Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for March 13, 2012

Oh goody, gerbil this year!

Do your eyes look as big as Alice’s in that 4th panel, marg?

It’s not looking too good for May.

April this year: out like a gerbil, ehh? Petey is not exactly picking on his little sister, but he is amusing himself at her expense. I think. Maybe not. It’s not easy to say what Petey is thinking about, other than Little Neuro and the security of his own bedroom.

Petey has Big Nate feet. Lincoln’s doing a great job with this strip this week.

John Belushi did a routine like this in the early years of SNL here’s the link to the YouTube videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMZFpf-1wp0

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

Pilgrims! Duh!

@DCStark… or June bugs …

Love it.

During his medical leave, is Richard Thompson writing the strip, while others are drawing it, or are the substitutes doing everything?

Careful with April this month. You don’t know where it has been.

You can get sooo much information from big brothers.

Lincoln, I think you have kept the Otterloops and company pretty true to form. All of you.

I have been really pleased with how each guest comic has kept the flow and natural humor of Richard’s comic like the original.

According to Richard’s blog, he just unleashed the subs and told them to have fun. It would be cool if Alice & Petey ran into Big Nate!

Petey looks awful. Just sayin.

The guest artist captured Alice’s big-eye look perfectly! Well done! And funny strip, too. :D

This one seems to have the old Richard wit going for it, but try as I might, I miss the drawing of RT too much to appreciate a stand-in.

I’ll say this—if the script isn’t given, this one’s pretty good for writing and art!

I like it too

Of course, when it’s Chinese New Year, th dragons show up and things get epic…

Richard is not writing the guest strips.

The Lion roared last night in Portland. 2 inches of snow on the ground this morning! About 18 inches up on Mt Hood.

Man, how does Peirce do two strips at once?

I’m just signing on now, so maybe I missed earlier comments, but did anyone notice that the drawing of the weekday strip changed on Feb 20? The writing seemed to change, as well — almost looks like a different artist began drawing/writing the weekday strips (not Sundays, though, which still look like the Richard Thompson of pre-Feb 20).

OK, I finally read the rest of the comments like I should have before writing in… I don’t feel too stupid… how long is the med leave?

So many ways I could have messed with my little brother’s head and I blew it!

Chevy Chase:Last week we made the comment that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Now here to reply is our chief meteorologist, John Belushi, with a seasonal report.

John Belushi:Thank you Chevy. Well, another winter is almost over and March true to form has come in like a lion, and hopefully will go out like a lamb. At least that’s how March works here in the United States.

But did you know that March behaves differently in other countries? In Norway, for example, March comes in like a polar bear and goes out like a walrus. Or, take the case of Honduras where March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt marsh harvest mouse.

Let’s compare this to the Maldive Islands where March comes in like a wildebeest and goes out like an ant. A tiny, little ant about this big.

[holds thumb and index fingers a small distance apart]

Unlike the Malay Peninsula where March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird and goes out like a worm-eating fernbird. In fact, their whole year is like a worm-eating fernbird.

Or consider the Republic of South Africa where March comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. Like one has a mane, and one doesn’t have a mane. Or in certain parts of South America where March swims in like a sea otter, and then it slithers out like a giant anaconda.

There you can buy land real cheap, you know? And there’s a country where March hops in like a kangaroo, and stays a kangaroo for a while, and then it becomes a slightly smaller kangaroo. Then, then, then for a couple of days it’s sort of a cross between a, a frilled lizard and a common house cat.

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Wait wait wait wait. Then it changes back into a smaller kangaroo, and then it goes out like a, like a wild dingo. Now, now, and it’s not Australia! Now, now, you’d think it would be Australia, but it’s not!

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Now look, pal! I know a country where March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir. And they don’t even know what it means! All right? Now listen, there are nine different countries, where March comes in like a frog, and goes out like a golden retriever. But that- that’s not the weird part! No, no, the weird part is, is the frog. The frog- The weird part is-

[has seizure and falls off chair]