Comments on: Corey Pandolph debuts “Toby, Robot Satan” on GoComics.com

By: Ed De Rueda

Ed De Rueda — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:42:49 +0000

Will characters from Barkeater Lake appear on Elderberries, like Sabrina and Winston? Sabrina could be related to Evelyn or Miss Overdunne. And will the mysterious owners of the home show up to create sushi havoc with the tenants or will Dusty have his “way” with them, as he has with everyone around him.? Otherwise Elderberries is definitely one of the funniest strips I have read in a long time. I definitely saw Mr. Pandolph’s artistic style, after reading Barkeater Lake, even when Elderberries briefly had a different name attached to it. It became a recent addition to the Daily News in Los Angeles a short while ago.

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:28:38 +0000

“I have always seen being syndicated as just another step in the my plan of ruling the comedy and cartoon world!”

It’s always the talented ones that seek total toon domination!

By: Corey Pandolph

Corey Pandolph — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:40:25 +0000

I agree with Larry, to a point…

I think there’s a happy medium to found between print and the web. Ad revenues on the web are rising and newspapers are starting to find ways to use it help their print editions. NRP just had a story about the NY Times trying a new ad revenue portal to take advantage of online sales.

Very good cartoonists can now establish an effective web presence and possibly become syndicated, utilizing the best of both worlds. Look at Diesel Sweeties. He’s really got a good hold on the both sides of producing a quality strip.

I truly believe this is not a case of one medium dying in favor for the other. I know plenty of younger people who still enjoy reading a newspaper. I have actually met some folks, under 65, who would rather read the comics in the paper. Imagine that.

Syndication will no longer be the end of the road for cartonnists. We’ll all have to learn to market ourselves and adapt in order to really prevail. I have always seen being syndicated as just another step in the my plan of ruling the comedy and cartoon world!… AH haha!… I… Uh… (ahem)

ANYWAY, I think it’s a lot easier to predict the apocalypse than it is to suggest a constructive way to co-exist.

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:23:16 +0000

Doing a webcomic is not unlike how the Marx Brother, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, etc played in small-time vaudeville with the objective of one day getting booked at The Palace (in this case the syndicates). Like vaudeville, there are some truly bad ‘acts’ out there which helps those with talent shine & hopefully get a better paying booking.

By: Pab Sungenis

Pab Sungenis — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:00:05 +0000

Even the big guys barely make enough to scrape by. The only web cartoonists I’ve heard of making enough money to quit their day jobs were the guys who created “Homestar Runner” and that’s not only animated but in a class by itself.

Even then, it took them years to reach that point.

If there’s money to be made on the web, there apparently isn’t much, or it’s very hard to find.

By: Corey Pandolph

Corey Pandolph — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:36:13 +0000

I think there’s money to be had in webcomics. Dave Kellett seems to be doing okay with Sheldon. But he’s doing double duty as his own marketing, printing and sales departments. It’s a big undertaking that a lot of us aren’t interested in. And a lot of times in those situations, the comic maybe regular, but is it good? Would you rather have quantity or quality?

Like anything, it’s a personal choice that only the artist himself can make, not his fans. I believe printed comics will always exist and that the web is a stepping off point for bigger things. i.e. TV, Movie deals and syndication. To me, syndication still represents, for the most part, the cream of the crop. It takes a rare bird to hold up to the deadlines and still produce a quality comic. Granted, like any high profile media, it has it’s duds. But at the end of the day, I think newspaper comics are still the place to hang your success hat.

I’d rather keep trying for the next big idea, have a syndicate or network promote it, collect mediocre checks in the mail and get to the point where I can drop “Fake” from the Fake Rockstar name.

Heh.

By: steve s

steve s — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:12:39 +0000

One must understand that to do a daily strip without a syndicate selling it is that most papers simply won’t consider it. Barkeater Lake was a wonderful strip, but without any ability to sell it and make a partial living doing it, it basically adds up to 40 hours per week for cornflakes. There comes a time when you must move on to something else, that may have a chance of getting syndicated. Once web comics really start to make revenue, then this will all change, but for now we cartoonists simply must stick our head in the sand in order to pursue our dream. But even ostriches have to eat.

By: Mike Witmer

Mike Witmer — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:52:51 +0000

That’s the problem Rob + Andrew. As cartoonists we continually submit to syndicates (well, most of us do). One or two artists out of thousands get tapped on the shoulder each year. So it’s up to the cartoonist to decide “do I want to keep toiling away at a strip that will probably never get the green light (regardless of fan response) or do I want to move on to green pastures?”

In my opinion, it’s one of the toughest decisions to make. It’s like cutting off a perfectly good foot.

The worst part is that the readers tend to take it personally. It’s a tough game to play.

By: Rob Wilco

Rob Wilco — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:15:37 +0000

I agree with you Andrew. I guess we’re not the only ones. Someone left a long comment on Barkeater Lake about that. I wish i had the talent to do one comic!

Barkeater Lake should be nationally syndicated.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:18:24 +0000

Honestly, I’m kinda of disappointed–without even looking at the comic. I’m worried that Corey is stretching himself thin since he does Elderberries, Barkeater Lake (which isn’t updated nearly often enough) and now this one. I’d love to see Barkeater Lake continue as a daily feature.