Team CDS drawings by Jon Esparza for this year's auction

 Jon's always been great about donating artwork for the annual auction at HeroesCon. Here's 2 pieces he did this year. The Mr. Danders balloon was photographed when Chris unwrapped the art and unfortunately has a reflection of packing material as a result. I bought the Alice and put it on the scanner when it arrived from Chris this week (we operate on Thompsonish time scales).

And a real quick page addenda for your existing book:

How to strengthen your real estate market illustration, and a TCDS piece

 I'm not sure what Richard did this illo for, but I bought the original from Bono Mitchell's estate -

 

 and this drawing by Chris Schweitzer was for the Team Cul de Sac book and fundraising auction -

Wednesday Night!

Politics & Prose, DC's happeningest bookstore, will host a Team Cul de Sac group book signathon on Wednesday, July 11 at 7:00. I'll have a full list of cartoonists who're attending. Please come help make the audience more numerous than the cartoonists. Politics & Prose is conveniently located at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC.

Tonight at One More Page

Sunday, June 10, from 5 - 7 pm:  Fundraiser celebration to launch the Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's. Several of the contributors live here in the DC area and will be on hand to sign copies. Join us for wine and light snacks to celebrate the launch of the book!  A portion of the day's sales will go to Team Cul de Sac. Click here to see which cartoonists you might run into.  Whew!!!  Don't miss this great event! One More Page is located at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street, #101, in Arlington VA, phone 703-300-9746, just a few blocks west of the Lee Highway exit off Route 66.

(Swiped from One More Page's website)

A Not-So-Gentle Reminder

Tomorrow, June 5, marks the launch of Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's, Chris Sparks' magnum opus and labor of love, and if I didn't know Chris I would imagine he's exhausted. Actually he may be but who can tell? Being exhausted just seems to fire him up.

Today Chris passed along Michael J Fox's reaction to the book:

“Richard Thompson is lucky to have a friend like Chris Sparks. With this amazing collection, Chris is raising significant dollars and awareness for Parkinson’s — while proving comedy can help speed a cure. We’re grateful to have both Chris and Richard on our team.” – Michael J. Fox.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

And Hey! There's an auction going on!
 

MJFox Signed Book!

The star of Back to the Future and The Frighteners demonstrates superior penmanship in this signed copy of Team Cul de Sac and it can be yours!

Go Bid!

The Heritage Auctions Cul de Sac Auction is open for business!

The Observer-Reporter Comes Through

Yesterday the Observer-Reporter, newspaper of record for Washington and Greene Counties in Pennsylvania, ran an editorial headlined Drawing on Humor to Combat Disease. The O-R carries Cul de Sac and came out four-square behind Team Cul de Sac, for which I'm hugely grateful (they should've mentioned Chris Sparks, who's out in Vegas representing the Team at the Reubens). And, hey, wouldn't now be a great time for some other newspapers of record to do likewise?

Report from Chris Sparks

Human fireball and Sparking Design co-CEO Chris Sparks reports-

Team Cul de Sac books have been ordered to fill our online orders and all the prepaid shipping envelopes have been ordered. I just need to the books and time. Remember, you can still order your signed copy at http://sparkingdesign.com/order-team-cul-de-sac-book/

Shipping should start around the beginning of June!  

That's practically tomorrow! So hurry!

Team Cul de Sac Book Iaunch

This is lifted from the Team Cul de Sac blog.

One More Page Books is close to my house and I hope to make it.  Other local cartoonists in the book will certainly be there. My deepest thanks to Terry Nebecker and Eileen McGervey.

