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

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Halloween


The Sunday strip that ran today is a reworked version of a Post Magazine strip of two years ago. Yet more evidence of laziness, I'd say. What I really wanted was another chance to draw Alice's oblivious self-absorption and that explosion of candy. And Dad's ghoulish face looming out from behind the tree. That's what Halloween is all about.

8 comments:

Paul said...

I enjoyed the Boo Radley joke in this version. Dumbing it down for those without book learning? The nougat finish in Sunday's was funny too.

Anonymous said...

what ARE nougats? and what's wrong with them? even Petey doesn't like them. is this a Southern thing?

and if someone could explain the Boo Radley joke, I"d appreciate it. Wikipedia doesn't help: there's no reference to boxes on heads, though there is a character named Dill.

Cedar said...

Anony--

Boo Radley is a creepy recluse. He's the subject of a lot of cruel gossip. I can't remember his backstory completely, but I believe he was punished as a child by never being able to leave the house, hence making him social awkward and generally damaged goods. He's one of the many "mockingbirds" of the title--a good person destroyed by the evils of other men.

Speaking of Petey and creepy fictional characters, I recently read Joyce Carol Oates "My Sister, My Love" and realized that the younger version of the narrator looked EXACTLY like Petey in my imagination. Don't worry ; the sister looks nothing like Alice. She looks like Swan Brooner.

zero hour said...

Nougat.....a great word!
I adore the coloring in this one too..
but then , you always do a bang up job!
by the way..my nickname when I was a kid was
"Boo"...ahhh...scary!

Mike Rhode said...

I think the flying candy was better in the new one, but Dad's really scary in this one. Look how he can completely turn his hands around so that you can see his fingernails AND the inside of his wrists. Oooh.

I'm sorry you dropped the Boo Radley joke too. For anonymous - the book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, although there's a movie too.

richardcthompson said...

I used the Boo Radley joke last year, in a daily strip. Nothing goes unscavenged. And I think Boo is an excellent nickname, as long as it doesn't infringe on your social skills

And Cedar, I had to look up Swan Brooner and now I really wish I hadn't. But thanks anyway.

Anonymous said...

Good heavens, that pattern on the couch is... well, heaven!

angryparsnip said...

I like nougats and I live out West, is it a big deal in the South?
I love this Sundays ending it is so Petey.