The stupid man's Ozy and Millie

Doctor Fred · Postby **Doctor Fred** » Wed May 05, 2004 3:52 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: ("David Simpson @ rain on pavement lj @ May 1st")</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> I used to believe Ozy and Millie was destined for syndication. I was, looking back, charmingly optimistic about that (and it's a fine line between charming optimism and naive stupidity). In 1998, I drew some of the first strips that I thought might be good enough to submit (although if you look at the oldest strip in the archive, <a href='http://www.ozyandmillie.org/1998/om19980117.html' target='_blank'>this one</a> which was actually drawn in December 1997, and compare it to <a href='http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2004/om20040318.html' target='_blank'>any recent strip</a>, you can see that it's been a long six years). And, that spring, when I finally mailed in that very first syndication submission, I actually gave serious thought to the question of what I'd do if I got picked up--would I stay in school and finish my bachelor's degree? It didn't come up. And it's clear--it's been clear for years, even to me--that Ozy and Millie is not going to get syndicated, ever. "Doonesbury," "Bloom County" and "Dilbert" were all essentially their creators' first strips. They were drawing cartoons, a syndicate picked them up, the creators got rich, and that was that. I wanted to be one of those people. I hoped (and on some level, really believed) I would be. A syndicate would see Ozy and Millie, recognize that I was simply doing better work than the artists they were distributing, and that would be that. But there are other cartoonists. Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes"), for instance, who submitted strip idea after strip idea for five years, before an editor included a suggestion with his rejection letter: "try writing a strip around these two secondary characters, the kid and the tiger." That may be my fate. And if it is, I've got to get to designing, and submitting, and designing, and submitting, possibly for some time, until I can sell a strip concept. I've gotten comments back with my rejection letters, before (this is supposed to be a really good sign), and the one I've been turning over and over in my head for like three years now is "Ozy and Millie appeals to fans and comic book readers." He suggested I try some new strip ideas if my goal was syndication, and focus on comic books if my goal was to work with O&M. At the time I thought that was nonsense. ("Appeals to fans"? As opposed to what, appealing to people who don't like things?) But it isn't. It's true. It's like with Matt Groening, who created both "Life In Hell" and "The Simpsons" (on the off chance a single person reading this doesn't know that). Had Groening, when he got the chance to make a TV show, made a "Life In Hell" show, it would have had a much narrower audience, probably. A lot of people would have been tripped up by the unconventional concept and setting ("wait," they'd say, "what's up with the weird rabbits?"). This is why "Life In Hell" has a cult sort of audience--it appeals to people who actually like odd concepts. Instead, he created "The Simpsons," thus dooming me to spend middle school being addressed as "Bart" (or, in band class, "Lisa"). "The Simpsons" has an extraordinarily basic, mundane sort of concept. You can explain it in a single sentence, and no one will ever need to ask for clarification--it's a sitcom-style show, about a suburban family with three children. Now, underneath that premise, "The Simpsons" is every bit as edgy, quirky, and satirical as "Life In Hell." It has the same sensibility, the same soul. But it's far, far easier to sell to mainstream people. (You know, morons.) I think I've developed a distinctive visual style, and a distinctive voice as a comic strip writer, and I like to think I'm something approaching a pro at that stuff, by now. But Ozy and Millie, as much as I love all the characters and the premise, cannot be described simply. Once you get into it, I think it's pretty easy to comprehend, but there's that initial hurdle of trying to wrap your head around the terms of its universe (talking on the phone with syndicates trying to find out the status of my submission, I've gotten a sense of this--they've asked me at times to describe my strip, and I simply can't do it adequately without talking for a long while). So the task ahead of me is to try to design a simpler concept that would be easier to describe, and therefore more likely to get into syndication. It'll have to be to "Ozy and Millie" what "The Simpsons" is to "Life In Hell." Yes, this is going to be hard. Unlike my 20-year-old self, I am perfectly aware of how difficult the odds are, but I'm willing to work hard and wait. For now, this doesn't mean the end of Ozy and Millie. I still need it. It's an important outlet, it's great practice, and when I spend time away from it, I miss it. The act of doing 24 of a strip that I will never draw again if it doesn't get sold, over and over again, is not going to replace O&M in my life. (In fact, in my strip samples, I fully intend to steal gags from O&M, because, well, why not? I'm showing off my writing ability here.) Now, if one of them got picked up, and found a foothold...well, then that would be a different story. But I wouldn't start sweating that eventuality yet. It's going to be a long road.</td></tr></table>  This is quite some news indeed. But what would the moronic Ozy and Millie be like?

simon · Postby **simon** » Wed May 05, 2004 4:08 am

Wow... That is news. I'm eager to find out what happens of this.

