Sheldon and Frazz

Dave Kellett draws Richard Thompson receiving the Rueben while Jef Mallett sneaks Dill into Frazz.

Richard Thompson wins cartooning's 'Oscar' award

Richard Thompson won the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award, named after legendary cartoonist Rube Goldberg, in Boston last night. Comic Riffs has the story and also points out that Gary Varvel who won the RFK Journalism Award for editorial cartooning here in DC, also won the NCS editorial cartooning division award.

Here are a few quick photos of Richard's wonderful evening, taken by Chris Sparks. Congrats !


John Glynn, Richard Thompson, Cathy Guisewite, Lee Salem, John McMeel, Garry Trudeau

Richard Thompson and Chris Sparks.

Richard Thompson and Lynn Johnston

Jerry Scott, Richard Thompson and Patrick McDonnell

Richard Thompson and Mort Walker

Jay Fosgitt contributed this fine gem

Jay submitted this wonderful TCDS art for us. I can never say thank you enough to everyone who has helped us but I will try! Jay I think you have done a wonderful job in capturing the CDS kids in your style. It is awesome! Thank you again! Read below in what Jay had to say!

I'm a big fan of Richard Thompson's comic strip, "Cul De Sac", and also a big fan of Harper Lee's book (and the movie based on it), "To Kill A Mockingbird". When I first read Richard's comic, I was overwhelmed by the wonderful similarities of the two works, from characters to themes. Most noticeable for me were the shared ideals of hope and perseverance. With these tools, we can get past preconceived notions about folks in our community, or we can manage a public obo solo (without the aid of a security cape and Viking helmet) despite our fear of being stared at. Richard goes further to carry these strengths into his personal life, which not only inspires me as a cartoonist, but as a person.

Though I typically draw in pen and ink and color my work digitally, for this piece, I tried to suggest Richard's style by coloring with watercolor pencils. Hopefully I managed an faithful connection to Cul De Sac by employing this fun and challenging medium.

--Jay P. Fosgitt is the creator of the graphic novel "Dead Duck", and is a member of The National Cartoonists Society. You can visit his website at: www.jayfosgitt.com

Chris Schweizer jumps for TCDS

I meet Chris last year at Heroescons. Not only did Chris,Shannon,Craig,Mike,Richard and I all have dinner together I got a chance to buy two books in the The Crogan Aventures series. Folks, these are a must read at any age! Chris is a big fan of Richards and I hope you check out http://curiousoldlibrary.blogspot.com . Chris, see you in about a week! Thank you for being such a big supporter of TCDS. Here is a note from Chris about Cul de Sac and a little bio on him.

My note on Cul de Sac:

Cul de Sac is, of course, the best drawn and funniest strip to come along since Calvin and Hobbes, and is one of the best ever made, which naturally earns Richard my respect. His handling of Alice, Dill, and Petey, however, has earned him my jaw-on-the-floor awe.

I genuinely believe that Richard understands children better than any writer - and not just of comics - that has come before him. I know that this is a grandiose statement, and I do not say it lightly. Most of us cartoonists are kids at heart, and hopefully have a little insight, but Richard so deftly presents the logic of the little that it makes the rest of us look like gripey old curmudgeons. For that, and for the hours of joy that come from reading his strip and sharing it with my family and friends, I offer him my sincerest thanks.

My bio:

Chris Schweizer is the author of The Crogan Aventures, a graphic novel series that chronicles the exploits of the fictitious Crogan family line at different points throughout history. He lives in Marietta, GA with his wife and daughter, and teaches comics at SCAD-Atlanta.

Favorite Comic Zine: Update

Craig Fischer here. As I wrote in a previous post, I'm putting together a zine to sell in order to raise money for the Team. The zine, called Favorites, consists of essays written by comics critics, artists and bloggers about their most cherished comic strips, comic books and graphic novels.