Laughter, Doing Good and Then a Weekend of Murder Come out with your friends to any/all events!                May 16, 2012 TONIGHT Wed, May 16, 7 pm Meredith Goldstein - The Singles     Get ready to laugh with your friends when advice columnist and entertainment reporter for The Boston Globe Meredith Goldstein discusses her new book, The Singles.    "Back in her single days - before she met the man of her dreams - Beth "Bee" Evans hated being forced to attend weddings solo. Determined to spare her friends the same humiliation, she invites everyone on her list with a guest. Much to her chagrin, however, Hannah, Vicki, Rob, Joe, and Nancy insist upon attending Bee's lavish Chesapeake Bay nuptials alone. The frustrated bride dubs them the "The Singles" and their collective decision wreaks unintended havoc on her otherwise perfectly planned wedding weekend." JUST ADDED!!   (and we're so excited) TEAM CUL DE SAC BOOK LAUNCH!!  On Sunday, June 10, from 5 - 7 pm, Terry is taking over the store for a fundraiser celebration to launch the Team Cul de Sac Collection. Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's contains original artwork from cartoonists and illustrators inspired by the comic strip Cul de Sac, including Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). The originals will be sold at an online auction to raise money for Team Cul de Sac, which is part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation.    The Tribute Collection comes out June 5 and we'll have them available at the launch event.  Several of the contributors live here in the DC area and will be on hand to sign copies.    Join us for wine and light snacks to celebrate the launch of the book!  A portion of the day's sales will go to Team Cul de Sac.  We love Richard Thompson and Cul de Sac - he was one of the first authors to visit our store - he's amazing!  More details to follow.  Plan to be here - we all will be!      Thurs, May 17, 6:30 pm St. Charles Haiti Committee Fundraiser   Join us for the St. Charles Haiti Committee Fundraiser, featuring a wine and chocolate tasting followed by a discussion of activities supporting the community of Cavaillon in southern Haiti.   Sample wine and fair trade chocolate while learning about Haiti and the work being done in Cavaillon.  A portion of the evening's proceeds will be donated to the St. Charles Haiti Committee to aid development in Cavaillon and surrounding communities. Click here for details. Sun, May 20, noon - 2 pm Calling All Mystery Lovers! Join us for a party to celebrate the release of This Job is Murder, the 5th installment of the award-winning Chesapeake Crimes anthologies. This anthology features short stories by a number of our favorite Sisters in Crime mystery writers.      Twelve of the 14 authors whose works appear in the anthology are expected to attend: Donna Andrews, David Autry, Jill Breslau, Karen Cantwell, Leone Ciporin, E.B. Davis, Barb Goffman, Smita Harish Jain, C. Ellett Logan, Shari Randall, Harriette Sackler, and Cathy Wiley. This event will take place in the WestLee Party room.  Are you interested... in a book group for 7-9 year olds?  If so, email us.  Also, let us know what time would be good time to meet. Upcoming Events and Author Visits May Tues, May 22, 7 pm: Spiritual/Philosphy Book Club discusses Just One Thing: Developing A Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time Wed, May 23, 7 pm: Garrett Peck discusses books, The Potomac River: A History and Guide and Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren't Thurs, May 24, 7 pm: Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, Max Holland shares from Leak: Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat.   Mon, May 28, 4:30:  No Kids Book Group due to Memorial Day holiday Wed, May 30, 6:30: Join us for our Educator Appreciation Evening - Click here for details! Thurs, May 31, 7 pm: Ken Budd discusses The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem. See the side bar for more info about Ken's book. June Sun, June 3 at 3 pm: Amanda Hodgkinson discusses her novel, 22 Britannia Road, a heartbreaking novel about wartime secrets   Thurs, June 7 at 7 pm: Join us for a unique event, The Book as Art, with an artist, Alla Proskuryakova, and author/illustrator and artist, Sallie Lowenstein who have created books that are truly works of art - stay tuned for details!  Fri, June 8 at 11 am:  Author Siobhan Fallon joins our Daytime Book Group to discuss her book, You Know when the Men are Gone   Fri, June 8 at noon: Mysterious Women Who Know their Place -    Former White House staffer, author Karna Bodman; Agatha Award winner Marcia Talley, journalist Ellen Crosby, and award-winner Donna Andrews deconstruct their mystery-thriller books which all feature D.C., VA and MD locales. Mystery fiction scholar/editor Elizabeth Foxwell moderates. PLEASE NOTE: This event is off-site at the American Women Writers National Museum, 1275 K St NW, Suite 102  Fri, June 8 at 7 pm: Patti Dobrowolski joins us to discuss Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life. See side panel for a link to Patti's TEDx talk.  Sat, June 9 at 6 pm:  New York Times Bestselling Author and Screenwriter John Gilstrap invites you to celebrate the publication of his latest thriller, Damage Control at a launch party at One More Page     NEW!!  Sun, June 10 from 5-7 pm: Join us for a special event to celebrate the launch of "Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's" to honor award-winning cartoonist Richard Thompson.  See side panel for details of this event we're so fortunate to host. Wed, June 13, 7 pm:  Daniel Kalla discusses his new book, The Far Side of the Sky     Remember, in addition to street parking, there is limited retail parking available in the WestLee garage while you are shopping at One More Page.  Follow the store signs to our back door, ring the buzzer and we'll welcome you in. We are 6 blocks from the East Falls Church Metro!  Go to the right as you exit the Metro station and then go right on 19th Street.  As the road curves, the name changes from 19th street to N. Westmoreland Street. Our store is on the left hand side of the street.  Click here for directions from the Metro or if you are coming by car.  Please call (703)-300-9746 or Email if you have any questions.   In This Issue This Week New Book Group for Kids? Upcoming Events Team Cul de Sac Authors in the Media Our Book Groups Upcoming Authors in the Media  Meredith Goldstein (The Singles) in NY Times At OMP- Wed, May 16, 7 pmKen Budd (The Voluntourist) in the NY Times Travel Section and  his interview on Fox 5. At OMP- Thurs, May 31, 7 pmSee Patti Dobrowolski's (Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life) TEDx talk At OMP-Fri, June 8, 7 pm Our Book Discussion Groups        Our next Book Club with Jenn is Mon, June 18 at 7 pm when we discuss The Language of Flowers: A Novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Please note date change!    Our next Non-Fiction Book Group is Tues, June 12 at 7 pm to discuss Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams. Don't miss our next Daytime Book Group meeting at 11 am on Friday, June 8.  Author Siobhan Fallon joins us to discuss her book, You Know when the Men are Gone.    The next meeting for our Mystery/Suspense Book Group is Tues, June 19, when we discuss Ratking (An Aurelio Zen Mystery) by Michael Dibdin.   The next meeting for our Philosophy/Spiritual Book Group is Tues, May 22 when we discuss Just One Thing: Developing A Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time by Rick Hanson. Quick Links Our Website  Our Blog   On Tumblr Follow us on Twitter at justonemorepage Join us on Facebook: One More Page Books & More

