Andrews McMeel will publish 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective, a massive anniversary collection packaged by the same team that did The Complete Calvin and Hobbes and The Complete Far Side.  The book will street on October 26th, the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the first Doonesbury strip.  To give some idea of the scale of cartoonist G.B. Trudeau’s body of work, the 1800 strips reprinted in this massive hardcover volume are only around 13% of the over 14,000 strips Trudeau has penned since that first strip in 1970. 

The strips and accompanying features in 40 examine the characters of the strip in depth.  Trudeau contributes 18 original essays, including an introductory piece and contemplations of individual characters and groups of characters.  A four-page fold-out centerfold charts the character’s connections in a “family tree.” 

The 664-page, 9-3/4” x 13-1/2” hardback will retail for $100.  First printing is 100,000 copies. 

Doonesbury is currently syndicated in over 1,400 Sundays and daily newspapers.