I'm happy to report that the zine is on schedule to premiere at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, coming up on June 3-5. Favorites will cost 5 dollars, and every cent of each sale will go towards research for a cure for Parkinson's disease. After Heroes, we'll make the zine available through the mail.

I'd like to thank the contributors to the zine, all of whom wrote sensational essays about some exceptional comics. I'd also like to thank some guy named Richard Thompson, who very graciously volunteered to draw the cover for Favorites. (Richard's cover illustration is at the top of this post.)

So stop by the Team table at Heroes, say hello, spend five bucks on our zine, and help us battle Parkinson's. See you then!

Raymond Jarrell is 8 yrs old and loves Cul de Sac

I got this note from Raymond's Mom,Sandy about his love of Cul de Sac. What a great watercolor painting! Thanks Raymond!

Hi Chris-

My 8 year-old son Raymond is a huge CDS fan and wanted me to pass along his watercolor of Petey and Dill eating together. Petey's food is in separate little piles, Dill's is all mixed up and Petey is disgusted.

My boy understands the characters :)

Best/

Sandy

Petey meets Red and Rover by Brian Basset

Brian Basset did this beautiful art for us. WOW! Thank you sir.

I think Petey needs a dog! Don't you?

Please check out his strip http://www.gocomics.com/redandrover/

Jonathan Mahood shares with us for TCDS

Jonathan sent this awesome piece and share his thoughts on Richard and himself. This guy is such a class act. I am so glad he wanted to contribute to TCDS! Here is his little story about his love for Richard and Cul de Sac.

I started reading Cul de Sac when it first launched on GoComics in 2007 and I, like millions of other readers, have been a big fan ever since.

I'm a bit slow, so it took me a while to realize Richard also did the fantastic illustrations in The New Yorker that I enjoyed so much (...like I said, a bit slow.)

When the call went out for contributions to Team Cul de Sac I knew it was a great opportunity to support someone who had given me many laughs over the years.

Having suffered some permanent nerve damage that left my drawing hand partially paralyzed, I have some limited insight into what it's like when your wiring doesn't quite function properly. Drawing a simple circle can suddenly become extremely frustrating.

I also know that, while I was working through therapy and coping with this new reality, comics were a powerful source for that healing, both physically and mentally.

For that reason, I think comics provide an excellent and unique way to promote awareness and raise funds for Parkinson's research. I am very pleased to play a role and support Richard's Team Cul de Sac.

Dip those nibs people!

Washington Post Profiles Richard Thompson Update

Here are the links to check out.

I was hoping to find out more dirt on this beloved cartoonist but there is nothing but praise from folks like Art Spiegelman, Mike Peters, Stephan Pastis, Pat Oliphant, Nick Galifianakis and Bill Watterson.

Profile and cool photos.

Enjoy folks.

Beautiful art from Adrian C. Sinnott

Adrian met Richard at last year's Reuben awards and wanted contribute to TCDS.

Adrian is the Chapter Chair for the Berndt Toast Gang/Long Island Chapter of the NCS and am also a member of the Society of Illustrators. I do children's books, advertising illustration. I love this piece of art.

Check out the links below!

thank you so much Adrian!

Adrian C. Sinnott
Barking Hollow Studios, Inc.
www.adriansinnott.com
631-547-0778

My sketchy blog:
http://adriansinnott.com/wordpress/

Sandy Jarrell with Toad Zombies VS. Sootis

Sandy is a fan of CDS and also trying to become a full time cartoonist. This is pretty impressive folks. Check out http://whamcomics.com/

Thank you so much Sir!

from Costa Koutsoutis TCDS contribution

A big thanks to Costa for contributing to TCDS with some art but Costa is also in our Fanzine that will be making its debut in two weeks from today at Heroescon in Charlotte NC.

Thank you so much for all you do Costa. Please go to http://costak.wordpress.com/ to learn more about the incredible CK!