One More Page | 2200 N. Westmoreland Street | #101 | Arlington | VA | 22213

Go Listen to Chris Sparks

Tall Tale Radio's Tom Racine, who's got a Golden Voice and knows how to use it, talks to Chris Sparks  about comics, comic book shops, Sergio Aragones, Team Cul de Sac, how he wasn't drunk the first time met him and more!

Episode 140 – Chris Sparks
by Tom Racine on March 25, 2012
http://www.talltaleradio.com/episode-140-chris-sparks/

Dang

That is one incredible list. I'm speechless.

Team Cul de Sac Has A Cover

Just a few tweaks and some color and there 'tis.

Team Cul de Sac Book Available for Pre-Order at Sparking Design

  Sparking Design, the web & print firm run by the indefatigable Chris Sparks and the irresistible Jamie King, has got the goods! Here's the product information-

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449419666
• ISBN-13: 978-1449419660 
• Drawings of Alice et al by better cartoonists than me.

Why, it's worth it for that sweet ISBN alone! Not to mention you'll be helping the Michael J. Fox Foundation in its good work opening a big can of whupass on Parkinson's Disease!

Here's that link one more time!

Support the USPS & Team Cul de Sac with these Lovely Stamps

Thanks to Mike Rhode, Barbara Dale and David Hagen. you can now send your Cul de Sac cards with Cul de Sac stamps! Barbara Dale's stamp has been revised to lighten it up so you can see Alice better, and David Hagen volunteered his artwork for stamp #3. Collect them all! It's for charity!

CREATE  |  APPAREL  |  MUGS  |  POSTAGE  |  CARDS  |  POSTERS  |  GIFTS  |  ALL

Team Cul de Sac Stamp #2 (revised) view product  Team Cul de Sac #3  view product

The Mighty Sergio

One of my childhood (and adulthood) idols, the legendary Sergio Aragones. draws Alice. And Groo, Rufferto, and his usual cast of thousands. See also here and here. I'm speechless with delight.

Stuff for Sale at Team Cul de Sac!

The following is a post from our brother blog, Team Cul de Sac, which is ably helmed by Mr. Chris Sparks. Take it away, Chris-

Team Cul de Sac Print

This is our limited edition Portfolio 11" x 13.06" print. Signed by Richard Thompson and numbered by the one and only Mike Rhode. This is limited to 25 prints. All proceeds (including any extra shipping charges) will go to Team Cul de Sac. We will be picking prints at random as they are ordered.

The prints are $50.00 each and $15.00 shipping.
I ( Chris Sparks) will also be more than happy to sign the prints.

Team Cul de Sac Fanzine

Above is the Richard Thompson-drawn cover to FAVORITES, a home-grown zine where notable comics critics, artists and bloggers write their individual answers to a single question: “What is my favorite comic, and why?” For an excerpt, see here.

