Far Side 10th Anniversary Exhibit

In my opinion, Gary Larson was one of the most (if not THE MOST) prolific and consistent cartoonist of our generation.  His is one of the most unique and hilarious bodies of work of any cartoonist in history.  The Far Side is/was one of those comic strips that constantly made me go “HOW did he think up this stuff?”

I just picked up The PreHistory of The Far Side ®: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit (Far Side Series).  This book is chock full of insight into Gary Larsons career, his writing, and which strips he thought were good ones and which were stinkers.  If you haven’t read it, take a look.

Mac Vs. PC

Okay, I need some help from the techno geeks out there. I’m currently running a windows box for all my comic applications.  Recently I’ve had to redo a few things because my PC will lock up or even shut down.  I’m not technically retarded (my day job is Intel Servers) but I’m curious.  I have no working knowledge of the Mac computers.  Are the stories true?  Are they more reliable?  Are they easy to use?  Should I be heading the way of the Mac or stick with my PC.

Part II:  Which Mac would work out well for me?  I’m only using photoshop to letter and shade.  So I’m wondering if an iMac would do the trick or am I looking at a Mac pro?  Inputs are welcome.  I’d like some honest answers if possible. I know there are PC haters out there…

Rock is Dead

I usually end up staying up very late working on my comic strip.  Last night was no exception.  Normally, I’ll sit down after finishing up and watch a little TV just to sort of unwind.  As I was flipping through the channels I found one of my favorite movies on the tube:  Almost Famous.

Back story:  Before embarking on a full-fledged comic career I was a musician.  Not that I’m not a musician now.  I just get paid less to do it and I do it on my own terms.  So music and cartooning have always been tied for first place in my heart.  I’d have to say I’m a bit of a music snob if you will.   I’m constantly looking for stuff that inspires me.  I wouldn’t call myself a critic.  Aside from my friends, I rarely push my musical tastes on people.  I honestly don’t care what other people like.  See?  Snob.

Watching Almost Famous had me wondering what happened to Rock and Roll.  I’m not talking about the stuff on the X stations nowadays that is nothing but angry noise of misguided children crying for attention.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m impressed that your drummer and play 32nd notes on the bass drum while screaming profanities.  It’s just not rock and roll.  Rock and Roll is something else to me.  I can’t describe it so much as know it when I see it.

First off, Rock and Roll is about the band.  It’s about a handful of people coming together, plugging in, and holding on for dear life.  If you’re a solo artist, you do not rock.   Sure, you can argue with me about that statement but it would do you no good.  Even the great rock soloists of the 70’s (David Bowie, Hendrix, Rod Stewart, Iggy Pop…) had great bands behind them that were just as big as the guy singing.

It’s a different mindset these days.  Almost Famous reminded me of that.  It is one of those movies that takes you back to a time when people believe Rock could save the world.  That is was more about the music and the fans (and a little too much about the drugs) than a hit single or units sold.

Now, I don’t wanna confuse anyone out there.  I love that Rock and Roll attitude.  I always have.  That shouldn’t be confused with the fact that I am tired of hearing Led Zeppelin every ten minutes on my local radio station.  But, honestly, when you step back…what is the alternative?  Bands today are taking themselves waaaay too seriously.  It’s sad when Metallica puts out a movie about their therapy session.  It’s sick when you see Nickelback on MTV Cribs.  This is not ROCK, people!!

There are a few bands that poke their head up with the rock mentality I speak of (White Stripes, Danko Jones, Airbourne,  The Strokes, The Shins, The Killers).  No, not the bell bottoms and trippy colors.  Just that “this is what we do and it will change your life” swagger that floors me.  But sooner than not, they’re trampled under the foot of industry machines.

Good examples of GREAT rock albums:

“London Calling” – The Clash

“Nevermind” – Nirvana

“Born To Run” – Springsteen

“Led Zeppelin” – Led Zeppelin

“Legend” – Bob Marley

“Raw Power” – The Stooges

“Tim” – The Replacements

“Dookie” – Green Day

“Highway to Hell” – AC/DC

“War” – U2

“Grace” – Jeff Buckley

“Regatta De Blanc” – The Police

Name a few of your favorites and why….

Train of Thought

I really don’t know how many folks actually bother to read this blog but I’m gonna get better at posting regular articles even if they little ado about nothing.  I’m good at nothing.  Let’s just call this a general update.

Panel Mammals:  I’m sure a few of you are wondering just what in the hairy-heck is going on with the Mammals group.  Well let me be the first to answer:  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  I really mean that.  Nothing has changed in our thinking, goals, drive, etc.  What’s going on behind the Bristol Curtain is a complete re-design of the site.  We all took a hard look at where the website was and what we really wanted to convey with it and we realized that we sort of got off the mark a tad.  So in the spirit of internet expression we’re redesigning the site.  And just between you, me, and the hairy old lady in the corner, we’re looking for a new mammal to join the group.  But don’t tell anyone I told ya…

A Light On The Horizon

The running theme on this blog has been a sort’ve examination of how to get Pinkerton out to the masses in a direction other than print syndication.  With the launch of my new website I’ve added a feature called “Steal This Comic” (the button is located directly under the comic).  I strongly urge anyone interested in displaying the madness of Pinkerton on their website to click on it.  You’ll get all the instructions you need….but just in case, if you have any questions, leave a comment here and I’ll e-mail you back.

As far as light on the horizon…there are big things coming for Pinkerton.  I know I continue to say that but it’s true.  I can’t talk just yet but I promise that we’re developing something very cool for you.