Washington Post Profiles Richard Thompson

UPDATE:

In the May 22 issue of The Washington Post Magazine, writer/artist Michael Cavna profiles

"Cul de Sac" creator RICHARD THOMPSON, as the cartoonist discusses his professional and personal journey, the state of the comics industry, life with Parkinson's disease -- and the birth and growth of Team Cul de Sac.

Thats all I know folks. Sounds like some good reading!

Daniel Boris and Hoxwinder Hall beams into the Team CDS

Daniel Boris is just a great cartoonist who has a bright future in front of him. His strip was

a Runner-Up winner in theCartoonistStudio.com on-line contest. He was

awarded the incredible prize of a 1-month mentorship with Rick Kirkman, co-creator of the very popular “Baby Blues” comic strip!

Good luck Daniel it is only a matter of time till we see you syndicated!

Daniel is a big fan of Richards and had this to say:

“Richard Thompson was one of the judges in the Washington Post’s “Americas Next Great Cartoonist” contest. I was a finalist in the contest, and Richard wrote some encouraging feedback to me. It was because of encouragement like his that I decided to keep going with my strip. A few months later, I got the opportunity to meet Richard at the Baltimore Comic Con. Richard spoke with me for what seemed like an hour, and endured all of my endless questions with a smile. Richard Thompson is one of the Good Guys, and his Cul de Sac a bright spot in the comics pages. Thank you, Richard!

I am currently working hard to get Hoxwinder Hall syndicated in newspapers everywhere.”

Deadline extention starts with Stephanie Piro

So today was the official unofficial deadline for art. As noted in an earlier post, we will be extending it until Fathers Day Weekend. Why? Well, first I am going to the Reubens to find more contributers and meet the the find folks of Andrews McMeel Publishing. Oh yeah, I am also going to be sending Mr. Thompson good vibes that weekend. Richard is up for cartoonist of the year! Cul de Sac is up for the division award for newspaper strip of the year!

The following weekend Mr. Thompson will be making debut at Heroescon in Charlotte NC. OK, it will be his third time but who is counting! The Team Cul de Sac Fanzine will be making its debut at the show! A true collectors item and folks it will a grand ol time. More details on the Heroescon soon!

I can never thank Mike and Craig for all the help they do for Team Cul de Sac.

So now to catch up. Ms. Piro is the Queen and KingFeatures and we are lucky to have her on our team. Here is a little about her. Ms. Piro submitted her art a few weeks ago.. I am behind on my deadlines!

Stephanie Piro is a cartoonist, illustrator and designer. She

is one of King Features’ team of women cartoonists, “Six

Chix”. (she is the Saturday chick). She also does the cartoon

panel “Fair Game”. Her work appears all over the place from

books to greeting cards plus she creates lots of other stuff for

her business the Strip T’s Design Company. Visit her website:

www.stephaniepiro.com

and her blog: http://stephanie-piro.blogspot.com/

Contact her at: stephaniepiro@gmail.com

Jason Dodge Says

Jason had so much fun.. he sent us another cool submission.

Jason Dodge is a very talented illustrator who is nice enough to help Team Cul de Sac out! I hope everyone enjoys this contribution! Here is a few words from Jason:

I have worked for some small local publications in the past. I'm a part-time freelance illustrator and cartoonist from Burlington, Vermont. I currently publish two web cartoons. Both of which are single panel gag cartoons. One for the Life With Dogs website (Fudge & Friends). This website is one of the top three dog related websites in the world. It gets tens of thousands of unique views each week and has several hundred thousand regular followers. This is why I chose my Fudge & Friends cartoon for your project (exposure for your auction and book).

The other cartoon I publish is called "To Err Is Bovine". It was named as one of the finalists in the recent Cartoonist Studios contest. I actually have a pretty funny idea for Team Cul De Sac using this one as well. It's a pretty new cartoon and does not get nearly as many views, but you can find it here: http://jasonsdrawingboard.blogspot.com/

Sneak at Stephan Pastis drawing Alice.

