Trump is both imbecilic and dangerous. Of course, one problem with this is that most of Trump's comments, can't really call them sentences, he hasn't advanced that far in his language skills, are gibberish. So his quotes work best in the strips where his childish narcissism is highlighted. Other figures in the regime have to be used to actually express policy comments since Trump doesn't know or understand anything.

I would highly recommend this to any fan of Trudeau and Doonesbury as well as anyone who needs a laugh while waiting for him and his moronic followers to destroy the world. If you're not a fan of Doonesbury and are one of Trump's moronic followers, well, you may not like this and will overlook the use of Trump's own words and call this slanderous. Poor things, just keep your guns pointed at yourselves.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

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Better to laugh than to cry. Comic Artist Trudeau admits that his satire probably won’t change any Trumper’s mind about 45 but at least it gives the rest us an outlet. I read Doonesbury in my local newspaper every weekend but this full-color collection of Trump and Trump era brings them all together. The fact that we need is satire instead of fiction… #SAD!

Thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing and G.B. Trudeau for an advanced electronic reading copy.

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Ahh, good ol' Doonesbury. Satire comics at its finest. This was pretty enjoyable to read since I grew up thinking of these as the "boring" comics in the Sunday paper. But now I am older and more involved in the American political scene so this was interesting to read. Some of these comics were amazing and true, really showing the circus that is the current presidency. But others were bland and didn't make much of a stance or point to me. Needless to say, my response to this book was positive and I will be looking forward to more Doonesbury comics in the future.

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Another great collection of Trump strips. Depressing that reality gave rise to them, but amusing and sharp throughout.
Recommended.

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I thought this would be interesting in the beginning but I quickly lost passion in this book and felt that it would be better for a different reader.

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#SAD is the type of book we all should be reading. This book was witty,fun and so entertaining. The illustrations were exciting and so beautifully done.

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#Sad! Is a compilation of Trudeau’s work starting from several months before the election and continuing for about two years after that. In typical Trudeau fashion he is able to cleverly point out and comically skewer Trump for his politics, his manner and self importance. The book provides many humorous moments. It is definitely not for Trump followers.

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"Trump marches to his own cowbell. Always has." - G.B.  Trudeau 

A collection of strips leading up to and into our current point in the "Yes, Trump really is President" era. 

Since this is not a linear experience of the Doonesbury universe it may not be the best jumping off point as a new reader wanting to know the "why" of each character. If however you're a newcomer that wishes someone would take away Trump's twitter account or at least change his password (I suggest tinyHands2016 - it's very secure) then you'll still enjoy your visit to the land of Doonesbury. 

I grabbed this book as a fan and already knowing the humor I'd be served, it did not disappoint. Growing up my favorite corner of the funny pages included Doonesbury which paired nicely with Opus and a cup of chocolate milk - just mind you don't blow it out your nose while reading. 

There are whole panels comprised of legitimate POTUS tweets - and they were painful the first time much less illustrated to undermine the sad truth of our political reality. Commentary on how our focus is so divided on Hillary, Tabloids, Millennials and their pet avocados, Right v. Left, PC mobs... a fractured society fraying at the edges while our "leader" sits at the helm of divide and conquer. 

You'll see the familiar faces of dictators and authoritarians, the same ones that have been around the last 20 years or so... since none of them have actually left or been deposed.

A few panels really struck home noting how nearly everything leads back to politics these days and how bitter the divide feels. A reminder that Trump is a hard pill to swallow, even for folks who requested the prescription. 

No political stone in the current spectrum is left unturned.

If you can't wait until the publish date you can always pick up a newspaper or open Twitter and guess the fodder for Trudeau's next batch of "so true it hurts" comic strips.

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This is an excellent illustrated satire for the modern era. Even though it is somewhat dominated by the Trump presidency and administration, the focus is on both politics and social commentary. The president's policies and unusual social perspective take center stage, but the entire body politic and current social issues also fall under Trudeau's laser-sharp focus. It presents the prior year in a wonderful slice of life filled with wit and heart.
(I received a free advance copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

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According to Facebook, I reviewed Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump exactly one year ago today. My, how time flies.

I didn't really care for that book all that much, for the specific reason that it covered years and years of Trump's idiocy, well before my time. This book, this is the one I wanted.

This is a great mixture of comics showcasing not only direct Trump-related comics, but also tangential comics. A tattoo artist talking a character out of getting a tattoo of a loved one's name because getting ink removed is more painful than getting it inserted. He knows, because he's done a lot of Trump tattoos.

Another main character, who has repeated flashbacks to his time during Nixon, and who asks himself what he's become while interviewing fresh protestors and fresh activists.

There is an amazing thread running through this of the old guard reacting to the new guard. And I think that may be my favorite part of this entire book.

Absolutely worth the read for those who don't need their minds changed, they just need to laugh.

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Completely unable to read this pdf. Everything is compressed, I have asked for another version, but no response forthcoming. SAD indeed.

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Some of the comics satirically portrayed Trump's motivations to have done some of the things he did so far in office, while the rest showed the perspective of the citizen's when they happened. There were some character tweets which I didn't really get, but I've never read Doonesbury comic strips before, so that could be it. I am updated on all the things going on in the Trump Administration though, yet some of the comics strips required some sort of expert knowledge of some of the people in the administration and of Doonesbury characters.
If you like political satire, or if you just wanna have a few laughs at Trump's expense, check this book out. Make sure to talk about it on twitter so it reaches him! I'm sure he'd be pleased!

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I am a long time fan of Trudeau and Doonesbury, and I enjoyed this book! Trudeau’s spot-on humor never disappoints.

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