I’ve finally uploaded the last five comics from the original 24-comic package I put together in April 2023. That package took me four months to complete, but it took me another three years to finish posting it. Staying motivated and energized while balancing the responsibilities in my life hasn’t always been easy. Even the best-laid plans can get interrupted.
That original package was my attempt to get a syndication deal with one of the few major syndication companies left.
Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted was to be a cartoonist and see my strip in a newspaper. Being unencumbered by a job in early 2023 gave me the chance to take another shot at that dream.
This wasn’t my first attempt. Way back in 2001, I submitted a comic strip called Mundaze, a single-panel gag strip. Think Herman or The Far Side, but without the pithy humour or polished art. It was an across-the-board rejection in the summer of 2001.
My 2023 submission went nowhere either. The difference is that in 2001, they had the decency to send me rejection letters. Not emails—physical letters with real, professional letterhead. This time around, I got absolutely no response. That stung.
In my opinion, there is a lot of power in getting a rejection letter, even a form letter. At least you know someone looked at your comic. It might have been a cursory review by an intern or an editor’s assistant, but a human being still took a look and was nice enough to send a letter.
For me, those letters are also important mementos. To this day, the rejection letter from United Syndicate holds a special place in my collection, framed and hung on my wall.
Besides having that great, iconic letterhead, it reminds me that I took a shot at something I’ve wanted since childhood, and that I still want to keep trying. I hope to find an audience for my comics. Probably not in a newspaper, but a small audience on the internet would be enough to fulfil that dream as I get older.
That’s why it feels good to finally have those last five strips posted and to start fresh with a new set of strips to continue the story. I don’t know how consistently I’ll be able to publish, but as family obligations change and I try to refocus on the things that make me happy, I want to make more room for writing, drawing, inking, and colouring this comic.