Here’s the link:

http://www.amazon.com/PRETENDING-YOU-CARE-EMPLOYEE-HANDBOOK/dp/1401308902/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4531897-8286509?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187556734&sr=8-1

Great point! I love how when anyone is bold enough to bring up the troubled state of comic strips, other people pull examples of other media forms M.O.’s out of thin air as grand comparisons, and label the initial commentators as crazy for thinking about the future of the form beyond the status quo.

Or worse, bring up the usual, “Well, Calvin and Hobbes’ existence on the comics page 12+ years ago didn’t make the comics page any better/different than it is today,” yet, in the same breath say, “Because Lio and other really good strips exist, everything is fine.”

To me, it’s a smokescreen and distract technique:
Like talking about the popularity of blogging and bringing up the lack of really, really good basket weavers (Ha! You see what I did there, I brought up an irrelevant, distracting point to the discussion at hand, to illustrate the point of um, irrelevant, distracting points… never mind.) Simply put, it’s apples and oranges!

I don’t mean that there haven’t been the likes of Boondocks, Pearls, Lio, Get Fuzzy, etc. to shake up the CONTENT of the comics page, but the very nature of the “comics page” itself needs a kick in the pants. While I don’t agree with his tactics, this columnist’s article at least illustrated that.

Regrouping every so often is an important element for any company to survive (case in point for unrelated media comparisons, Nintendo+GameCube= :( ; Nintedo+Wii=$$$), yet, when was the last time the syndicate’s truly regrouped? Perhaps when they posted the aforementioned subscription packages on the ‘net, but beyond that, things are pretty much the same.

And this isn’t about gloom, doom and dire predictions like I WANT to see the comics page fail, this is about fostering creativity and getting the comics out to as many people as possible, not just the select few who get the paper or have $50 to spare.

There has to be a better way – I love my daily ink but agree with Danny that limiting subcriptions by syndicate is not the best solution. I like his itunes idea. itoons anyone?

Well said. The fact that comics are only a portion of a larger media package – and a regionally restricted media package at that – is somewhat unique in the realm of popular media. This arrangement incubates mediocrity, because people who no longer care for the comics are probably still buying the newspaper for other reasons – there is no direct way for the public, in mass, to register their disapproval of the comics by no longer paying for the product. It’s part of a package deal, though to many it may be about as interesting as the classifieds.

Above and elsewhere, comparisons have been made between comics and other media ventures such as movies and television, and the comparison isn’t really accurate. When a movie is terrible or derivitive, people don’t see it, it makes no money, and it is unceremoniously dropped from the theaters in favor of new product. Television shows are also subject to direct assessments of audience interest. When a show no longer pulls in the viewers, it’s quickly removed. Same with books, music, subscription services both online and in print, etc.

Comics are not subject to this direct scrutiny. The closest we get are those online polls, and I think we can all agree that those are a bit silly. Certainly unscientific, to be sure.

These differences in business models are the reason why we’re no longer subjected to reruns of The Lawrence Welk Show during primetime, yet Marmaduke is still a staple in newspapers across the nation. Does anyone really believe the comics section could stand on its own as a separate product, considering the quality of strips at present? Remember “News Free Comics,” anyone?

However, I doubt there’s any one paper out there that carries all the great strips at one time. One paper may carry Pearls Before Swine and/or Lio, but the rest of the page consists of Garfield, Mary Worth and For Better or For Worse repeats, I mean, “Hybridâ„¢ strips” (remember, Hybridsâ„¢ and recycling are environmentally friendly.)

Which leaves the problem of where you can showcase all the syndicated strips, good and bad, and give readers ready access to them on a daily basis. Gee, I-I can’t really think of a venue… oh, wait… Now, this is not another rant about webcomics vs. newspaper comics. This is about Comics Syndicates regrouping for the new age.

And I’m not just talking about web publishing, the syndicates need to find another viable PRINT venue as well (I have this great idea for collecting the comics into things called, get this, “Comic Books”, I wonder if that’s been tried before.) Even if I and a number of other people are wrong about newspapers disappearing in the next 20-30 years, it doesn’t automatically mean comics will remain in them, does it?

Which isn’t to say the syndicates haven’t tried: Daily Ink, Comics Extra and My Comics Page are all good ideas in general. But to read ALL your favorite strips, you have to subscribe to all three. And $50+ a year for comics, seems a little steep. I know it’s not so much when you really analyze it and factor in the columns and puzzles you get with some packages, but convince the average reader! However, if there were a multi-syndicate “iTunes for Comics”, things might work better.

The point, for me at least, isn’t so much about the quality of the strips themselves, it’s about how the strips are being handled. And frankly, the way they’re being handled has hardly changed in many, many years, and I don’t see how that’s okay anymore.

Joey’s pretty knowledgeable about our business, so I trust that his numbers are based in some kind of reality.

Granted, a lot of the work is niche or amateur- but there’s still a LOT to choose from.