Today is the first day you could learn the only thing scarier than Halloween — saying “NO.”Let me show you how to say NO to 1 thing for 30 days. See what happens.
Within 12 months, not only did all daily comics vanish from all of Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, but then the competition followed suit and took out whatever was left. It ended my 16-year run as cartoonist for the 102-year-old comic strip, Ginger Meggs.
Rob Tornoe just published a comprehensive article in Editor & Publisherthat details the finer points, but broadly: This should come as a loud warning shot to all US comic artists and editorial cartoonists. If it wasn’t already abundantly apparent that cartoonists aren’t valued in traditional publishing business models, it should be crystal clear now: Our time is running out.
As Keef so eloquently put it last year…
(I should be clear: Whenever I use the term “Newspapers” I’m referring to the companies themselves; not simply the print edition of a physical newspaper.)
The only refuge left are places where our readers can find us without having to tolerate algorithmically targeted ads (or page after page of printed ones). Places like right here on
to all of my Paid Subscribers who have supported my work since I lost my job. I know $1 a week might not seem like much, but it makes all the difference in the world to me, so thank you. I hope I can repay you with the work I’ve been pouring soul into.
The streaming rights for TV show I co-hosted for the Food Networkhave been sold to HBO (Max!) and will be streaming on your many, many screens this month, just in time for the Holidays! I’ll post an update closer to the Premiere. (Sadly I don’t get paid twice for this one…)
3. Funny on paper (and possibly on stage!)
Funny on Paper! Your favorite New Yorker cartoonists take to the stage for an evening of stand-up, games, and general nonsense.
Tuesday, 14 November @ Caveat Doors 9 for 9:30 pm (EST) | Tickets (21+): $12 Early Bird [‘til Nov 7] $18 door, $8 livestream
While I do love the convenience of a Wacom tablet/Xenselabs tablet/iPad pro or whatever you like using…I can’t ever replicate the joy of using analog tools. I’m starting a new Substack in 2024 called “Process Junkie”to explore all of the joys of the Process of making art. If you’re interested in that kind of thing, you can sign up here.
Earlier this year I received a mysterious, colourful box full of creative paraphernalia amid a book named “Skip To The Fun Parts” — Cartoons and Complaints about the Creative Process.
I can’t tell you how welcome it was: I was knee deep in my latest book and was hitting a creative rut around page 56 of 110…. I liked that Dana didn’t offer solutions, necessarily, but complaints. It was nice to read that I wasn’t the only one in the throes of madness.
Dana has a similar curiosity about the elusive nature of the creative process, as well as the tools we use therein. If you, like me, are a Process Junkie, you’ll very much appreciate Dana’s delving into every aspect of this crazy thing we do.
I got to have lunch with Dana this past month when she was in New York for the New Yorker Festival. I got her to sign my book, and picked her brains about her background and the process she is using for her work. I think you’ll really like her!
I love this newsletter! Thank you for making it. Maybe one day I can show support with a sub.
And thanks for the article. But I'm going to play devil's advocate, though: what if they are right? What if reader preferences are changing?
I think comic strips have been declining for decades. I'm a big fan of comic strips and single panel gags, and I have been collecting these in book form for many years. And yet, I often feel like that guy who collects vinyl records. Unless I encounter another true fan, comic strips and gag panels never come up in conversations. The place I see them most often are shares among memes in some of the Whatsapp groups or Discord channels I frequent, and those are most often either edgy internet comics or classic stuff like Far Side.
I miss the comic folds in newspapers, and I definitely long for the day when publications like Punch gave a place for gag and strip comics. There are definitely still buyers for such work, but it feels like a niche market these days. Is that really the fault of the newspapers? After all, the New York Times seems to be getting a lot of subscribers because of their games, not because of comics.
I hope I'm wrong, but this new change seems a little inevitable for a comic industry that is a shadow of its golden age.
#357: NO-Vember, No More Comics & Watch Me on HBO Max!
I love this newsletter! Thank you for making it. Maybe one day I can show support with a sub.
And thanks for the article. But I'm going to play devil's advocate, though: what if they are right? What if reader preferences are changing?
I think comic strips have been declining for decades. I'm a big fan of comic strips and single panel gags, and I have been collecting these in book form for many years. And yet, I often feel like that guy who collects vinyl records. Unless I encounter another true fan, comic strips and gag panels never come up in conversations. The place I see them most often are shares among memes in some of the Whatsapp groups or Discord channels I frequent, and those are most often either edgy internet comics or classic stuff like Far Side.
I miss the comic folds in newspapers, and I definitely long for the day when publications like Punch gave a place for gag and strip comics. There are definitely still buyers for such work, but it feels like a niche market these days. Is that really the fault of the newspapers? After all, the New York Times seems to be getting a lot of subscribers because of their games, not because of comics.
I hope I'm wrong, but this new change seems a little inevitable for a comic industry that is a shadow of its golden age.
Sorry to hear about Ginger Meggs, Jason! It must be quite the cultural tragedy in Australia to lose that!
As for jobs, could you leverage your Food Network job to bigger and better things? Like hosting Is It Cake?