Lennie Peterson Interview (part 2)

Well, here's part 2 and the final part of the interview. This is my favortie part of the interview between the two. Anyway, I'd like to thank a few people real quick before I start this. Thanks to Lennie Peterson of course for being the generous guy he is and letting a little guy like me have an interview with him. I'd also like to thank Scott Kurtz of PvP, Barry Smith of Angst Technology, and James Jackson of Rationale for linking to my interview, you guys are awesome and really helped me get the word out. Also thanks to everyone else who told their friends of this, you guys are in the "cool book" as well.

If you liked this interview, email me if you wish to tell me how much you enjoyed it and if you have any questions.

Also email Lennie and tell him how cool he is and how you love his strip (tell him I sent ya!)

If you haven't read part one yet, read it here before this one.

Part 2
J. R. -- Mostly I just have questions about syndication in general. What kind of steps does a cartoonist has to take in order to be syndicated?

Lennie -- for the number of syndicated cartoonists, there are that many ways to approach it. the most common is to get a listing of the top syndicates and send your concept and submissions to them according to their guidelines. the other approach is what i did, through self syndication. building an audience that you can bring to them.

J. R. -- How do the people in charge pick what gets syndicated or not and what are the chances of someone to get syndicated?

Lennie -- i'm not an expert at that but i think they consider what niche they're looking to fill at that time and if yours fits into it. in other words, if it fits into a category they see marketable at that point. it's exactly what the papers do as well. like "family", "alternative", "kids" etc.what openings they have for what kind of strips. that's why you can't always take it personally when you're turned down. you maybe just didn't fill their needs at that time. but first and foremost, your strip needs to be funny and have enough "character" that it stands out from the crowd. you also need to grow very thick skin. i have enough rejection letters to wallpaper gary larson's living room. a syndicate receives about 30 submissions for strips every single day. if this intimidates you, you're going into the wrong business in the first place.

J. R. -- Where would someone submit their comic for syndication?

Lennie -- i highly recommend two trade magazines published specifically for comic strip creators. they were of GREAT help to me and have been to many others. they always, on a consistent basis, have helpful information like that. the magazines are "cartoonist profiles" (p.o. box 325 fairfield, ct. 06430) and hogan's alley which can be found at hogansalley.com. they are both quarterly magazines. about 30 bucks a year and worth 10 times that. tell 'em lennie sent you... actually, just to give a plug, there's an in depth interview with me in the upcoming june issue of cartoonist profiles.

J. R. -- What are some of the rules you have to follow when you are syndicated. Such as language, size of the panels, material used, etc?

Lennie -- universal press is real good with how they treat their creators. i hear horror stories from other creators at other syndicates. i can say that ups really leaves me to my own devices. i don't swear a whole lot in real life so i wouldn't even if i could in the strip. i didn't even swear in the strip when it was an underground. it's not a moral thing, it's just a preference. now and then my editor will put a flag up but i don't have a problem with it. i'd like to use the word "sucks" instead of "stinks" more often but it's no big deal. now and then, i get by with it. as long as they don't have a problem with my subject matter, i'm happy and that's never come up. the size of the panels to be used are up to the individual syndicates and you can get that information from the magazines i mentioned. you can get a lot of suggestions for materials from those magazines as well. and books. it ends up you just use the best materials you know how for the best art you know how to produce. there's a lot of trial and error involved.

J. R. -- Have you ever had a strip that was refused to be printed because of the material within it? If so what was the strip about and why was it refused? Do you feel they were right?

Lennie -- i work very closely with my editor lisa through e-mail and i now, since my syndication, consider her a friend. we've gotten so close. so, i really trust her judgement on what should go through and what doesn't. i don't have a problem being reminded that syndication in mainstream papers means that some parents are going to be sensitive to more "adult" themes, especially words. i like controversial and getting people riled up now and then and will fight for that but as far as words go, if i wanted to swear i wouldn't bitch about it, i'd just go back to doing undergrounds. the last time i was asked to change something was when i did a strip about an encounter with a guy in a supermarket and in the last panel, i wrote in big giant letters "BITE ME!" i was asked to tone that down. plus it was only 2 months into my syndication so i understood. i wrote "UP YOUR NOSE!" so there was no difference for me anyway.

J. R. -- Do you ever feel you lose some of your freedom of speech by following the rules of syndication or are you pretty much ok with them?

Lennie -- if there are rules, i haven't been told about them except for my attorney explaining what's liable toward individuals, what i can get sued for. so, no, i don't feel restricted by the syndicate at all with language or content. maybe someone else would but i'm saying and doing exactly what i want to say in my strip.