I hope everyone is enjoying the new theme.  I hope to have everything up and movin’ 100% very soon.

Grass Roots Movement Continued

Yeah…I’m still on this.  LOL.  There were some great ideas posted in the comments section of the last grass roots blog.  I keep coming back to merchandise.  I know that there is constant talk on The Panel Mammals about getting paid to draw cartoons.  I think that, from an internet standpoint, it’s impossible.  I think the strips are the bait for merchandise.  I guess, when you step back, if you’re selling books with your work in it you’re getting paid to draw.  But I seriously doubt anyone will pay to LOOK at your strips online.  Why would they when they can go over to any other site across the net and look for free.  I mean, unless you’re offering something so amazing that people can’t help but throw money at you…

That being said:  How do you feel about buying books online?  What about DOWNLOADING books?  Personally, I’m not a fan of electronic format so I can’t see a huge market but if you could download a book at a fraction of the cost of a hard copy, would you?

Additionally, what price are you willing to pay?  Are you prone to buying cheaper collections at a price that fits your needs?  Or do you have no problem shelling out $25 + shipping for a bible-sized anthology?  Discuss.

Lucky Cow to hang it up…

“Lucky Cow” to Cease Publication

Kansas City, MO  (01/03/2008)  The comic strip about working in a fast food restaurant, “Lucky Cow,” will cease publishing on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008. The final Sunday release will be Jan. 27. Cartoonist Mark Pett is bringing the strip for more time to pursue other creative opportunities.

Pett began syndicating his comic strip with Universal Press Syndicate in April 2003. A microcosm of America set in a fast-food restaurant, “Lucky Cow” tells the story of a father and daughter running their own fast-food franchise. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Pett currently lives in the Mississippi Delta town of Indianola, Miss. “Lucky Cow” has a client list of about 50 newspapers including the Honolulu Star Bulletin, the Boston Herald and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Pett published comic collection with Andrews McMeel Publishing in 2005 called “Lucky Cow.”

Click Here To See Lucky Cow 

Grass Roots Movement

With the New Year freshly in bloom, I’ve been brainstorming about ways to spread Pinkerton to the masses.  To be honest, I had set my development period for Pinkerton to 100 strips (which is roughly four months worth of material).  When I was sitting at the beginning of the development I thought, “holy hell, 100 strips is a long way off.”  Now that I’m over the hump I’m flabbergasted at how fast the time went.  But I feel that Pinkerton is in full swing and I’ve flushed out the four main characters’ personalities.  At least I hope I did.

With my development period under my belt, my focus has now turned to the business end of things.  Let me just preface all this by saying I have no mind for business whatsoever.  Sure, I’m a good bullshitter…maybe I COULD be a salesman.  But I don’t know that I have a stomach for it.  That being said, I’m a firm believer (specially in the comic industry) that if you don’t do it for yourself, nobody will.

In my previous life I was a semi-professional musician.  The internet has put the music industry in a state of flux.  With record sales dwindling (thanks to the ease of downloading tunes) artists are scrambling to find new ways to get their work to their fans.  Sound familiar?  One of the tools bands are using HEAVILY are their die-hard fans.  We called them Street Teams.  It sounds cool and that’s exactly what they are.  Fans who are out on the street spreading the gospel…not literally but you know what I mean.

So that got me thinking the other day…could I start a Pinkerton Street Team?  And then another thought came into my head:  Why the hell not?  Who said there were rules? 

I’ve always had a strong belief that the fans are first.  They come first before anything else.  Nothing starts a fire faster than word of mouth.  Am I right?

So we come full circle.  Back to the beginning of this post:  With the New Year upon us, what are some other grass roots ideas that would work well?  Let’s brainstorm here.  Would you be interested in joining a street team for a comic strip or band that you truly enjoy?  Are there better ideas out there?  What choo got?

Brinkerhoff Scales Back.

In a double-edged announcement, Gabe Strine announced that his comic Brinkerhoff has reached the 2 year milestone AND will be scaling back productivity.  It’s rough keeping a daily schedule.  Make sure you stop out and check out his comic strip.

The First Axe Drops

Nobody ever said the road to syndication was not wrought with pot holes and land mines. At least I never said that. Seems that I’ve hit my first one. I decided to keep the Pinkerton readers in the loop as to what happens during my quest for bigger things. I submitted packages to syndicates back in August. I got my first response today. Now, let me preface this by saying that I have no malice or ill-feelings towards ANY of the folks who’s job it is to review comics. The folks I speak to from time to time have been nothing but supportive, constructive, and very very nice.

But…

As I said, I received my first response today from Universal Press Syndicate. I’ll just let you in on the first paragraph of the e-mail. These five sentences single-handedly lifted my spirits to near heart-attack levels and brought me crashing back down to earth like a 747 full of elephants.

Thanks for the packet. I’ve been keeping up with Pinkerton on the Web too… it’s good stuff. I mean it. Seriously. You have the skills to be a star. We’re going to pass.

Sure, it’s a bummer. But there’s more.  UPS went on to site areas of improvement:

I think the writing needs more heart and pathos. There’s just too much smartass. I happen to love smartass. As do my peers, but we need to think about little old ladies and slow-witted men who won’t get it and newspaper editors who are super literal.

THAT was a very good point. And finally:

the characters weren’t that distinguishable to me personality-wise

But, for the most part, the response was very supportive and constructive. I came away still feeling positive about Pinkerton so that’s good news.  Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on the other responses as they come in. One down. Five more to go.