Cul de Sac (comic strip)

Cul de Sac (2004-2012) was a Mundane Fantastic comic set in suburbia, chronicling the adventures of Alice, a child in preschool, her brother, Petey, a neurotic and absurdly Picky Eater, and their family, friends and neighbors.

Started as a Sundays-only strip in the Washington Post Magazine. The setting was explicitly somewhere in suburban DC, but after going to nation-wide syndication in September of 2007, the setting changed to a more generic suburb, though there are still references to the original setting.

Can be read here. Has nothing to do with the Roman Polanski film.


 * The Alleged Car: Dad's car runs perfectly fine, but it's apparently small enough to fit in a bathtub or get buried in a sandbox.
 * Ancient Conspiracy: The 'Future Adults of America' society. One day, they will control everything.
 * Art Evolution: Like most other comic strips, Thompson's character designs have evolved. For example Alice originally had long hair, and Petey was much more rounded-looking.
 * Art Shift: Whenever a comic by Petey, Andre, or Loris appears.
 * Beleaguered Bureaucrat: The dad started off like this, when the setting was explicitly in DC.
 * Berserk Button: Don't call Sophie "New Kid" or "Soapie" over and over again.
 * Characterization Marches On: Petey was a bit more of a Jerkass in the early years of the newspaper run, but quickly evolved into the neurotic grumpy mess we know and love today.
 * Clap Your Hands If You Believe: The origin of Ernesto. Well, maybe.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Pretty much everyone in the strip, but especially Ernesto, to the point where Petey's convinced Ernesto is a figment of his imagination.
 * Alice's friend Dill is also pretty out there -- he peeks in on Alice's family through the mail slot and claims he can hear everyone in the world (including Santa Claus) with his hat.
 * Cul de Sac is Cloudcuckooland
 * Eldritch Location: The jungle gym. It's apparently alive and continually growing.
 * Freudian Trio: Petey ,Andre and Loris form one of these.
 * The Ghost: Dill's brothers are frequently referred to, but never actually seen.
 * One was seen in a July 4 strip, wearing a giant George Washington head.
 * Halloween Episode: Theres a set of Halloween strips every october, interspersed with regular strips.
 * Large Ham: Ernesto, Mr. Danders, Alice, Dill, Petey when he's upset. Actually, enough are like this to qualify for World of Ham.
 * Little Professor Dialog
 * Meaningful Name: Otterloop. Of the Beltway. Say it slowly.
 * Memetic Mutation: In-universe example; the size of Grandma's dog Big Shirley.
 * Mundane Fantastic: Petey's various adventures.
 * Never Mess with Granny: Grandma Otterloop throws deviled eggs at passing cars.
 * No Indoor Voice: Alice can be like this. And Andre at cartoon camp.
 * No Name Given: Averted. Both parents names are known (much to the chagrin of Alice); dad is Peter senior, and mom is Madeline, and her maiden name is Urqhart.
 * One-Two Punchline: The "two punchlines in last panel" variation is frequently seen.
 * Our Werewolves Are Different: Ernesto's lycanthropy is caused by a food allergy.
 * Picky Eater: Petey takes great pride in it.
 * Put on a Bus: Mr. Danders, the talking guinea pig, hasn't been seen in some time.
 * He reappeared; he's 'working' at a petting-zoo/animal centre type place, so Commuting on a Bus?
 * Serious Business: For Dill, shopping carts.
 * Shout-Out/Crossover: PJ Piehole's a 'restaurant' that appears in Thompson's other comic 'Richard's Poor Almanac' was the subject of onw strip and a source of angst for Petey.
 * Petey's Little Neuro comics.
 * Sixth Ranger: Sophie
 * Summer Campy: Both the 2010 and 2011 summers, but with a day camp. For Alice it's Camp Blisshaven(Basically a camp version of her pre-school) and for Petey it's Cartoon Camp(where he and other kids draw comics and what not). Notable for introducing Sophie, Andre and Cloris.
 * That Cloud Looks Like...
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Often invoked by Petey or Alice.
 * Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Odd example, in that the strip was originally located in the suburbs of Washington DC. After the strip became nationally syndicated, the setting changed to a more generic suburb.
 * Women Are Wiser: The mother, Miss Bliss, Nara.