no surprises here
Well it’s no surprise that I wasn’t chosen as one of the finalists for the Post’s next great cartoonist challenge. Most of the finalists look just like some of the same dull strips you find in the papers today. I was extremely baffled by this one in particular. Losing isn’t so bad, but losing to shit like this just doesn’t even make sense. The judges’ comments aren’t even favorable! When you have a name for a contest that’s called ‘America’s Next Great Cartoonist’ you would expect the quality of the finalists to be better than some a-typical shit webcomic. It’s my fault for holding out hope that something that came from the newspapers wouldn’t be a complete disappointment. It’s kind of like how Conan O’Brien really wanted to host the tonight show even though he had to water down his act for a demographic of aging dinosaurs. He was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted in his old time slot, and had his own audience that loved it. It was all about the prestige and history of the Tonight Show. There’s no reason to be in newspapers if you aspire to be a cartoonist. You can be free and find your own audience without having the hassle of an outdated distribution model.
So I’ll be updating on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday Schedule for the next few weeks. Enjoy.
As someone who also didn’t make the cut, I’m also a little shocked at what got considered that “made the cut”. I’m also wondering what sort of amazing pitches didn’t make it at all.
Holy crap Matt, those ten finalists are TERRIBLE. Just bad puns and jokes I’ve heard a thousand times. Everyone thinks they’re Gary Larsen, huh. Speaking as a journalist though, this is pretty expected. Print is dying, and in order to hold on to what little audience remains, newspapers are scared to change a thing. As a result? The same shitty comics we’ve always seen in the Post.
Webcomics are better. I mean, which comic is more respected, XKCD or Garfield? Glad you’re sticking with this.