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Sunday, February 8, 2009

Five




As Alan Gardner kindly pointed out, today is Cul de Sac's 5th birthday. Which has me worried, as Alice is only four, so I've somehow screwed up the math again. Above is the first sketch and the drawing used on the Post Magazine cover the week it debuted. Originally it was going to be on the plastic bag holding the paper too, but that didn't happen. Which is a relief, as it might've scared away Post readers and depressed sales.

I like the sketch a lot, and I wish I could draw the strips so loosely, but somehow drawing things in little boxes cramps looseness and forces the lines to behave.
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9 comments:

  1. paul bowmanFebruary 8, 2009 at 1:55 PM

    Happy birthday to all the wonderful fictitious persons — Otterloops & friends/antagonists.

    Today's strip was brilliant, by the way. Fitting, I suppose. : )

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  2. richardcthompsonFebruary 9, 2009 at 4:14 AM

    Thanks, Paul. I forgot to color Alice's coat pink, though. Dagnab process color.

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  3. HinziFebruary 9, 2009 at 7:49 AM

    Happy Birthday Otterloops & Co.!

    (I am a little worried that Petey has neglected his oboe lately, though...)

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  4. angryparsnipFebruary 9, 2009 at 11:41 AM

    5 years that's so cool !
    I didn't know

    Happy Birthday to all!

    Alice is just getting an early start on that hiding your age thing....

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  5. JintsFebruary 10, 2009 at 2:17 AM

    I only discovered Cul De Sac a year or so ago, and it's become my favourite comic strip *ever*. I just love it (might be because I played the oboe in school too)! Happy Birthday to everyone involved!

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  6. BuglerFebruary 10, 2009 at 6:07 PM

    I love the strip, but I have to say: you are missing the whole fascinating universe of little girl friendship. Alice's friends all seem to be boys. It leads me to suspect that you were never a little girl.

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  7. Jesse ClineFebruary 11, 2009 at 4:21 PM

    congratulations Richard, I absolutely love your strip. My wife was reading the Cul De Sac collection the other night and I have never seen her laugh so hard at a comic strip before. Keep up the great work, you are a real inspiration!

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  8. Ted DawsonFebruary 12, 2009 at 2:56 PM

    After I quit drawing Spooner, I got used to drawing things larger, and I've enjoyed that freedom of drawing big and loose. More recently, I drew some comic strips and used a size closer to what cartoonists used in the old days, about five inches tall. It allowed a lot more freedom and flow of pen and pencil, yet still seemed tiny!

    I think one thing that's happened during the past decade is that, when cartoonists had to start scanning in their cartoons themselves, they started drawing smaller. As newspapers started shrinking around this same time, it didn't make as much of a difference to most cartoonists, as they had begun drawing smaller and using less detail anyway. Or maybe not.

    At any rate, it's fun seeing stuff like this. Thanks for posting it and Happy Anniversary! I'm sure a little therapy will clear up any neurosis Alice may develop regarding her age issue.

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  9. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 at 9:47 AM

    The skectch is wonderfull and it transmits a lot of what Alice is feeling. I love it.
    Saludos Richard!

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