Stephan is the first person that I asked to do art for Team Cul de Sac. He said YES and he would help in anyway he could. So, Stephan will be running this Pearls Before Swine strip sometime this summer in support of Team Cul de Sac! I am sure this will be a Gem in the auction. I hear that originals strips are almost impossible to come by. Bid often and bid a lot of gold on this one!

John Rose has Snuffy and Alice having a bodacious time

Growing up,I loved Snuffy Smith. Snuffy was like most of my relatives in the mountains of Western North Carolina! So it was such a thrill when John rose wanted to donate art to Team cul de Sac. I am hoping Richard can incorporate the hat in future Cul de Sac Strips.

Here is a lil bio on John Rose:

Being the cartoonist for King Features' Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic

strip has been the greatest joy of John Rose's professional career.

The Virginia-born Rose graduated from James Madison University in 1986 with

a bachelor of fine arts degree, double-majoring in art and art history. He

joined Byrd Newspapers of Virginia in 1988, starting at the Warren Sentinel

in Front Royal and then moving to the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. His

cartoons have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the

Virginia Press Association. Besides appearing in the Byrd Newspaper chain,

his editorial cartoons are distributed by the Scripps Howard News Service.

He has had two editorial cartoon collections of his work published, the most recent being titled

Now This Is Where I Draw The Line! His cartoons have also been featured in the Best Editorial

Cartoons of the Year collections (Pelican Publishing) each year since 1994.

Since 1991, Rose has been creating Kids' Home Newspaper, a weekly children's

cartoon/activity page that is syndicated with Creators Syndicate. This

feature has spawned three activity books: Fun With Pup!, More Fun With Pup!

and Christmas Fun With Pup! (Pelican Publishing Company). He is also a contributing

writer and inker for Archie Comic Publications.

Since mid-1998 John Rose has been working on the Barney Google and Snuffy

Smith comic strip. First, as an inking assistant to cartooning legend, Fred

Lasswell and then as the strip's cartoonist after Lasswell's death in March

of 2001.

Rose enjoys meeting Snuffy Smith readers and frequently does Snuffy Smith

Cartooning Chalk Talks for civic organizations, corporate groups, schools

and festivals. Rose is a member of both the National Cartoonists Society and

the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists. He lives with his wife,

Karen and daughters, Meredith and Sarah in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Norm Feuti “Alice’s Song”

Norm sent us “Alice’s Song” to blow everyone away. Norm this is just so creative and beautiful. Thank you so much! Look at the border folks!

Norm said:

"I wanted to create an homage to Richard’s characters out of the very media he enriches every day with his brilliant comic strip. The piece is entitled “Alice’s Song” and was inspired by the final panel of a strip from the first Cul De Sac book."

------

Norm Feuti is a syndicated cartoonist, author, and freelance artist living in Plainville, Massachusetts.

Norm’s syndicated comic strip, Retail, presents a humorous look at the retail industry by chronicling the daily events at the fictitious Grumbel’s department store. Drawing from his 15 years of experience working in retail management, the humor of Retail plays out through the day-to-day trials and triumphs of four main Grumbel’s department store employees (Marla, Cooper, Val, and Stuart) and the customers they encounter. Retail is distributed worldwide by King Features. Retail can also be read daily on www.retailcomic.com.

------

My professional website is www.normfeuticartoons.com

Phil Juliano from my hometown of Asheville

Phil ,Bill LaRocque and I all live in Asheville North Carolina. I met both guys at the monthly cartooning meeting last year. Bill has been friends with Richards for a billion years. Phil is an admirer of Richards and wanted to contribute to Team Cul de Sac. I just stalk Richard.

Phil will be attending the Reubens in a few weeks and will be my roommate. I am very lucky to have met Phil and I think he is going to be a big star one day. Years from now I can tell everyone I spent the night with Phil... back in the day.

Please check out his work http://bestinshowcomic.com/wordpress/.

