Review: Trudeau focuses on soldier, not politics

Review: Trudeau focuses on soldier, not politics

Omaha World Herald

By John Keenan

05.30.10

“Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau’s “Fisher House” trilogy of cartoon collections concludes with “Signature Wound: Rocking TBI” (Andrews McMeel, $9.99), the story of a young soldier dealing with a traumatic brain injury.

Leo, or Toggle, as he is known to his friends, must navigate speech difficulties and overcome adversity as he struggles to cope with his traumatic brain injury, known as the “signature wound” of the Iraq War.

Luckily, he’s assisted by “Doonesbury” regulars B.D., whose struggles with his own major injury were recounted in the first two books of the series, and new girlfriend Alex Doonesbury.

Trudeau is labeled, justly, as a liberal cartoonist. But the “Fisher House” trilogy is a largely, if not completely, politics-free effort to illuminate the hardships faced by wounded veterans of our current war. “Signature Wound” maps Toggle’s struggles, as well as his professional and personal triumphs, with a mix of humor, emotion and respect for our men and women in uniform.

All author’s proceeds from the sale of the book go to Fisher House, an organization that provides free or low-cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.