... or not to syndicate.

Mainstream shore do change a fella'.

I've been asked on several occasions why Brinkerhoff hasn't seen a sniff from syndication yet. There are several reasons, but most of it is due to my content and my unwillingness to tame things down. I've realized, though, that I'm just not into castrating my creation like that. I could do some safe and simple tripe, but that would be like spitting into the ocean and I expect more from the medium and my own creations than that. I just don't wanna'.

Today I thought I'd pull back the curtain and show you some e-mail correspondence that represents the closet Brink has gotten the the "promised land." Enjoy!

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At first the lack of physical movement and all the words were a little hard for me on BRINKERHOFF, but it's grown on me. I like the palette!

Best,
Unnamed Syndicate Guy


I'm pleased to hear that Brinkerhoff is "growing on you". It makes me wonder who else he's "grown on". I know that the style is pretty different from what's out there now, but given the chance, many have taken to Brink's message as evidenced by the great feedback and growing fan traffic at the main site.

I wonder what it would take to get Brinkerhoff to the next level...
If you've got any knowledge to impart or influence to flex, feel free to pass it alng. I'm all ears. (Egad, what a horrible pun. My apologies.)

--Gabe Strine


Hi Gabe,
I apologize to you -- I was looking in my inbox today and realized I hadn't (near as I can tell) followed up on your question below about how BRINKERHOFF might move up to the next level. I've pondered that a number of times, and one of the most recent strips gave me the key to a response.

Although the strip is fairly static, which for me is not always a plus, there is something in the look of it, the palette and the cleanness of the lines, and the look of the characters, that makes it okay. But it has to be driven by the writing. And the ones that I've gotten the biggest kick out of are ones that were, in my view, really well written.

The the other day, during this recent dating series, you had one about in which he says "What's it going to take to get me in you, tonight?" Now whatever you might say about your ambitions, this doesn't seem to me to indicate that you remotely thinking in terms of mainstream syndication. Am I right?

Nothing against the work itself, or that strip, I'm just talking about appropriateness here. That strip would be at home in many places. Just not in newspaper syndication. So -- when you think of getting to the next level, what are you picturing? What is it you would ideally like to happen with your work? Let me know, and I won't be so slow to respond this time!

All the best,
Unnamed Syndicate Guy


Thank you very much for getting back to me. I appreciate it.

I agree that Brinkerhoff can be salty at times, as is his nature. I realize
that if I was serious about wanting to be considered for newspaper syndication, I'd have to tone it down a bit, with language being just a start. What I wouldn't want to do is give up Brinkerhoff's general tone of sardonic humor. I think that quality has been the overiding appeal among his fans. Long story short-Brinkerhoff doesn't have to be lewd to be funny, but he still can't help being a little bit bawdy.

I think Brinkerhoff would be a great addition to newspaper comic pages, but I also know he's a pretty progressive character. Luckily, his kind of humor isn't unprecedented with the likes of Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine, already on the scene.

To be honest, my biggest reluctance to the pursuit of syndication isn't adapting my content, or the chances of Brinkerhoff finding it's success/market. I'm more worried about the disappointing stories I've heard from webcomic friends I've known that have been through web-to-print syndication contracts. People like Dan Thompson (Lost Sheep), Dave Kellet (Sheldon), Frank Page (Bob the Squirrel), and others who've had great comics, but found less-than-stellar success for whatever reason. I'm not trying to throw them under the bus, and I know that there's always more than one side to every story, but it still gives me pause for concern. Meanwhile, I'm also encouraged by United Features picking up the long-running webcomic Diesel Sweeties, which also has more progressive content.

If, somewhere inside the context of your response, you're saying that Brinkerhoff could have a shot at making it as a syndicated feature with some changes in it's content and language, I would definately consider that and work toward those goals. Currently, I'm negotiating a contract for Viper Comics, who want to publish comic books and collections without any mention of editing so far. I'm not saying that the editing would be an issue, I'm just basing it on the fact that their offer has come based on Brinkerhoff's material to this point.

All in all, I think I'm a bit torn on which direction I should go. I'd love to pursue either route, knowing that Brinkerhoff is worth it. My hesitancy lies in a more solid assurance from either side that the gamble would bear fruit. I love the comic and I'd, of course, love to make some money at it, but I want to make sure I'm going down the road to the right kind of success.

Sorry for the novel, but I guess I just need a little bit more input to help me make the best decision I can make.

Thanks for your time.
--Gabe Strine


Gabe.
Sorry for the long silence. I just realized I'd never answered this, no doubt shying away figuring I'd answer later "when I have more time". Ha ha. My usual mistake.

I think I understand where you are at. Weighing the options is hard when they aren't tangible in-the-hand options.

I know BRINKERHOFF has stayed in the adult-theme mode since you wrote this -- taking sex toys to show and tell, for instance. This is not a borderline kind of thing, in terms of "If I were a print cartoonist would I lose a few papers for a day or two?" You are operating way outside the parameters of print syndication there, no question -- and you know that, right? In my mind one of the dividing lines in terms of one's ambition is, are you going for mainstream print syndication? If you are, you have to provide content that would be appropriate for that venue now, not figure someone will come to you later and say "Gosh, if you would just clean that up and not do adult subjects, we'd like to syndicate you." With would-like-to-be-syndicated strips absolutely inundating the mainstream syndicate editors -- what is the commonly bandied about number, 3,000? 5,000 submissions a year -- they aren't likely to be coming to you in that way. (I could be wrong, but that's my impression.) Now if you are NOT interested in mainstream print syndication, then it really frees you up! The internet has created an infinite playing field. Much more complex of course to find/create an audience out there in that vast space, but...you are free to write about whatever you want.

I do like BRINKERHOFF, as I've said. I like the writing and how much you're able to do within the fairly static parameters you have set for yourself. And it's possible that we might be interested in some kind of online syndication deal in future, though my level of enthusiasm is not there yet. But that's an easy conclusion for me to make at this point because of....sex toys at show and tell. Our long-range TO DO list includes a way for site visitors to sign off on receiving more adult content. So we could have a kind of two-level capability. There are a bunch of strips which I truly admire and would be interested in for online syndication if we had this capability. But right now we don't have that capability. So R. Crumb is out of the question. And sex toys at show and tell!

I hope these meager comments help. And I apologize again for being so slow
in getting them to you.

All the best,
Unnamed Syndicate Guy

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So that's all we got though together. Like I said, it would be difficult for me to make a Brinkerhoff who's any less than what he is. It's fun to see him deal with real-life issues in his own way, a controversial as it might be to some readers. I get the same joy from doing this comic as I did when I saw my first South Park episode or heard my first shock-jock DJ. It's nice to know that there's some stuff out there in the media that can just be what it is, without apologies.

Brinkerhoff is what he is and I'm proud of him for that.