Thanks buddy! See you in a few weeks! Now a few words about Phil.

Phil Juliano is a cartoonist and member of the Southeast Chapter of the National Cartoonist Society. He draws cartoons for twelve independent newspapers, magazines and web sites around the east coast and mid west. His comic strip, Best In Show, reflects his place in modern society...beer snob, coffee addict, baseball fan, victim of technology...He lives in Asheville, NC where he indulges in the city's greatest commodity...BEER.

Robert Steibel contributes!

Growing up in the DC area, there were always copies of the Washington Post piled around the house, so I've been a big fan of Richard Thompson's brilliant illustrations for many years. I recently heard Richard and some of his friends are starting a project called Team Cul de Sac where they're collecting original comics art to be auctioned off for the benefit of Parkinson's disease research. I just started doing my first official comic strip last week, so I feel pretty silly submitting a piece of my own work, but at least I have an excuse to send Richard this cartoon as a simple way of saying thanks for all of his great work over the years. Best wishes to Richard, his family, and everyone involved with Team Cul de Sac.

Bio:

Robert Steibel writes and draws the daily comic Apple Creek at <http://www.gocomics.com/apple-creek> You can see his other new comics projects like Wild Life at <http://www.robertsteibel.com/> Steibel also writes the daily Kirby Dynamics weblog for the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center at <http://kirbymuseum.net/blogs/dynamics/>

Team Cul de Sac deadline has been extended!

We have extended the deadline until June 17th! we did this for a couple of reasons. Lee Salem, Caty Neis, Richard Thompson and Chris Sparks ( thats me folks) will all be at the Reuben awards in less than three weeks. I will personally be asking cartoonist to contribute to Team Cul de Sac. Richard will be juggling, Caty might be Singing. It's going to be a great circus show for all ages..

I can't wait to meet everyone who has contributed so far!

The following weekend please visit heroescon in Charlotte NC. Team Cul de Sac will be releasing The Fanzine for the ages! Craig Fischer is putting all of this together for us. This is just an amazing con. I have been going since 1994 and hope to continue till 2194. Shelton Drum is not only the best at putting on a great show but also always helping whenever he can. Thanks Shelton!

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 named Richard Thompson.

We should have a table close to The one and only Richard Thompson. Please come buy and say hi to Craig, Mike Rhode , Richard and myself.

Buy our fanzine, donate money to Team Cul de Sac, or heck buy us food a drinks!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is helping us. If you haven't yet....get busy!

Thanks,

Chris

Paul Gilligan sent this fun art to TCDS

Paul is another wonderful supporter of TCDS. Here is what he had to say about Richard.

When I was a kid, I used to lie on the living room carpet with the comics
page and get inspired. I knew what I wanted to be. I went to my room and
started drawing.

As time went by, I drew more and laid on the floor less. Most of my
inspirational heroes of the comics page stopped producing, and I had
deadlines, cartooning had become my job.

The moment I saw Richard's work, I was back on the living room carpet again.
He's the reason cartoonists cartoon. Thanks for that, Richard.

John Hambrock had this to say

John Thank you for submitting the great art to Team Cul de Sac!

“One of the best things about being a cartoonist is knowing people like Richard.

His personality and wicked sense of humor never fail to put a smile on my face.

It’s an honor to be a part of Team Cul De Sac.”

A little about John:

In 1999, John began developing the idea of a boy genius character named

Edison. He spent ve years honing his drawing and writing skills, occasionally

submitting samples to King Features Syndicate for development consideration.

King Features saw potential in the precocious 10-year old and in November 2006

launched “The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee” in newspapers. Three short years

later, the feature was nominated “Best Comic Strip 2009” by the National

Cartoonists Society in 2009.

How to Create a Cartoon Character

Things are really in high gear here at Team Cul de Sac headquarters. The packages are rolling in, faster than I can get them scanned and saved! Thanks to all of you who have contributed artwork and sent it off. As you probably know, we have extended the deadline to squeeze in the Reuben awards. I would like to take a minute to thank one of the all time favorite comic strip creators, Rick Kirkman, for his LOL contribution. Class act.

