The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Old Stuff by Request

This is the Cul de Sac that ran in the Washington Post Magazine on September 2, 2007, the second to last one I did for the Post before syndication. I'm posting it at the request of Haywood Wigglesworth, who sent a kind email saying that this one was a family favorite and hoping that it'd show up in one of the future collections. Unfortunately, it likely won't be included as it's a pretty DC-centric strip and those will either not be reprinted or will be saved for the special 50 year all-inclusive reprintatathalon that might already be available for pre-order on some parallel world Amazon. So I hope this will do till then.

For those not living in the DC area, Theodore Roosevelt Island is an island in the Potomac that's both a wilderness preserve and a memorial to Teddy R., with a 17 foot statue of the man himself waving at you as if to say, "Get off my island!"

3 comments:

Kurt Busiek said...

I don't think it's too DC-specific. The location may be, but the jokes and family interaction work great.

And TR does seem like a cartoon person.

Philip Nel said...

I agree. Definitely funny, whether or not you know the memorial in question. If Andrews McMeel deems it worthwhile, would love to see a collection of all the pre-syndication strips. And, if not, then I'll be the first name on the "Hey, Andrews McMeel, Publish Every Cul de Sac Strip Ever!" petition.

richardcthompson said...

You're probably right, but I've kinda smothered the DC side of the strip, just to make it seem more unplaceable and universal.

I'll have to compile another few decades before the Complete Cul de Sac looks hefty enough to stand on a shelf with pride. It's gotta be a cinderblock at least!