Chris Sparks, Richard Thompson og Mike Rhode Compleating Cul de Sac, 2nd edition.

The Complete Cul de Sac isn’t. Complete, that is. Compiling it while ill, Richard accidentally left out some strips. Others were purposely left out, either because he had redrawn them for syndication, or they were too tied to the Washington, D.C. origins of the strip to make sense for a worldwide audience, or he “just felt some were not funny.” Over 100 are not in The Complete CDS. But if you’re a cartoon completist, or just want a little bit more CDS, we understand and we’re here for you. We’ve collected the lost water-colored Washington Post Magazine strips, the early inchoate musings about what the strip should be, the promotional material, the sketches for fans, and finally some fugitive Team Cul de Sac charity art. This whole book is about community—the people that loved Richard and CDS and what he gave to us and what we tried to give back to him. As Anna Straight noted when sending in a contribution, “Cul de Sac integrated into our lives and became the running comedy track for our family.” With Richard’s blessing, or at least active acquiescence, any money the book makes will go to Team Cul de Sac to fight Parkinson’s disease. We initially published this as a print-on-demand book through Lulu in 2015, but after Richard passed away, people have continued to do tributes to him and the strip, and we were glad to take the opportunity to add over 100 pages of artwork and interviews to a new edition.