News Release

Welcoming “Cul de Sac” to Universal Press Syndicate

Kansas City  (06/11/2007)  Richard Thompson’s “Cul de Sac,” a comic strip about the life of a pre-school girl named Alice Otterloop, has joined Universal Press Syndicate's family of comics and will begin syndication in Sept. 2007.

Thompson has been creating “Cul de Sac” for the Washington Post for three years. For the past 10 years, he has created the weekly comic, “Richard’s Poor Almanac” also for the Washington Post.

“Cul de Sac” is already getting nods of approval from cartoonists such as Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes, who states: "Thompson has a sharp eye, a fun sense of language and a charmingly odd take on the world. Best of all, his drawings are wonderful – something one doesn’t often see in cartoons anymore. I have high hopes that Thompson will bring a much-needed jolt of energy to the daily newspaper. I'm delighted to see ‘Cul de Sac.’ We have a real talent here. "

Tom Shroder, editor of The Washington Post Magazine says that “Cul de Sac” is one of the magazine’s most popular features. A random December 2006 web survey placed it in the top third of recurring features, he added.

Thompson is a recipient of the National Cartoonists Society Magazine and Book Illustration Award and Newspaper Illustration Award. He also won a Gold and a Silver Funny Bone Award from the Society of Illustrators for humorous illustration. He also received the Milton F. "Sonny" Clogg Alumni of the Year award in 2004 from Montgomery College in Rockfield, Md.

When he's not at his drawing board, Thompson enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters at their home in Arlington, Virginia.

Creator(s):

Contact(s): Kathie Kerr

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