Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for May 01, 2011

Delightful to take reality so seriously…. and then with such dry humour.

I’ll note also that the penultimate panel is especially nicely rendered.

Worst bitter Doonesbury comic ever.

Also, is it a given that private extraction helicopter forces routinely carry rope?

And, not everybody can just handclimb up a rope. Or they were supposed to pull him up, I suppose. Or fly around with him dangling to someplace where they thought they could land?

All very interesting questions, and thank you GT for bringing them to our attention.

LMAO! Good one!

Miep, the hoist was using a rope, you can just drop it manually.

And yes carrying him to a landing spot might have been a better option than leaving him, if he could not climb and they could not haul him manually. But let’s not get too real about it all. Tripper didn’t think of it, and now can’t say why. And he’s quite right about the fog.

And you’re so right about the penultimate panel.

Anyone else see a lot of Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton in this relationship?

I grew up in an age when the future held unlimited possibilities. Why didn’t he just use his jet pack. We all knew we’d have them by 2011.

Very funny. I plan to use the “Worst sidekick ever” line at every opportunity.

So, I guess Joanie paid the huge ransom, and the Rascal is back home, in the land of the free, to pursue bad haircuts. He has no one to blame but himself, for choosing a completely inexperienced sidekick.

Ah,the game of chance. Rerack for about 6-8 weeks. Who could be Red’s equal?

Thirdguy – I think eventually the Taliban paid Joanie to take him back!

Jeff thinks Zipper is a screw up? Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.

Anybody who works, or expects to work, in an adrenaline-soaked situation, has to train, train, train to know what to do, when the pump is in overload and the vision narrows.

Enthusiasts train until they get it right. Professionals train until they can’t get it wrong. (And still sometimes, multiple failures conspire to form a disaster, that no training can overcome.)

“Throw him a rope,” he says…

I hope he wasn’t referring to the bungee cord from his first attempt.

I had fire team members just as bad.

look, the point is that there is nothing inside Zipper’s skull. Where there is supposed to be brain cells, there is just empty space.

Not batman/robin, etc…more like the two guys upstairs at Lavern & Shirley’s apartment.

Congrats military, Bin Laden is dead

got the strip days late so no one will read this… but just have to comment on the cute chick in the last panel.. “cute chick” now work her into the strip.. Jeff could use a little cheering up…