Richard Thompson (1957-2016)
July 27, 2016 10:29 AM Subscribe
Another death from the cartooning world is being reported today: the great Jack Davis. Damn.
posted by non canadian guy at 10:41 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by non canadian guy at 10:41 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh no. As an Alice who grew up in suburbia driving her older brother nuts, I immediately felt a special connection to Cul de Sac when I first saw the strip. I recently checked out The Art of Richard Thompson from the library and was amazed at how wonderful and incredibly witty his non-CdS work was as well.
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posted by btfreek at 10:43 AM on July 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
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posted by btfreek at 10:43 AM on July 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
Cul de Sac was a wonderful and sweet adventure. We lost a talented artist and writer today.
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posted by Fizz at 10:44 AM on July 27, 2016
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posted by Fizz at 10:44 AM on July 27, 2016
Another death from the cartooning world is being reported today: the great Jack Davis. Damn.
Oh damn. Thompson is a real loss, but Jack Davis?
I can't even...
fuck
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posted by Thorzdad at 10:48 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh damn. Thompson is a real loss, but Jack Davis?
I can't even...
fuck
2
0
1
6
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posted by Thorzdad at 10:48 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Very sad. Cul de Sac is wonderful, I read it every day.
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posted by Bee'sWing at 10:50 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Bee'sWing at 10:50 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
I started reading the strip in sequence when I found it online some months ago, binging on a couple of weeks at the time. Funny, with great character design. Sad to hear this.
And Jack Davis too? Loved his EC work and his immediately recognizable style. Whether on a TV Guide or other magazine cover or an ad or anywhere, his "look" was unmistakable.
aav.
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posted by the sobsister at 10:51 AM on July 27, 2016
And Jack Davis too? Loved his EC work and his immediately recognizable style. Whether on a TV Guide or other magazine cover or an ad or anywhere, his "look" was unmistakable.
aav.
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posted by the sobsister at 10:51 AM on July 27, 2016
Aw, now you've got me rereading Cul de Sac from the beginning instead of doing actual work. Behold, possibly the only use of the verb "degauss" in newspaper comics.
posted by btfreek at 10:53 AM on July 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by btfreek at 10:53 AM on July 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'd had "The Complete Cul de Sec" on my wishlist for ages. Basically since Watterson did the portrait. I'd only ever read a smattering of his work, but knowing how much he was respected by other artists always kept me interested.
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posted by DigDoug at 10:56 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by DigDoug at 10:56 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Art of Richard Thompson Vimeo. For when you have a spare 21:22 minutes.
posted by BWA at 10:57 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by BWA at 10:57 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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Super sad.
His disease brought Bill Watterson out of retirement, once with his Petey Otterloop painting, then again by ghost drawing Pearls Before Swine.
Every time my 5 year old does a dance on a manhole cover I think of Alice.
posted by rouftop at 11:13 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Super sad.
His disease brought Bill Watterson out of retirement, once with his Petey Otterloop painting, then again by ghost drawing Pearls Before Swine.
Every time my 5 year old does a dance on a manhole cover I think of Alice.
posted by rouftop at 11:13 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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As many of the great things in my life, I discovered his work here on the blue. I was already missing his art, now I will be missing the man.
posted by madamepsychosis at 11:30 AM on July 27, 2016
As many of the great things in my life, I discovered his work here on the blue. I was already missing his art, now I will be missing the man.
posted by madamepsychosis at 11:30 AM on July 27, 2016
Dammit dammit dammit. I hate that the fucking disease robbed us of years of his work even before he died.
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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:30 AM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:30 AM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by skycrashesdown at 11:45 AM on July 27, 2016
posted by skycrashesdown at 11:45 AM on July 27, 2016
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I got into Cul de Sac after a Metafilter post last year. It's become my six-year-old daughter's daily read. This news is heartbreaking.
posted by drezdn at 11:50 AM on July 27, 2016
I got into Cul de Sac after a Metafilter post last year. It's become my six-year-old daughter's daily read. This news is heartbreaking.
posted by drezdn at 11:50 AM on July 27, 2016
This is one of my favorites.
I have this one up in my office.
posted by drezdn at 11:55 AM on July 27, 2016
I have this one up in my office.
posted by drezdn at 11:55 AM on July 27, 2016
At first I felt some relief when I saw this and realized it wasn't the guitarist Richard Thompson. Then I was reminded of how great Cul de Sac is, and I was heartbroken.
The world is a little stranger and more humorous for his work.
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posted by pxe2000 at 12:08 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The world is a little stranger and more humorous for his work.
