Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for December 02, 2009

Why that’d be just perfect for your room, Alice!

Does anyone else wish these were still posted in black and white? I’m not digging the color. Richard Thompson is the best artist working in syndication and the coloring takes away from his beautiful line work.

Well, if it’s Baroque, fix it!

Sean1256–yeah, I agree! The Boston Globe colorized their daily comics last year and I couldn’t figure out why it annoyed me, until now.

I like the color comics. In comics like BC, it makes it easier to tell who is who because all the guys who look similar all have different color hair. Wiley & Clumsy are the only ones who are easy to tell apart from the rest.

At least it doesn’t have cherubs relieving themselves!

but mom,instead of water, we could fill it with soda

Sorry, Mom, it’s not the Nat Geo - it’s the Toscano catalog. Now just buy the durn thing for Alice!

I cast my vote for black and white, in most cases (including this one). Most daily strips are drawn to be reproduced in B&W, with the shadings and line quality balanced for the proper effect. Check out how different Sunday strips look before color is added, to really see the difference in drawing technique.

Just slapping color on to a line drawing that’s already been shaded with cross-hatching and/or zip-a-tone results in an end-product that looks muddy.

Sean1256 has a point. On further consideration, however, it appears that it is not the color per se but the heavy hand with which it is appied. It appears to me that a more Thompsonesque hand would have let the fountain alone.

I love the color. Funny enough I think the best color panel IS the fountain.

“What is Mom’s name? Anybody know?”

All I know is that Alice doesn’t know it. There was one strip where Alice said “If Mom had a real name besides ‘Mom’, I’d remember it.” (Mom had just called Alice “Petey” by mistake.)

The parents are Madeline (maiden name “Urquhart”) and Peter.

fritzoid: agree completely about B&W. “Bliss” is a good example - the great lines are not the same in color. Ruins the art, I think.

Rats, and to think I missed that issue of Nat’l Geographic!