The contributors are an all-star line-up: Derik Badman, Noah Berlatsky, Alex Boney, David Bordwell, Matthew J. Brady, Scott Bukatman, Johanna Draper Carlson, Isaac Cates, Rob Clough, Corey Creekmur, Andrew Farago, Shaenon Garrity, Dustin Harbin, Charles Hatfield, Jeet Heer, Gene Kannenberg Jr., Abhay Khosla, Susan Kirtley, Sean Kleefeld, Costa Koutsoutis, Andrew Mansell, Robert Stanley Martin, Chris Mautner, Joe McCulloch, Ana Merino, Mike Rhode, Jim Rugg, Frank Santoro, Chris Schweizer, Caroline Small, Tom Spurgeon, Ben Towle and Matthias Wivel.

FAVORITES is 40 pages long, and can be ordered via the PayPal button below. The cost is $5.00 plus $1.25 shipping and handling. (All the money that isn’t spent on envelopes and postage will go to Team Cul de Sac, and research into a cure for Parkinson’s disease.) Thank you for your support!

I hope you don't think this place is turning into some kinda rag and bone shop, pushing books (that Amazon sale is still on!) and art and such. We offer only the most select rags and bones. and all for a good cause. Namely, to bring high-quality cartoon entertainment to you, the discerning consumer of high-quality cartoon entertainment!

The Experts Speak

Over at the Team Cul de Sac Blog Craig Fischer unveilss the cover Favorites, a zine of essays written by comics critics, artists and bloggers about their most cherished comic strips, comic books and graphic novels. 

The style is familiar.

Team Cul de Sac Deadline Extended; Grateful Cartoonists Nationwide Heave Great Sigh of Relief

This is a cross post from the Team Cul de Sac Blog. We have extended the deadline for donations to the Team CdS fundraiser until June 17th! This was done for a couple of reasons. Lee Salem, Caty Neis, Richard Thompson and Chris Sparks will be at the Reuben awards in Boston in less than three weeks. Chris will personally be asking cartoonists to contribute to Team Cul de Sac, Caty might be singing and Richard will be juggling (possibly unintentionally). Ooh, this could get ugly!

The following weekend please visit Heroescon in Charlotte NC. Team Cul de Sac will be releasing The Fanzine for the ages put together by Craig Fischer. The contributors are an all-star line-up: Derik Badman, Noah Berlatsky, Alex Boney, David Bordwell, Matthew J. Brady, Scott Bukatman, Johanna Draper Carlson, Isaac Cates, Rob Clough, Corey Creekmur, Andrew Farago, Shaenon Garrity, Dustin Harbin, Charles Hatfield, Jeet Heer, Gene Kannenberg Jr., Abhay Khosla, Susan Kirtley, Sean Kleefeld, Costa Koutsoutis, Andrew Mansell, Robert Stanley Martin, Chris Mautner, Joe McCulloch, Ana Merino, Chris Pitzer, Mike Rhode, Jim Rugg, Frank Santoro, Chris Schweizer, Caroline Small, Tom Spurgeon, Ben Towle and Matthias Wivel.

The Zine will be a word-packed 40 pages, topped off by a cover by some fledgling artist whose name I forget. Please come by and say hi to Craig, Mike Rhode , Richard and Chris.

Thank you to everyone who's helping out!

Thank you, Happy Deadline Clown!

Team Cul de Sac Has Some Nice Friends

Team Cul de Sac, the Parkinson's research fundraising project started by the indefatigable Chris Sparks, has received some inspired contributions by artists and cartoonists. The recent donation pictured above is particularly eye-catching. It comes from Mr. Bill Watterson, who's got a dab hand with a paintbrush and whose beloved Calvin & Hobbes stands as the platonic ideal of the comic strip, or as close to as such a thing is possible. I once saw a comment on a comics thread from someone saying that he'd dreamed about hiking in the Cascades and coming across a church newsletter stuck in some bushes that featured new Calvin & Hobbes strips that were being published nowhere else. That strikes me as eerie and charming and a good measure of the depth to which C&H has permeated the popular imagination.

So I was floored when I got a call yesterday from Chris saying that Caty Neis, who's shepherding the Team book project at Andrews & McMeel, had gotten a painting from Bill. An oil painting of Petey Otterloop of all people. After studying it pretty closely for the last consecutive 12 hours or so I can say that he's done Petey as much justice as possible. Adding another dimension to a 2D character is a tricky business and Petey's awkward enough in dealing with the two he's normally confined to.

Thanks to Bill from the bottom of my heart. And thanks also to Alex, Jim, Jerry, Bill L, Crow, Stephan, Steve, Ron, Matt, Canaan, Jim D, Shannon, Pab, Matt, Mo, Mark, Lynn, Peter, David and everybody else who's contributing. I appreciate it more than I can say.