This was my introduction to Alice and her family. While parts were funny and cute I think this probably wasn't the best way to meet them. ( )

I was heartbroken when "Calvin and Hobbes" ended its run, but I've come to see "Cul de Sac" as a worthy replacement, and my favorite current comic strip. Alice is a hyper-everything four-year-old girl who of course is the center of the universe, but she's never (well, rarely) mean about it. Her older brother Petey is a nervous neurotic ultra-picky eater whose fondest wish is to hole up in his room with his comic books and avoid as much life as possible. The parents are great, aware of their childrens' oddities, faults and foibles and not being concerned because, by golly, it's just a foregone conclusion their kids are great and will grow up happy. Which is as fine a parental mindset as I can think of. Richard Thompson deservedly won the Reuben award last year, and I only hope he is able to live a long and happy life as my favorite current cartoonist despite the Parkinson's disease that forced him to turn the strip over to other cartoonists for a time (which was actually a fun and enthralling experiment, but I was glad to see the return of Richard). ( )

Cul-De-Sac is one of those all too rare comics that has something for everyone to enjoy. From Petey’s quest to be the world’s number one picky eater and his exploding backpack to Alice’s quest to take over the world and to make it snow by flushing ice cubes down the toilet, you can’t help but laugh at every strip in this comic. Thompson captures the world so effortlessly with his drawings and writings that you feel like you need to buy a copy for all of your friends. It’s easy to see why Bill Watterson (yes the guy that created Calvin and Hobbes) praises this strip. If you can’t find something that you enjoy about this collection please check your pulse to make sure you aren’t really a zombie in disguise….and even then you should still enjoy it. ( )