Good and bad news from Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson. He posted on his blog today that he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that affects body muscle and movement. The good news is that he says that it hasn’t affected his drawing hand and the disease is treatable.
On his blog he writes:
For the last year or so I’ve noticed a few odd symptoms; shakiness, hoarseness, silly walks, random clumsiness and the like. So the other day I went to see a neurologist and, after having me me jump through hoops, stand on my head and juggle chain saws, he said I’ve got Parkinson’s. It’s a pain in the fundament and it slows me down, but it hasn’t really affected my drawing hand at all and it’s treatable . And it could be a useful ploy in my ever-losing battle against deadlines.
Best of luck to you, Richard. I’m looking forward to many more decades of Cul de Sac.
Incidentally, my family and I are riding in a Pedal for Parkinson’s bike fund raiser later this month. What was a “for fun” event now takes on a more personal reason for participating.
Richard is immensely talented and is also a flat out nice guy. I hope the best for him.
Wow, what a cruel break for a spectacularly gifted creator. My prayers are with him. I’ll look forward to seeing you at many more Reuben Awards, Richard!
Keep that sense of humor, Richard. Your strip is fantastic by the way. Best wishes.
Hang in there, Richard, please reach out to your fellow cartoonists if you ever feel the need. We act all solitary at our drawing tables but we pull together for a colleague in need. And keep drawing!
Holding his cigarette like a pen, Frost began tapping it lightly against his drawing board. “You spend your entire life trying to get somewhere, only to fall right back to where you began. It’s a terrible feeling. The mind still full of ideas, but the body unwilling to cooperate.” The old man’s heart ached …
(The Last of the Funnies, pg.42)
My heart aches for Richard. I hope he overcomes this challenge.
My thoughts are with Richard and I believe he will overcome this challenge and be able to grace us with his outstanding work.
All the best to you Richard. You are an outstanding talent.
There’s nothing wrong with the comic industry that a few dozen Richard Thompsons won’t cure. Richard, you’re the most refreshing talent out there today. I’m sending all of my positive thoughts to you.
keep the faith fella!
All the best to you Richard, que Dios te de fuerza y salud para seguir cultivando tu talento.
Richard is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever not met, and I hope to continue our cyber-relationship, should we continue not meeting.
I know he’ll pull through.
Thanks for all the very kind words. No worries just yet. But I was anxious that if I walked silly at Comic Con and dropped things people might think I’d been drinking and couldn’t hold it.
And I can honestly say that I’ve never been prouder to be a part of the large, scattered, contentious & loving family that cartoonists are, if that’s grammatical.