Richard Thompson is GOOD.

One of my xmas/hanukkah gifts this year was a recently published, collected comic strip by Richard Thompson called CUL DE SAC. I first heard about Thompson and CUL DE SAC on one of my fave comics news sources, The Comics Reporter. It was a while ago. Since then, I've peeped in on Thompson's blog time and again, and I've occasionally looked in on his strip online. It's syndicated, but not all over the place. It should be. ALL over the place. This is the best mainstream strip I can remember since CALVIN AND HOBBES. It's hilarious, super-smart, and the best drawn thing I've seen in a freakin while. Bill Watterson even does the foreword on the book, saying pretty much the same stuff. It's sharp, wise, and kid-friendly like PEANUTS or CALVIN, absurd like BLOOM COUNTY, and drawings that'll knock your socks off like Ralph Steadman or somesuch. I really loved when, early on, he was coloring with watercolor. But that stops several pages into the book. I assume he quit to save time and it was probably a pain from a production standpoint.

At the request and permission of no one, I will hereby reproduce some of my favorite strips from this book, starting with the cover (click images to zoom and get a better read).