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posted by pxe2000 at 12:08 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Smart Dalek at 12:12 PM on July 27, 2016
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:12 PM on July 27, 2016
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Oh god, I'm so sorry for this loss, especially for his daughters.
I've managed to keep it together through a lot of geopolitical turmoil lately but this is what just pushed me over the edge into tears.
I've loved his work for a long time, but I'm at least glad I was able to reach out and tell him so--he had a public email and responded to notes from readers. My mom always said when she read the strip it was like he was looking in our window (through a time machine--I think she still has one of my dioramas in the closet of my childhood bedroom).
I was just talking to my students about one of my favorite Cul de Sac strips, where Petey is trying to teach Alice how to read comics but she doesn't understand how panels work. I love how it illustrates all the mental jumps and assumptions that reading a comic relies on. I wrote my dissertation on comics and my parents got me a print of that strip as a present--maybe this will motivate me to hang it up.
God. Fish-slapping bears and pangolins and malware-infected Christmas sweaters and the uh-oh baby and pushing stuff through the mail chute and the tiny car and comics camp and Little Neuro...rest well, sir. I won't forget you.
posted by Tesseractive at 12:37 PM on July 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
Oh god, I'm so sorry for this loss, especially for his daughters.
I've managed to keep it together through a lot of geopolitical turmoil lately but this is what just pushed me over the edge into tears.
I've loved his work for a long time, but I'm at least glad I was able to reach out and tell him so--he had a public email and responded to notes from readers. My mom always said when she read the strip it was like he was looking in our window (through a time machine--I think she still has one of my dioramas in the closet of my childhood bedroom).
I was just talking to my students about one of my favorite Cul de Sac strips, where Petey is trying to teach Alice how to read comics but she doesn't understand how panels work. I love how it illustrates all the mental jumps and assumptions that reading a comic relies on. I wrote my dissertation on comics and my parents got me a print of that strip as a present--maybe this will motivate me to hang it up.
God. Fish-slapping bears and pangolins and malware-infected Christmas sweaters and the uh-oh baby and pushing stuff through the mail chute and the tiny car and comics camp and Little Neuro...rest well, sir. I won't forget you.
posted by Tesseractive at 12:37 PM on July 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
I'll do the talking because I have the stick.
posted by drezdn at 12:51 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by drezdn at 12:51 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by hot_monster at 1:35 PM on July 27, 2016
posted by hot_monster at 1:35 PM on July 27, 2016
This one has long been my favorite. I've been saddened by the inexplicable since I was a child also.
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:18 PM on July 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:18 PM on July 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
So sad. I've been a fan of his work for years, it was so fresh and vivid.
posted by PussKillian at 2:33 PM on July 27, 2016
posted by PussKillian at 2:33 PM on July 27, 2016
Cul De Sac was the second coming of Calvin and Hobbes, in terms of sheer quality. I thought he was getting better, medically, he had brain surgery to help his seizures a while back. The day Cul De Sac ended was the saddest day for comics in a long while, at least until today.
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posted by JHarris at 2:45 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by JHarris at 2:45 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
"What's the matter Dill? Are you being sad? Maybe you need to rock. Let's go sit in the rocker for a while."
I think we all need to sit in the rocker for a while.
posted by JHarris at 2:47 PM on July 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I think we all need to sit in the rocker for a while.
posted by JHarris at 2:47 PM on July 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
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posted by oneswellfoop at 2:59 PM on July 27, 2016
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:59 PM on July 27, 2016
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posted by mon-ma-tron at 3:23 PM on July 27, 2016
posted by mon-ma-tron at 3:23 PM on July 27, 2016
This one made breathing kind of out of the question for a surprisingly long time.
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posted by jamjam at 3:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by jamjam at 3:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh so sad about this news. My favorite.
posted by initapplette at 3:27 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by initapplette at 3:27 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
In 2012, when Thompson announced his retirement, we at SPX talked about what we could do for him to honor his career. We don't have a lifetime achievement award or anything, and we bounced some ideas back and forth. We decided it would be most appropriate to give him an Ignatz Award, but a special one. We couldn't decide what would make it special, though. The award is, literally, a brick, after all.
I joked "What if we just paint it gold?" And that seemed funny enough and well within spirit of the award.
So I spray-painted a brick gold for Richard Thompson and it's the thing I'm most proud of having done as Ignatz coordinator. And possibly in life, honestly.
Sadly, I never met Thompson, although I love Cul de Sac. As everyone should. Because it's wonderful.
posted by darksong at 3:47 PM on July 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
I joked "What if we just paint it gold?" And that seemed funny enough and well within spirit of the award.
