Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 07, 2015

“Father” was a code word.

Gotta admit – Zeke’s a better actor than I thought. Still an idiot, though…

I’m not sure that there was a code word, or that Zeke is such a good actor. The way I read it, Zeke was in fact a terrible actor, and the lieutenant caught on because of that. It’s funnier that way.

More likely anyone who knows Duke would sooner believe in the Easter Bunny.

The sheriff’s no fool, he knows Duke.

No need for code. There are some things you would only ever say if Duke was pointing a gun at you. Luckily for Brenner, he’s the sort of person who temporarily gains five or ten IQ points when he’s under the gun.

I moved to Colorado in 1985. I was 15, so this stuff wasn’t anything I paid attention to, but I do remember they had passed a law about shooting someone who broke into your house. The saying at the time was to make sure the guy fell INTO the house so you would be in the clear. This is supposed to be Aspen yes? Maybe the law passed in the 4 years between this strip & my moving there. Also since I was a kid and we are talking 30 years ago (GEEZ when did I get old! lol) I may be recalling things incorrectly.

Yeah I don’t get this arc either, he didn’t know it was Zeke, totally legal shoot.

Wasn’t Duke going to kill Zeke anyway for burning down his barn and declaring him dead, giving away some of his possessions?Has Duke forgotten about all that?…And I can’t believe how good Duke looks in that disguise.

I don’t know what you’re calling “long, long, ago” but it sure was legal in the 1930s.