Gags That Don’t Kill

There’s no worse feeling than having a comic that doesn’t work.  You know – a BAD joke.  I’ve had a few misses in my journey, and it’s something I desperately try to avoid like a cold sore (especially at this point).

I try to be like a Chef Ramsay of cartooning – I try not to  let crap leave the kitchen.

But, sometimes, I have some ‘toons that don’t quite hit the mark.  And if they do slip past the gate and end up out there in the public, it sometimes doesn’t dawn on me that it wasn’t that great until I hear from a different source.  Then, that’s when I truly look at it objectively, and realize that it probably wasn’t the best work I could offer.  And just like an undercooked pork chop, I send it back to the kitchen to get it right.

I really try to demand quality of my material.  And beyond that, the competitive nature of me tries to outdo the next guy.

The good thing about having a crappy cartoon on occasion though is I tend to learn a lot from it.  I try to never make the same mistakes, and improve on it.  And if I make the same mistake, I scratch my head and try to figure out who’s managing this place (which is me, so really I’m scratching the managers head).

In saying all of that, there are times I do a gag that I personally enjoy, and someone else won’t.  That’s bound to happen, but generally, I don’t feel too bad about these.  Every comic I do, my biggest rule of thumb is that if I don’t laugh at it, or find it amusing, the general public won’t either.  So, if I do like something, it seems to work out well that someone else out there will like it as well.  BUT – blame it on a warped mind…I guess – there are moments when the joke doesn’t hit with anyone but myself.

In general, over the past year especially, I’ve been extra-hard on myself to make sure the crap doesn’t leave the studio.  And if it does, I guess I’ll have to find a way to take it off your tab.

Break of Day Debut in the Newspaper is Set!

I announced this on Facebook a week or so ago, but yes, the rumors are true.  Break of Day is making its newspaper debut on May 2nd!

We will be in the funny pages five days a week, premiering in the Tampa Bay Times (TBT*).  For me, this is the absolute best paper I could imagine debuting in.  As an analogy, this is like The Doors playing at the Whiskey A Go-Go.  TBT is the fastest growing newspaper around here, with well over 146,000 daily readers and 205,100 weekend readers.  It’s a great launching pad for eventual expansion into more territory.  And it’s owned and operated by The St Petersburg Times – Florida’s largest newspaper.

I love this paper too, because the general audience is younger and the paper has an “edge” to it.  Just right for Break of Day.  (You know, we get to the edge sometimes.)

I’m the only non-syndicated comic in the paper, so I’ll be next to Dilbert and Pearls Before Swine, so it’s quite the honor to be amongst the pros.

This is a launching pad, and I can promise you that the journey has just begun for the feature.  We’ll be hitting more newspapers momentarily (or the I-Pad…whatever comes first).  There is some more exciting things in the works right now for Break of Day, so we’ll keep you filled in here.

So, fly down to Florida on May 2nd and grab a copy or two.  It’s worth the trip!  (And stop by the beach while your at it!)

MAD 509

I’ve got another “wet” Twisted Toaster Tales that I wrote and illustrated in this issue!  Grab a few and indulge in the stupidity as quickly as you can.

Nothing Is Dead

I continually read via Facebook, blogs, etc. online about cartoonist (mostly amateurs) complaining about how print is dead, comics aren’t ever going anywhere and that there’s such a gloomy future for any potential cartoonist, that one pursuing the career might as well throw in the pen.

Really?  DO IT!  That leaves less competition for me!

Anyhow…

What you don’t hear much about are the ones THAT ARE making it.  Proving – once again – that there is a market for cartoonist.

I’m very optimistic about the future of cartooning.  Yes, there are going to be a lot of changes.  It’s natural for that to happen.  But, change doesn’t have to be all that bad.

Case in point:  I keep hearing about the dying newspapers as well, yet, a few of them are thriving.  I believe there is going to definitely be some necessary changes with newspapers.  (I can almost seeing it becoming a nice balance of a collaboration between print and digital.)  But, in order for journalism to survive, changes WILL occur.  Along with journalism is cartooning (if you’re gong for the syndicated market, like me).  Are the people behind journalism going to let that happen?  Pretty doubtful.  And as long as they’re around, so are comics.

I honestly think comics will make a full-circle and becoming stronger than ever in the near future because of all the NEW markets for cartoons!

Think about it – yes, the print format might not ever be as strong as it once was, but beyond that, there is other arenas.  And more arenas are being churned up regularly – along with the old ones still existing.

The people complaining about the pay and everything when it comes to being a cartoonist are right – it stinks.  But, that too, can change.  And it’s not all that bad for everybody.  And the pay is something that I can also see changing into more of what it’s worth (if amateurs would STOP working for free).

I think it’s an exciting time for syndicated cartooning.  I think the competition is higher than ever – which is good!  It means only the strong survive, and the people who work very hard will (hopefully) make it through the gates.  There aren’t as many features being picked up, but that gives a great opportunity for a GREAT feature to be picked up.  A lot of material that doesn’t make it doesn’t make it for a reason.

I think it’s a great time for other mediums of cartooning as well (web, novels, etc.).  It’s going to take some adjusting, but I truly believe things will sort themselves out nicely for a profitable living for those who really have passion and determination for the art.

I don’t know.  It could just be me…the optimistic.

Really though, all of this gloom-and-doom mentality really annoys me.  If it were this gloomy-and-doomy, I think things would have shut down completely by now.  Think of all the things that are supposed to be dead at this point in time.  Radio is a good example.  Everyone suspected the death of radio years ago, yet it’s comeback to digital formats, paid subscriptions and is actually doing quite well.  (Well, so I hear.)

I just read an article in The Village Voice about cartoonist.  The whole article is an interesting read, yet, they also don’t mention the success stories happening as we speak.

I don’t want to make millions and become rich off of my work.  I’m aiming to make a modest living off of what I enjoy doing – if anything.  And there are people doing exactly what I want to be doing right now – and getting paid and making a living.  So, that tells me it can be done.  Makes sense to me…just do what the other guys are doing and one can get paid, right?  Follow their same pattern.

It’s just change is taking place, and nobody accepts change.  Everyone assumes the worse.

Think of steam train engineers.  Obviously, the steam trains disappeared because of diesels, but there was (and still is) a market for trains.  People even thought trains would disappear.  However, do you realize, last year trains brought in more profits as mode of transportation than cars, planes, boats or trucks?    (I don’t have the source for this (I know I’ll hear about that) but I read it over at Trains Magazine awhile back.)

What I’m getting at is engineers are still out there driving trains.  Do we need a fireman anymore (the guy that shoveled the coal into the locomotive).  No.  His job, well, yes – disappeared.  But, I’m sure he could have taken the path to pursue a train related career beyond that.  And there’s a huge market for trains and engineers.

I hope it’s a great future, and I stand by my motto that it will be.  My goal is to help revamp this mentality of everything being bleak for comics and show people that it doesn’t have to be.  I would love to just burst into the cartooning world and set a fine example.

We’ll see, huh?

I know this post probably sounds like me trying to convince myself, but really, I’m not.  I look at things as I see them and I can never convince myself of much of anything (if I tried to convince myself to enjoy black beans, I don’t think I could).

So – what’s your take?