J. R. -- Do you feel syndication can be too harsh on personal freedom for not only your work, but other artists?

Lennie -- my belief and how i live my life is that everyone should do what they want, period. no exceptions. if a syndicate or publisher is doing what IT wants by restricting you and you feel that strongly about your work, find another publisher or publish your own stuff with other artists that are on the same page as you. there's an audience out there for everyone. it's a great country. and an artist should do what he or she wants because they can't help it and not use the excuse of anyone "holding them back". when you have passion for what you do you don't give a crap about what's supposedly in the way.

J. R. -- Now that you are syndicated do you get to work around with a lot of other syndicated cartoonists or get to hang out with them? Do you ever get to work with them on different projects?

Lennie -- i've become good acquaintences with a few here and there. we keep in contact now and then. i'm extremely busy so, no, there's not a whole lot of opportunity to hang out. hilary price [rhymes with orange] has become a very good friend of mine through the years though. i feel connected to her. but that's really about it. i don't work very well with other people on art endeavors so that's never really come up.

J. R. -- I wanted to ask a few questions about the future of cartooning. Where do you think we are headed? Is the Internet the answer or or should Printed comics stay strong?

Lennie -- i don't think about that all that much to be honest. for me, it's just about drawing so wherever it goes, for better or worse, i'll just still be drawing. there will always be a market for humor and graphics for those who want to make money at it. always. and truthfully if i knew where we were headed i'd buy some stock. seriously, i think it's all balancing out. i couldn't be more pleased with the internet market for cartoons, and at the same time,i really enjoy the printed page so , for me, i don't need an "answer" or a "should". it's all about art for me. whatever the medium or distribution or tools, i don't really care. as long as i can draw.

J. R. -- You said something about animation is actually a logical step. What type of animations do you mean? Just simple gif animations with some text or actual flash cartoons?

Lennie -- yes. both. all of it. all good. give me everything. but i can't pretend to have a finger on where this is going. i think people that are interested in any of those mediums should be on fire with what they believe in and sneak up on an unsuspecting public and blow the roof off the damn place. with whatever they're doing. do it all. for me, i think it would be nice to see this all turn into flash someday soon. as long as it can avoid the impersonal cheeseball look some of it has now.

J. R. -- Do you think the syndicates will be soon looking at the many web comics out there to add to them (such as a "webcomic" syndication of the best online comics) or is this something you think the syndicates would not be interested in?

Lennie -- the syndicates and publishers and record companies and film companies are looking for strong material that stands out, period, despite what they tell us. they tell us they're not accepting unsolicited material because they don't want to be inundated with the mediocre stuff they get inundated with. but the syndicates are paying VERY close attention already to EVERYthing, including the web. all the syndicates already have their own on line services. look between the panels of any syndicated cartoon, see the company name and do a web search on them. they're there. but the thing is, no one should be sitting on their ass waiting for the syndicates to come to them. someone should start their own on-line syndicate service that would be exclusively web based if they feel strongly enough about that. but, for now, creators with on- line comics can do what many creators including me, did to get started. you build a following and then you bring that following , with your work, to them and say "doods. i get a thousand hits a day on my website of people following my stoopid daily comic strip. wanna make some dough?" and they get you a wider distribution cuz they'll see dollar signs in that. god bless america, man. do what you wanna do AND get paid for it.

J. R. -- Last question for the interview. What can you expect in the future from Lennie Peterson? Anything exciting planned for The Big Picture? Any new projects coming up to do with the comic, your artwork, or your band?

Lennie -- to be honest, right now, despite 16 hour work days or maybe BECAUSE of them, i'm just trying to enjoy the ride and catch up and maintain these 3 careers that have suddenly decided to overwhelm me. i've worked and struggled a very long time to get here so i'm enjoying the process right now and trying my best to live in the moment. if i can draw, play music and meditate every day, i'm pretty happy. okay. and have my um..romantic encounters now and then. i really have no immediate plans except to keep creating the best that i know how. that's not to say i don't have stuff i'm excited about and look forward to and am ambitious about. i constantly look forward to gaining new readers of the strip, i'm on a new push for exposure and various venues for my fine art and the band is pursuing a record deal. but for now, i've temporarily put aside the map and decided to enjoy the ride just for the sake of the ride. it's pretty nice.

J. R. -- Well, that's it folks and thanks for reading! As I said, if you liked this interview than by all means email me or Lennie and tell us how you feel :) Also feel free to read The Normal Guy anytime, heck, bookmark it now if you like it so you don't forget ;) Thanks guys, it was a blast!