America’s disengagement from a brutal, unpopular, and ultimately failed war in Vietnam began in 1969 with Richard Nixon’s announcement of his policy of “Vietnamization.” The 1973 Paris Peace Accords marked the end of America’s formal commitment to fighting in Vietnam; the war finally ended on 30 April 1975 with the fall of Saigon to North … Continue reading Vietnam, the Aftermath. Part IV: “Explain My Wound to Me.”
Comics Review: Depressed Dave
Depressed Dave, by Mak, a Singaporean comics artist, is a webcomic that’s been running since December 2017. The comic, loosely based on Mak’s life, chronicles the titular character’s experience with severe depression. Mak balances Dave’s story with explanations of depression’s causes, effects, and strategies to address it. The “explainer” strips help us understand what Dave … Continue reading Comics Review: Depressed Dave
Vietnam, the Aftermath. Part III: Skip and the Myth of the “Baby-Killing” Vietnam Vet
A common trope in the popular memory of the American experience of the Vietnam war is that when American soldiers returned home, they were scorned by the anti-war generation for being “baby-killers” complicit in mass atrocity. As one Vietnam veteran writes: “Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. We were not honored, but were … Continue reading Vietnam, the Aftermath. Part III: Skip and the Myth of the “Baby-Killing” Vietnam Vet
This Week in Doonesbury: In Search of Trump’s Brain
The most popular post that I have written is my look at how Garry Trudeau resurrected what is possibly his most famous comic strip, Mark Slackmeyer’s 1974 proclamation that Attorney General John Mitchell was “GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!” of crimes associated with the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up. GBT revived the gag in 1987 in reference … Continue reading This Week in Doonesbury: In Search of Trump’s Brain
Vietnam, the Aftermath: Part II, “Stuffed inside the Spare Tire Compartment of a Volvo.” The Draft Dodgers.
Vietnam remains America’s most divisive foreign war and the divides it caused shaped American politics and culture for decades after the fall of Saigon. Alongside questions about its rationale for getting involved in a senseless endeavour that was doomed to fail and its conduct during the war, a key question that America had to confront … Continue reading Vietnam, the Aftermath: Part II, “Stuffed inside the Spare Tire Compartment of a Volvo.” The Draft Dodgers.
This Week in Doonesbury: “What’s Gender-Fluid?”
(Note: This was actually last week in Doonesbury, but a nasty bike crash has slowed me down a bit.) This year, I reviewed two comics that told women’s stories as they experienced gender transition: Julia Kaye’s Super Late Bloomer, and Sabrina Symington’s First Year Out. Both books provide intimate and nuanced accounts of the triumphs … Continue reading This Week in Doonesbury: “What’s Gender-Fluid?”
Doonesbury Goes to War, Part V: Traded to Laos.
When we last checked in with Phred the Viet Cong terrorist, we saw how, after B.D.’s time in Vietnam, Garry Trudeau used Phred’s experience of the war to comment on some of the conflict’s most horrific dimensions, notably the slaughter of civilians from the relative safety of thirty thousand feet. We also have seen how … Continue reading Doonesbury Goes to War, Part V: Traded to Laos.
Doonesbury Goes to War, Part IV: Phred, B.D. and the Heartless Air Pirates.
Welcome back. Last time out, I began writing about how Garry Trudeau addressed the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam war, looking at the experience of Kim and other refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. The second part of that series is going to look at the ways in which two soldiers, Phred and B.D., adjusted to … Continue reading Doonesbury Goes to War, Part IV: Phred, B.D. and the Heartless Air Pirates.
Comics Review: First Year Out, a Transition Story
A while back, I reviewed Julia Kaye’s Super Late Bloomer, a comics journal chronicling the author’s early days in transition. On the heels of Kaye’s book, Vancouver’s Sabrina Symington has published First Year Out: A Transition Story, a comic about a woman’s experience with the process of gender transition. Like Kaye’s story, the story that … Continue reading Comics Review: First Year Out, a Transition Story
Vietnam, the Aftermath: Part I, the Refugees.
Grandpa pissed his pants again He don't give a damn Brother Billy has both guns drawn He ain't been right since Vietnam -- Warren Zevon, “Play it All Night Long.” On 30 April 1975, the last Americans and some of their South Vietnamese allies were evacuated from the United States embassy compound as Saigon – … Continue reading Vietnam, the Aftermath: Part I, the Refugees.
Reading Doonesbury 