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Comic strips have been a part of newspaper
publishing since the last half of the 1800's. Comics were added to
newspapers to help increase sales of the paper. Some claim that
the Yellow Kid, the first color comic (1986/87) eventually lead to the
derogatory term "yellow journalism." Anything's possible, I
suppose. Since many comic strips are humorous, we often call
them "The Funnies" or "The Funny Pages." At one time in America,
it was popular to joke with a friend when parting, saying, "See you in the
Funny Papers!"
Comics add readers.
Believe it or not comics are one of the
most important features
for any newspaper, regardless of its size. Lots of people (including yours truly) will often read the comics before
anything else. In fact, even the most specialized and serious
periodicals, including magazines devoted to medical research and
political rhetoric, include cartoons and comic strips. You definitely want to include comic strips and other features in your
small newspaper.
How to Find Comics and Other Features
You can find comics and other popular
features by contacting the syndication services, such as
United
Features (Peanuts, Dilbert),
or
King
Features (Spiderman, Crock, Family Circus), and
others. All the big services are on the web. Do an
internet search
(with Google,
MSN,
YAHOO, for example) using the name of the comic strip or feature that you'd like to
include in your paper. You may need to use additional words such
as "features," or "comic" or "newspaper" in your search, if the agency
doesn't show up on the first couple of pages. |
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You may be surprised to discover there are
also local comic strip creators in your own area, and all over
the world. Some of these individuals produce very entertaining
strips and cartoons, but are not listed with any of the big feature
syndication agencies or services. Many now have websites, or
they're listed with state and regional newspaper associations.
You will hear of some only after you start publishing your paper, when
they send you a copy of some of their work.
© 2006 Jim Sutton |