Susan Camilleri Konar loves her veggies

Susan Camilleri Konar sent this to us. She is someone else who has been touched by Richard and his charming personality. Below is a few words from her about Richard,followed by her bio. Enjoy!

“I have only met Richard once, however, I've been fortunate to communicate with him via email several times (it's often me asking him annoying questions). I can only say that his warm, generous personality made me feel like I was an old friend. When I found out about Team Cul de Sac I couldn't wait to bring his cartoon world together with mine. It's a simple contribution to a great project. Richard, I wish you all the best and can only say you are one class act.

Susan is a cartoonist and illustrator who began her professional freelance career a tad later in life (or, shall we say in 'the new 20s'). Her clients include Harvard Business Review, Reader's Digest (US and Can), Prospect (UK), The Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, Business Law Today and many other magazines and newspapers. She also contributes to Bob Eckstein's online humour magazine 'The Basement' and is a member of The National Cartoonists Society.”

Barbara Dale is just awesome!

Barbara Dale is one of the pioneers of alternative greeting cards in the United

States. The Washington Post described her and her generation of card designers

as having, “changed the face of the nearly 7 billion cards Americans sent to each

other last year.” In the book, “A Gallery of Rogues: Cartoonists’ Self-Characatures”

published by Ohio State University she’s described as, “Specializing in off-the-wall

humor of the taste-expanding variety.” Barbara’s worked with numerous card and

gift industry manufacturers such as Recycled Paper Products, Andrews and McMeel,

Carol Wilson, The Ink Group, and Wild Card. Currently, her cards are published in

the United States by Sellers Publishing, Inc and RSVP Cards. She’s the co-author

and illustrator of two humor books, “The Working Woman Book” and “The Joys

of Motherhood” published by Andrews and McMeel. She also co-authored and

illustrated a syndicated panel, “The Stanley Family” with Universal Press Syndicate

in 1990. She’s exhibited her paintings and prints in several one-woman and group

shows and has work represented in numerous private and museum collections.

Barbara is currently writing a novel.

Chris Schechner and Who is under your bed?

Chris Schechner called me today and made my day. Thank you Chris. I always love to get emails, FB messages, and phone calls from people who are contributing. If they would just pick me up and buy me drinks! One can only dream.

Please read his Bio. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I have been an art director and illustrator for over 35 years. Most recently,

I was the art director of Pockets magazine for 25 years. I have owned my

own studio, Schechner & Associates, since 1985. I have done design and

illustration for numerous clients. My journal in cartoon form can be found at

http://insightthroughhindsight.typepad.com/.

When I found out about Team Cul De Sac, I was excited to participate because first

of all, I love Richard’s creation. It would be a great chance to honor this wonderful

strip. Secondly, I want to encourage everyone with disabilities to achieve all they

can. As the result of a diving accident nearly 40 years ago, I have been quadriplegic

and I have continued drawing and creating art since then despite having my fingers

paralyzed and having limited use of my arms. We all struggle with some form of

obstacle and it is important to push ourselves to reach beyond expectations. Thanks

Richard, for providing this platform.

Jay Stephens and Family

Here is what Jay said about our family. Thank you Jay. We are family, thank you for sharing.

"Cartoonists are a tight-knit bunch.

A couple of years ago I spent 8 weeks in hospital recuperating from the rather nasty side effects of debilitating mental illness. As part of the ongoing treatment, my doctor recommended openly discussing my clinical depression with others, which I did, and continue to do. As expected, the diagnosis scared off many friends and family, some of whom abandoned me to my fate.

But not the cartoonists.

By a wide margin, those in the cartooning profession extended the most heartfelt sympathies, the kindest words of support, and extended the warmest hands of friendship. I felt so encouraged by that unconditional support, and will never forget it.