So I spray-painted a brick gold for Richard Thompson and it's the thing I'm most proud of having done as Ignatz coordinator. And possibly in life, honestly.
Sadly, I never met Thompson, although I love Cul de Sac. As everyone should. Because it's wonderful.
posted by darksong at 3:47 PM on July 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
I was fortunate enough to read Cul De Sac from the start, since it originated in my 'local' newspaper, the Wash. Post. We had that strip for far too short a time.
Most sincere condolences to his family; thanks for sharing him with us.
posted by easily confused at 4:58 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Most sincere condolences to his family; thanks for sharing him with us.
posted by easily confused at 4:58 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Am I the only one who had palpitations seeing the name "Richard Thompson" and thought of the other one?
No? Never mind, sorry for the /derail. Carry on...
posted by e-man at 9:12 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
No? Never mind, sorry for the /derail. Carry on...
posted by e-man at 9:12 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
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Back in 1990 I went to great trouble to take photographs to accompany an article of mine that was appearing in Air & Space/Smithsonian, and then the editor told me they’d decided to use artwork instead. My disappointment lasted until I saw Richard Thompson’s illustration, which was perfect. Never met him, but the people I know who did really admired him personally as well as professionally.
posted by LeLiLo at 9:23 PM on July 27, 2016
Back in 1990 I went to great trouble to take photographs to accompany an article of mine that was appearing in Air & Space/Smithsonian, and then the editor told me they’d decided to use artwork instead. My disappointment lasted until I saw Richard Thompson’s illustration, which was perfect. Never met him, but the people I know who did really admired him personally as well as professionally.
posted by LeLiLo at 9:23 PM on July 27, 2016
I don't know how I remained unaware of Cul de Sac until after Thompson had already ended the strip. When I did discover it I devoured the entire run in one go from beginning to end, and for a distressingly short time my delight knew no bounds...yet it had a slightly bittersweet streak through it that somehow made it even sweeter. I almost turned around and read the whole thing again, but decided to wait awhile and savor it. I think now is the time.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Obituary in the Comic Riffs column at his former employer.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:25 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thompson's cartoon about being a cartoonist from one of the many tributes today.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:35 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:35 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Am I the only one who had palpitations seeing the name "Richard Thompson" and thought of the other one?
That was exactly my reaction too.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:13 AM on July 28, 2016
That was exactly my reaction too.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:13 AM on July 28, 2016
To those of us lucky enough to be in that sphere of knowledge, we had exactly those same palpitations when we read the name, except we didn't have the relief afterward of realizing we were mistaken. Richard Thompson the cartoonist is --was-- a genius, equal with Bill Watterson, one of the few people both capable of creating an excellent comic strip in the twenty-first century and capable of wanting to do so.
The musician may be more acclaimed, but he also has many more people in his sphere of knowledge to acclaim him.
posted by JHarris at 3:43 AM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
The musician may be more acclaimed, but he also has many more people in his sphere of knowledge to acclaim him.
posted by JHarris at 3:43 AM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm discovering his work for the first time through the strips some of you are linking, and I like them very much. Leaving laughter and joy behind after you are gone is a great gift.
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posted by Songdog at 4:05 AM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Songdog at 4:05 AM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I haven't read newspaper comics in a very long time because most of them are just so gosh-darned bad. I've been plowing through Cul de Sac since it was linked here yesterday and I'm just blown away by how good the writing and the art style are. I thought that comics with this kind of distinctiveness and charm had died out a very long time ago.
The whole thing is very, very sad. Thank you for the post.
posted by no mind at 9:17 AM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The whole thing is very, very sad. Thank you for the post.
posted by no mind at 9:17 AM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
RC Harvey's 2012 article on Cul de Sac from The Comics Journal is well worth reading.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:01 AM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 5:01 AM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I get a daily RSS feed of old Calvin and Hobbes strips and I got a Sunday strip today that is so perfect for the "Donald and Hobbes" meme of substituting Trump's face for Calvin's. I still suspect that fact that the Little Asshole Calvin became a "beloved character" is one of the reasons Dishonest Donald has been considered "socially acceptable". And I so wish that Richard Thompson had lived and worked long enough to make Cul-De-Sac as successful as C&H. Its kids are SO much better role models - even Petey.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:51 AM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:51 AM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
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what a shame. Cul de Sac was the best thing in newspaper cartooning to come around for a long time.
posted by dismas at 10:36 AM on July 27, 2016 [5 favorites]