Does your newspaper distort comics?
John Kovalic John Kovalic
Just visited Minneapolis/St. Paul, and noticed that the St. Paul Pioneer
Press distorts some of the comics it runs to fit into spaces where they
wouldn't otherwise go. Fox Trot and For Better Or For Worse, I believe, are
reduced VERTICALLY more than they are horizontally. The result is that
while each strip's four individual panels were originally rectangular,
they're now square, and the drawings are essentially squashed. The
characters now look shorter and dumpier.
I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see newspapers play
around with comics like they're so much play-doh. To me, this is more
heinous than simply running them small, since it also distorts the artists'
original visions. Something about it really ticks me off. It seems to show
an utter disregard for people's work (Gee -- in a daily newspaper? There's
a shock). Would newspapers distort a photograph vertically or horizontally
to make it fit? I've seen it happen in a number of papers around the
country. I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see
newspapers play around with comics like they're so much play-doh. Do the
syndicates even care that this kind of garbage goes on?
Opinions? Comments?
John Kovalic
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Thomas Linderoos
> Hey, all,
>
> Just visited Minneapolis/St. Paul, and noticed that the St. Paul Pioneer
> Press distorts some of the comics it runs to fit into spaces where they
> wouldn't otherwise go. Fox Trot and For Better Or For Worse, I believe, are
> reduced VERTICALLY more than they are horizontally. The result is that
> while each strip's four individual panels were originally rectangular,
> they're now square, and the drawings are essentially squashed. The
> characters now look shorter and dumpier.
>
> I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see newspapers play
> around with comics like they're so much play-doh. To me, this is more
> heinous than simply running them small, since it also distorts the artists'
> original visions. Something about it really ticks me off. It seems to show
> an utter disregard for people's work (Gee -- in a daily newspaper? There's
> a shock). Would newspapers distort a photograph vertically or horizontally
> to make it fit? I've seen it happen in a number of papers around the
> country. I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see
> newspapers play around with comics like they're so much play-doh. Do the
> syndicates even care that this kind of garbage goes on?
>
the local weekend papers which I read. Among other things, the headers
are distorted, and there isn't proper recognition given to the artists.
About a year ago, the strips were so tiny, you needed a microscope to
read them. Perhaps we need to let the newspapers know we aren't pleased.
-Tom
Colonel X
>I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see newspapers play
>around with comics like they're so much play-doh. To me, this is more
>heinous than simply running them small, since it also distorts the artists'
>original visions. Something about it really ticks me off. It seems to show
>an utter disregard for people's work (Gee -- in a daily newspaper? There's
>a shock). Would newspapers distort a photograph vertically or horizontally
>to make it fit? I've seen it happen in a number of papers around the
>country. I'd rather see one or two fewer strips in a paper than see
>newspapers play around with comics like they're so much play-doh. Do the
>syndicates even care that this kind of garbage goes on?
Well, they *care*, there's just not a whole lot they can do about it.
The syndicate could tell the newspaper to stop doing that and the
paper could retaliate by yanking that strip entirely, or even yanking
all of the syndicate's strips, in favor of others. It's sort of the
same conundrum networks face with local affiliates shrinking credits
for news reports or local election results. "We want you to stop doing
that!," they can scream, and the affil just says "Well, how 'bout we
just not show your precious program at *all*?"
I'm fortunate enough to live in a town large enough to have a decent
Sunday funny section but close enough to get another section from
Atlanta. Both float around work and both have some duplication of the
same strips, but it's interesting to see the differences. For example,
the Atlanta Journal-Constitution almost always clips the first 2 panels
of "Fox Trot," which the Athens Daily News always leaves in. The Athens
paper also doesn't have two pages of puzzles, biographies and Magic
Eye and costs $1.50 less than the AJC, so you know which one I buy...
>.
>.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
On assignment in Athens, Georgia,
Colonel X.
Expect the unexpected.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Michael Kincher
"The World" (Coos Bay, OR.) used to print "Peanuts" as a square, with two
panels on top of two others. Then, Charles Schulz started drawing strips
with one, two, or three panels. So, "The World" moved "Peanuts" and now
runs "Arlo & Janis" in the square format. I found United Media's WWW site
and read some "Arlo & Janis" strips that I had missed. It was weird
seeing the four panels next to each other instead of in the square format.
Adam
Jim Jewett
John Kovalic <mus...@fullfeed.com> wrote:
>Fox Trot and For Better Or For Worse, I believe, are
>reduced VERTICALLY more than they are horizontally. The result is that
>while each strip's four individual panels were originally rectangular,
>they're now square, and the drawings are essentially squashed. The
>characters now look shorter and dumpier.
>
This is such an excellent idea! They didn't take it far enough, though.
What they really need to do is fit stretch the strips into triangles
(perhaps with a clipped end) or sine curves or something.
I think Zippy in particular would be much improved by a touch of surrealism.
_________ Have a favorite group or mailing list? Describe it to
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Thomas Linderoos
Michael McDonald (bigm...@ix.netcom.com) writes:
>
> Often newspapers will reformat the comics to allow space for other
> things, like advertising. In fact, the newspaper may not be involved
> in it at all but the printer does it. (There is an outside printer that
> sends the Sunday comics to the newspaper.)
>
> And, by the way, newspapers don't usually distort photographs, that
> would be a breach of journalistic presentation. They do, however, crop
> them to make them fit.
>
> --Bigmacmm
This is a good point, but the newspaper should still bear the ultimate
responsibility for the printer's results. I recently saw the Sunday
funnies from a small-town newspaper which I don't have regular access to,
and was struck by the large format of the panels. It was like watching a
movie in Imax after only being exposed to Cineplex. Anyway, this paper is
somehow able to justify a large format comic section, so it should be
possible in Metro areas as well.
