I received an email from Steven Cloud announcing that his web comic Boy on a Stick and Slither has been picked up by United Media to run on comics.com beginning today.
From the press release:
BOASAS is a strip that can be silly, profound, or even absurd. At times, it can be political, but not necessarily topical. BOASAS endeavors to make sense of the world, while balancing both optimistic (Boy on a Stick) and cynical (Slither) points of view.
Boy on a Stick is a kind soul with a pleasant disposition and childlike sense of wonder about new ideas and possibilities. Naturally, these characteristics are a source of annoyance for his only friend, Slither, who delights in pointing out the hypocrisy of others. While he may not think he knows it all, he’s sure he knows more than Boy on a Stick, which is why he is continually smug.
BOASAS is primarily a web comic but has also appeared in the Atltanta Journal-Constitution and Esquire Magazine. It’s web site is at http://www.boasas.com/.
Congrats, Cloud-man!
The comics has been misnamed.
It should be “Crap on a Stick”.
Your taste must be the equal of your grammar, old bean.
Not wishing to echo the bluntness of Rob’s comment, but at this point I have to agree with the spirit of it. And no offense to Mr. Cloud, one could assume I’m jealous of his situation as I too am hoping to be a published cartoonist. But BOASAS has yet to strike me as funny, is artistically not pleasing to look at, and the characters don’t make sense. Almost like they thought, “Hey, we’ve never had a character on a stick before – the people will love it!” Um, no. If they just wanted to syndicate an “on-a-stick” character, they should have gone with “Corn Dog and Cheese Curd: the Greasy Adventures of State Fair Fried Foods”. Just kidding, I don’t think that exists yet…
Congratulations, Steven!
I liked the “You people always say that” line. That got an out-loud chuckle out of me.
Good luck to you.
I wasn’t sure how the strip would fare in the newspaper format. The web comics have their own unique format and that seems to work very well for the cartoonist.
After reading the first two comics, I’d say Steven has done very well adjusting. The one question I still have is, if the comic does see newsprint, how will it look in black and white? I like the coloring so much, I’d hate to see it go.
Although the strip has appeared in print in a few places, I believe it’s best suited to web comics where anything goes.
That said, there’s nothing about it that would compel me to read it on a daily basis. Being off-the-wall doesn’t make it innovative. I find it boring.
…Crap on a Stick.
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the positive feedback.
For those who tend to be negative, I’d like to offer some sincere advice…
First, I don’t believe I’m better than other other cartoonists out there. I think I hold my own, but I’m by no means a comic genius. I attribute my (very modest) success to being nice to people. I respect others work even If it’s not exactly what I would enjoy reading on a regular basis.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but it really pays to be nice to people. You never know who might be able to help you down the road. This is a very small industry. You need all friends you can get.
Steven is absolutely right.
I don’t approve of comments like, “Crap on a stick,” even if I don’t care for the strip. There is no reason to belittle someone’s work, no matter how much you dislike it. But given a choice between the critiques given by two individuals who don’t care for my work,I would prefer an honest “Crap on a stick” to an insincere “Nice work” any day. Yes, it’s nice to be nice, but there is something to be said for developing a thick skin to where negative feedback can be viewed objectively as every bit as helpful, if not more so, than positive feedback. The emphasis should be on “feedback.”