6. “What Do We Have for the Witnesses, Johnnie?” (Jan. 1975)

This collection overlaps with the previous book and reprints 124 daily strips from:
June 14 to June 30 1973
July 16 to Sept 15 and Sept 22 1973
Oct. 2 to Dec. 13 1973
Dec. 17 to 21 1973
16 strips from these blocks are not included (see comment for list).

The major storyline, which takes up most of the second half of the book, concerns Phred bringing 300 Cambodian refugees to the US after his sightseeing expedition to that nation goes awry. The refugees become status symbols for the various congressional wives who take them in.

Other key moments in this book include Zonker’s arrest for pot possession in California, the introduction of Alice, not yet homeless, as a regular barfly in a pub where Zonker works as a summer job, and Mike getting lost for three days in the woods while camping. That actually happened to an old friend of mine in Idaho.

5. Guilty, Guilty, Guilty! (June, 1974)

This collection overlaps with the next book and reprints 124 daily strips from:
Jan. 8 1973 to June 13 1973
July 3 to July 14 1973
Sept. 17 to Sept. 29 1973
Dec. 14, 15, 24 and 25 1973
38 strips from these blocks are not included (see comment for list).

Key moments in this book include Joanie’s divorce from Clint, the arrival of a former POW to the campus as a freshman, and Mark’s first stint as a DJ on WBBY. The famous strip about John Mitchell which gives this collection its title originally appeared on May 29, 1973.

Storylines excised from the book include the birth of Rufus/Thor’s sister, Norma Jean – Mike is her godfather – and a sequence in which B.D. returns home to force his father, recently unemployed, to quit watching repeats of Mannix and Star Trek.

4. Call Me When You Find America (Oct. 1973)

This collection reprints 124 daily strips from June 28 1972 to Dec. 29 1972
34 strips from the period are not included (see comment for list.)

Obviously, the key sequence from this book is Mike and Mark’s road trip and the introduction of Joanie, whom they meet in Denver. Henry Kissinger is shown as an on-camera player – Mark takes him to lunch at a Washington McDonald’s – for a five-day sequence. When the character returns as a lecturer later in the 1970s, he is an off-panel voice only, as is standard for celebrities in the strip.

At present, I have a 1976 Bantam edition of this book, which seems to replace the previous Popular Library reissue editions. Interestingly, this book is the first to correct Trudeau’s idiosyncratic “goodby” with the modern “goodbye.” The Doonesbury Flashbacks CD-ROM packaged with The Bundled Doonesbury book shows that the original strips were still using the old-fashioned spelling when they appeared in newspapers.

3. But This War Had Such Promise (June, 1973)

This collection reprints 124 daily strips from Dec 27 1971 to June 27 1972
33 strips from the period are not included (see comment for list.)

As the cover indicates, the bulk of this book deals with B.D.'s time overseas. Key moments in this collection, therefore, include the introduction of Phred and the founding of Walden Commune, which happens while he's in Viet Nam.

This book was later repackaged as two titles under HRW’s Popular Library imprint, “Bravo for Life’s Little Libraries” and “I Have No Son.” These books are reformatted to only contain two panels per page. This is the last HRW edition to be split in such manner for many years.

2. The President is a Lot Smarter Than You Think (1973)

This collection reprints 124 daily strips from June 5 1971 to Dec 25 1971
51 strips from the period are not included (see comment for list.)

For a second time, entire storylines were axed from the book. Left behind in this collection are a series where Zonker, who is introduced in this book, is replaced on the football team by a character called The Tree, and one in which Mark films a documentary about all the characters.

Future presidential candidate and “gorgeous preppie” John Kerry is an on-camera participant in three strips. In 1971, he had completed his military service in Viet Nam and was touring the country with other vets to protest the war.

This book was later repackaged as two titles under HRW’s Popular Library imprint, “The President is a Lot Smarter Than You Think” and “Don’t Ever Change, Boopsie.” These books are reformatted to only contain two panels per page.