Garry Trudeau Interview

Garry Trudeau is interviewed by Mother Jones magazine.

Here's some excerpts via E&P:

The interview, linked on Doonesbury.com, was conducted by Elizabeth Gettelman. Here are some other highlights:

GT: My research [for the B.D. strips] was mostly at the VA, and then Vet Centers, where I interviewed counselors. Later trips to VA facilities such as Walter Reed hospital included meeting with veterans. The B.D. story has been a sustained experiment in naturalism. I usually don't tell stories with this much realistic detail, so most weeks there's no need to leave my studio.

MJ: Did the reporting for the B.D. story change how you want to do your strip?

GT: It may have set the bar higher, but I can't research every topic on a granular level. For example, I've already written weeks of strips about MIT, which I've never laid eyes on.

MJ: What kind of reception have you gotten from the troops?

GT: At both readings I've done at the Pentagon, I signed over 400 books, so I can hardly ask for a better reception. I got one drive-by dis from a soldier, but it was over strips that pissed her off during Gulf War I.

The whole interview is here.