Zaaphod · Postby **Zaaphod** » Wed May 05, 2004 5:53 am

Hmm. I'm quite interested to see what comes out of this too. It'll be good, of course, this is DCS we're talking about. <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... /smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

Burning Sheep Productions · Postby **Burning Sheep Productions** » Wed May 05, 2004 7:45 am

I think it'd be a good idea not to use animals. Then it won't immediately seem childish (I don't have to say it's not, do I?)

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Wed May 05, 2004 11:32 am

Ah yes, I read this. This is one of those things I dread. but... moron and O&M just don't seem like they'd mix... It's like self-fufilling prophecy, y'know? I didn't want to help DCS get his strip syndicated for fear that it would go mainstream and become moronic (I know, I have a lot of other really stupid fears), and possibly because I didn't, something stupids gonna show up anyway. ...not that I would have been a big help, seeing as I don't know anything about syndication...

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Wed May 05, 2004 12:01 pm

In related news, if you go to faux pas, it has a link to online comic day and the comics it supports. O&M isn't on there! OUTRAGE! SCANDAL! CONSPIRACY! actually, I was just looking for an excuse to use ALL CAPS JUST LIKE THIS, BUT HERE I DON'T NEED AN EXCUSE, DO I?! BLAAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!! hehe, sorry. <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

Foxchild · Postby **Foxchild** » Wed May 05, 2004 3:19 pm

Actually, iye, if you look and click on the links, they only link to various sites that are like databases of other comics, not directly to other comics themselves. This would probably help keep them out of the line of fire for something like you just stated: "What! why didn't you say you supported (insert comic oc choice)!? You guy's (insert insult of choice)!"

norsenerd · Postby **norsenerd** » Wed May 05, 2004 3:40 pm

I still think O&M needs to be synidcated but maybe I'm not the mainstreem and thus out of touch. I wihs maintstreem peopel will stop being so mainstreem. IT woudl help out a lot but anyways I love Ozy and Millie. *hugs O&M*

Foxchild · Postby **Foxchild** » Wed May 05, 2004 3:59 pm

The way I see it, O&M won't loose all too terribly much in this transition... and once syndicated, it may stay thatway for a little while. But, dollars to doughnuts, I'll bet that DCS will start pushing it back to it's current form once in the newspapers. people will first attatch themselves to the slightly "lesser" version (which i think will only entail a little less character driven stories) and then come to accept changes made to bring it back to it's full glory.

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Wed May 05, 2004 8:33 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (FoxChild @ May 6 2004, 01:19 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Actually, iye, if you look and click on the links, they only link to various sites that are like databases of other comics, not directly to other comics themselves. This would probably help keep them out of the line of fire for something like you just stated: "What! why didn't you say you supported (insert comic oc choice)!? You guy's (insert insult of choice)!"  </td></tr></table>  well, I was in a hurry, and didn't have much time. I think this problem could easily be remedied if there weren't as many stupid people in this world. 'course, that nixes me out of the equation, so...

Muninn · Postby **Muninn** » Wed May 05, 2004 8:36 pm

I've had this belief and it seems i wasn't the only one judging by both David's post and the replies in that same entry. It's that newly syndicated comics (unless the artists is well known of course) are much more in danger than well established ones. It's easy to pull new strips if they start to displease the papers or syndicates but established ones have more pull (why else would Family Circus still be in papers, well apart from human stupidity of course). So it's easy to screw the establishment in this instance, start with a rather general, non-topical strip while slowly turning it into your first ideas as you get a base. Be a trojan horse, work from the inside. Of course this analogy breaks down on the internet comic scene, where there are no moral restrictions, which is why i think it's a great starting point for new artists. You don't think strips like Newshounds or Jack will ever appear in national papers in their present form do you? Especially Jack's latest strip, David (that other one) has got a great mind for twisted characters.

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Wed May 05, 2004 8:38 pm

I have another solution. Make your own newspaper. I guess ya gotta learn how first though...

Doctor Fred · Postby **Doctor Fred** » Wed May 05, 2004 8:55 pm

Why is it that people hate The Family Circus? It makes me laugh.

Muninn · Postby **Muninn** » Wed May 05, 2004 9:15 pm

Family Circus... laughing! Don't make me laugh.

Doctor Fred · Postby **Doctor Fred** » Thu May 06, 2004 1:26 am

What?..... It's funny...... It is!

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