Cartoonists let me know in no uncertain terms that they are Family. Richard Thompson is my Brother. This is for him."

Mr Dander's Daydreams

Jonathan Lemon who does Rabbits Against Magic (a U|U feature) sent is this! Everyone loves Mr.Danders More on Mr lemon soon!

Brian Anderson of Dog eat Doug

Brian's earliest cartoon memories are of drawing James Bond-esque comics in second grade. His cartoons appeared in monthly grammar school newsletters and then jumped to the St. John's High School Paper (where he promptly found himself in the Principal's office to explain the meaning of a giant soap-on-rope that had crushed a small sedan).

Public debate over his cartoons followed him to Holy Cross, where next to the sports section, his strip was the most read feature. Escaping the walls of Academia in 1996, Brian pursued a career as a graphic designer and comic book artist. With comic book work scarcer then Metalica songs at a wedding, Brian published his own comic book series "Absence of Light." He also worked as an editorial cartoonist for his hometown newspaper, "The Town Crier."

Brian sent his college strip to the Syndicates in 1998. Although there was interest in developing the feature, Brian knew this wasn't THEE strip for him. For the next few years Brian spread his focus on his dark comic book visions and fledgling screenwriting career.

All that changed in 2003. In a matter of months he became a Husband, a homeowner, and father of a chocolate lab puppy. With the support of his wife, Tammy, and the inspiration of his dog, Sophie, he created "Dog eat Doug." The daily strip debuted online in 2004 and launched in newspapers in 2005. The strip continues to enjoy a growing, international fan base.

"Harbor Moon", a graphic novel based on one of Brian's screenplay's was released in March. And his next picture book, "The Prince's New Pet" will hit shelves this fall.

www.dogeatdoug.com

www.theconjurers.com

www.harbor-moon.com

www.theprincesnewpet.com

Cul de Sac meets The Pajama Diaries

Terri Libenson of “The Pajama Diaries” just sent this to us! Having a two year old, I can relate and be scared!

Thank you so much Terri! Please check out “The Pajama Diaries" link below!

www.pajamadiaries.com

Terri Libenson is the cartoonist of the syndicated comic strip, “The Pajama Diaries,” which details the personal life of Jill Kaplan, a contemporary working mom trying to juggle it all. Terri is also a long-time humorous card writer for American Greetings Corp.

Terri graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1992 with a BFA in illustration. She developed her first professional comic strip, “Got a Life,” in 2000, which was distributed by King Features Weekly service. “The Pajama Diaries” was launched with King in 2006 and runs in newspapers nationally and overseas. Currently, Terri lives with her husband and two daughters in Cleveland, OH.

Roger Langridge and Little Neuro

I met Roger last year at Heroescon. He is such a sweet and wonderful guy. Roger is one of the most talented people in comics. I am thrilled he is part of Team Cul de Sac.

Here is more about Roger:

"Roger Langridge has been producing comics for over twenty years. Most recently, he has attracted critical attention for his work on the Harvey Award-winningMuppet Show Comic Book (Boom! Studios) and Thor: The Mighty Avenger (Marvel Comics); other works of note include Marvel's Fin Fang Four, Fantagraphics'Zoot! and Art d'Ecco (in collaboration with his brother Andrew), and his self-published comic book and web strip Fred the Clown. He is currently working on a new series, Snarked!, for Boom! Studios."

Roger had this to say about Richard :

"As for Richard: I've been fortunate enough to meet Richard Thompson on a few occasions at comic conventions and to have a chance to talk to him over a drink or a meal. I love the way his wit works - he can be talking about something apparently seriously, then, with great comic understatement, he'll just slip in a zinger in the most casual way, to devastating effect, as if it were the most effortless thing - as if he himself didn't even notice it. His comics work the same way. He is also one of those great rarities, somebody who doesn't open his mouth unless he has something interesting to say. Fortunately, Richard Thompson has a lot of interesting things to say!"