Team Cul de Sac

As some of you might know, Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac is without question my favorite comic strip from the last decade. It does a better job of capturing the essence of children than just about any other narrative I've ever encountered. It's phenomenal. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're a fan of Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts, you should be picking up these collections. I'm lucky enough to have an original hanging on my wall, and it's one of my most prized possessions. Last year, Richard announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a deginerative nervous system disorder that often manifests itself in uncontrollable tremors and shaking, which is terrible for anyone but is especially horrifying for someone whose job and passion is to have pretty much infallible control over his or her hands. Luckily, he seems to be doing well and is still perfectly capable of making some of the most wonderful comics ever produced. I got to join Richard and a few friends for dinner last year in Charlotte, and with us was Chris Sparks, one of Richard's friends and the fella in charge of his web page. Chris has since taken on the task of preparing a benefit for Richard called Team Cul de Sac. Cartoonists of all stripes are doing their take on characters from Richard's strip. Some of the art will be collected into a book being published by Andrews McNeel, and all of it will go to auction.  The money will be used for Parkinson's Disease research through the Michael J Fox Foundation, whose stated mission is to cure the disease.    Here is my piece:

click the image for a full-sized version As soon as I find out details about the auction, I'll post them.  There will be a lot of great stuff on there.  I do want to note that, in order to ensure that the piece raises as much money at auction as is able, this will be the only Cul de Sac drawing I will ever do, or at least the only one that will ever be available for sale.  Again, I'll be sure to let everyone know details about the book and auction as soon as I know them.  One note - the drawing is actually in gray marker wash; I added the hues digitally, after seeing that many other contributing artists had done the same. If any cartoonists wish to contribute and have not yet done so, fret not; the deadline has been extended to June 18th.