--
-Tom
John Kovalic John Kovalic
(Michael McDonald ) wrote:
> Often newspapers will reformat the comics to allow space for other
> things, like advertising. In fact, the newspaper may not be involved
> in it at all but the printer does it. (There is an outside printer that
> sends the Sunday comics to the newspaper.)
Not here at the Wisconsin State Journal. All that's done at the Madison
Newspapers presses.
>
> And, by the way, newspapers don't usually distort photographs, that
> would be a breach of journalistic presentation.
At their best, are comics any less of an artform than photography?
> --Bigmacmm
******************************************************************
"This must be Thursday. I never COULD get the hang of Thursdays"
- Arthur Dent
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Reeves
butchered some comics, splitting the last panel in two and ruining
the punchline.
--
Steve Reeves
ste...@gate.net
ChrSundita
strips are splatteered on with brown! And Garfields inner ears aren't
colored! That sucks!
--Chris
--Chris Sundita
FavoriteStrips- For Better or For Worse, Calvin and Hobbes,
Jumpstart,Foxtrot, Rose is Rose, Peanuts, and Pickles Are you a
Cartoonist, I would like to be one give me advice if you can! Thank you!
I Can speak the following:Tagalog, Spanish and Esperanto, English
15 yrs old
john backderf
strip "The City") and it's happened to me and I can tell you it
really pisses me off. But it's nothing malicious, it's just simple
lack of thought on the part of some editor. Editor's, after all, are
word people. They just don't think that something like that is out
of line. My advise... call the paper and bitch.
derf
Michael McDonald
>> Often newspapers will reformat the comics to allow space for other
>> And, by the way, newspapers don't usually distort photographs, that
>> would be a breach of journalistic presentation.
>
>At their best, are comics any less of an artform than photography?
Though both comics and photography can be artforms, in newspapers they
often are not. Newspaper photography is looked upon as journalistic or
has the function of being a graphic eye-catcher (often times used if it
has a lot of color). The art photos are relegated to gallery walls.
Rarely are they presented in the newspaper as art for art's sake.
Comics, too, are usually functional. They are for the entertainment of
the readers. On occasion they approach the level of journalisitic
endeavor, e.g. Doonesberry, Editorial page, and For Better Or Worse
(the coming-out-of-the-closet episode), where they get the argument of
First Amendment protection.
Daily newspapers aim to get information to their readers. Art will
take a back seat to newshole and advertising.
David J. Coyle
like it had been faxed to the newspaper or printed off a computer. It was
very blurry, but it didn't look like a problem with the newspaper itself.
It was not like this in other Ohio papers that I looked at...
|| DAVID J. COYLE / E-Mail: dc33...@oak.cats.ohiou.edu ||
|| Diversified Communications / "Sunset doesn't last all evening..." ||
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BillAmend
like it had been faxed to the newspaper or printed off a computer. It was
very blurry, but it didn't look like a problem with the newspaper itself.
It was not like this in other Ohio papers that I looked at...
I know that my syndicate, Universal, still distributes daily comics to
papers via regular mail. It wouldn't surprise me if once in a while a
mailing got lost or mangled or slowed down so that a newspaper would need
replacement strips. Depending on the particular cartoonist's lead time,
the paper might need these in a hurry -- either by overnight mail or via
fax. This is probably what happened with Funky in your paper, although I
can't say that for sure.
24 White Doves
(ChrSundita) wrote:
> At my newspaper (tacoma News Tribune) they color them! Many detailed
> strips are splatteered on with brown! And Garfields inner ears aren't
> colored! That sucks!
> --Chris
> --Chris Sundita
My next to local paper maps the comics onto a three dimensional elliptical
torus. For those of you in Rio Lindo, that's a donut shaped object.
I miss a lot of punchlines, but it certainly added a new dimension to Cathy.
--
[24]
Steve Silberberg
do...@dove.dove.dove.dove (24 White Doves) wrote:
>In article <462vrf$m...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, chrsu...@aol.com
>(ChrSundita) wrote:
>
>> At my newspaper (tacoma News Tribune) they color them! Many detailed
>> strips are splatteered on with brown! And Garfields inner ears aren't
>> colored! That sucks!
>
>torus. For those of you in Rio Lindo, that's a donut shaped object.
My local paper maps comics onto a Klein Bottle. And you know what? Garfield
is a lot funnier in n-space.
----------------
Steve Silberberg
ste...@onramp.net
http://rampages.onramp.net/~stevebo/
LeeToon
:My local paper maps comics onto a Klein Bottle. And you know what?
:Garfield
:is a lot funnier in n-space.
As for me, Garfield is funny only after I've had a few belts from a Klein
bottle. Or a dirty bottle, it doesn't matter.
Don't delay! Tesseract now!
Don Lee
Cerebus The Aardvark
>In article <dove-29119...@babylon5.sp.trw.com>,
> do...@dove.dove.dove.dove (24 White Doves) wrote:
>>In article <462vrf$m...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, chrsu...@aol.com
>>(ChrSundita) wrote:
>>
>>> At my newspaper (tacoma News Tribune) they color them! Many detailed
>>> strips are splatteered on with brown! And Garfields inner ears aren't
>>> colored! That sucks!
>>
>>My next to local paper maps the comics onto a three dimensional elliptical
>>torus. For those of you in Rio Lindo, that's a donut shaped object.
>My local paper maps comics onto a Klein Bottle. And you know what? Garfield
>is a lot funnier in n-space.
Actually, the Garfield from today (or was it Friday) about the milk was
actually funny.
That n-space must be wearing off! :-)
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System Janitor
>My local paper maps comics onto a Klein Bottle. And you know what? Garfield
>is a lot funnier in n-space.
Why does your newspaper print the comics on a bicycle water bottle?
-Mike