So sometime earlier this month I evidently passed a million hits. I think that's all time unique visits - excluding mine - starting from the first post on day one: January 15th, 2009. Not that I particularly care about traffic (someday sooner than later I'll maybe get around to using Google Analytics so I can properly parse the whatwhowhenwhere), and maybe even monetize the whole operation. In the meantime Ink & Snow's still a space where I can continually share recent works + random thoughts, document gigs, accomplishments & adventures, provide a bit of education by uploading examples via process posts, showcase unpublished pages, chum the waters and scream into the void. Anyways, glad you're here.
Just submitted eight panels for consideration in the annual National Cartoonists Society’s Divisional Reuben Awards, in the “Newspaper Panel” category. That as opposed to the closely related “Gag” and “Newspaper Strip” categories which I could also arguably enter work into if it weren’t a one-time/one-shot application. Realistically I don’t ever anticipate even a nomination, as - aside from the notable exception of "Tundra" - the odds of a relative nobody in the middle of nowhere getting even a nod are slim to none, mainly on account of all the industry heavyweights in the annual running. And many if not most years the winner appears to be routinely repeated from the upper echelon of syndicated features, so there’s little to no hope for any evolving marsupials, but I’m not even in their league… just the division, and that's by default. Personally I’d vote for “Heathcliff” and/or “Nancy,” (here's a great write-up about the revival of legacy strips) but they might be a wee bit too contemporary given the atrophying depth of field in the face of print media’s implosion. A side-note in that there's also a valid criticism that in the sixty-eight-odd years of the divisional awards only one woman newspaper panel cartoonist has ever been recognized (Hilary Price), and only four (Price, Barry, Chast and Guisewite) for the titular Reuben, and forget about any minorities. Mind you, this is coming from yet another white, middle-aged heterosexual male this is indicative of the long-running, systemic, pervasive misogynistic, patriarchal nature of the business, really no different than comics in general (see: exhibits “A” and “B” for prime examples), or even the arts overall.
I also finally applied for professional membership, which one of my mentors in the art department stressed how much such affiliations are a nice touch on the CV. With an amazing roster of members, this group does a hell of a great job, and the competition is impossible to compete against, especially since “Incorrect or ineligible entries will be disqualified.” As an art teacher who routinely drills this into my students each class, every semester, the importance of adhering to and identifying the specific criteria – the root of “critique” - upon which you judge any and all works, it is crucial. So it has always been somewhat frustrating to keeping chumming your pieces out into the silent void, and never hear any feedback. Not knowing whether a particular panel worked or not and why can hamstring your editorial choices. As in, should craftsmanship be a consideration? Or the industry standard “a good joke will always sell a bad drawing”? To what extent should you pander to the lowest common denominator is avoid regionalism so as to appeal to the broadest demographic? What ratio of animals versus humans, or situational humor versus gags? All of which can conversely undermine your self confidence because looking back at previous submissions sometimes leaves you feeling "what was I thinking - these suck," which in turn makes you second-guess what you currently think is your latest & greatest. I think this is only the fourth time maybe I've remembered to take another shot at it, and even in that relatively short period of time I've gone through a tremendous amount of change.
All that being said, shooting from the proverbial hip and relying on instinct when it came time to make the final cut is always the only way to go. I even asked for input from some other peers so as to get different perspectives and their informed opinions, much of which was a chance for me to articulate and defend my choices. There were a couple I regrettably didn't include because I didn't have the requisite hard copy (proof of publication), and through the entire selection process weeded out a couple that were already represented. I wanted breadth and depth, content that would appeal to both Alaska residents and outsiders, cartoonists and citizens. Good luck with that!
 |
| The Buffet |
Here's the spread, culled from fifty-something cartoons that appeared over the previous year in the News-Miner: "Two Shticks," "Overfed," "Rude-olph" (gambling on gross sense of humor), "Rush Hour" (the requisite tentpole/big piece to show off) "Shrew Brain," "Porcupine Acupuncture," "Currant Mood" (wanted to represent one of the "Sketchbook" series + add a little watercolor) and "Half Calf" - which was arguably was the one of, if not the best, of the year, and was the one that reminded me too even bother submitting another stack of the funny papers. Runner ups were: "Non Sequitur" (too pandering to cartoonists), "Sabotage" and "Alaskan in Hell" (both a wee bit too hyper-regional), "Existential" and "Hare Down" (both lacked proper documentation). In the meantime, it's back to the ol' drawing board and toiling away in relative obscurity trying to make those deadlines, and trying to share a little laughter.
Lastly here's an awesome snapshot by the due that initially queried me about the Spruce Moose project. Looks like ol' Spruce is now larger than life, and spreading nuggets of fire safety statewide.
No comments:
Post a Comment