Synopsis
The Complete Cul de Sac isn't. Complete, that is. Compiling it while ill, Richard accidentally left out some strips. Others were purposely left out, either because he had redrawn them for syndication, or they were too tied to the Washington, D.C. origins of the strip to make sense for a worldwide audience, or he "just felt some were not funny." Over 100 are not in The Complete CDS. But if you're a cartoon completist, or just want a little bit more CDS, we understand and we're here for you. We've collected the lost water-colored Washington Post Magazine strips, the early inchoate musings about what the strip should be, the promotional material, the sketches for fans, and finally some fugitive Team Cul de Sac charity art. This whole book is about community--the people that loved Richard and CDS and what he gave to us and what we tried to give back to him. As Anna Straight noted when sending in a contribution, "Cul de Sac integrated into our lives and became the running comedy track for our family." With Richard's blessing, or at least active acquiescence, any money the book makes will go to Team Cul de Sac to fight Parkinson's disease. We initially published this as a print-on-demand book through Lulu in 2015, but after Richard passed away, people have continued to do tributes to him and the strip, and we were glad to take the opportunity to add over 100 pages of artwork and interviews to a new edition.
About the Author
Richard Thompson was cartoonist who created both Richard's Poor Almanac and Cul de Sac for the Washington Post. He drew caricatures for US News & World Report and The New Yorker. He won the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. Bill Watterson wrote the introduction to his 2nd book and considered him a good friend. Mike Rhode is coauthor of the Comics Research Bibliography, editor of Exhibition and Media Reviews and general assistant editor of the International Journal of Comic Art, and has written for Hogan's Alley and the Comics Journal. He's been a judge for the RFK Journalism Awards editorial cartoon division from 2009-2022 and in 2015, 2016 & 2020, was a Herblock Award judge. He edited Harvey Pekar: Conversations, a book of interviews for the University Press of Mississippi and edited and published Biographical Sketches of Cartoonists & Illustrators in the Swann Collection of the Library of Congress by LOC's curator Sara Duke. In 2014, he co-edited The Art of Richard Thompson and The Incomplete Art of "Why Things Are" by Richard Thompson in 2017. In 2008 his ComicsDC blog was chosen Best (Comics) Art Blogger by the Washington City Paper and from 2010-16, he wrote on comics for the Washington City Paper. Chris Sparks is the force behind Team Cul de Sac, a fundraiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation to end Parkinson's disease. He edited the books Team Cul de Sac and The Art of Richard Thompson, and continues his fundraising projects. He is co-owner of a web design company.
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