Michael Jantze has been doing his the Norm strip for some time now. I recall reading it on the web some years ago and thinking it had huge potential to be a driving force behind the future of comic strips. Jantze had a brilliant website design and it all came together quite well. Unfortunately once he was published in print media he soon decided that it was no longer becoming financially viable to run the strip. He quit the strip in September 2004.
With support from his wife and the encouragement to continue the strip from fans, the decision was made to continue the strip if they could sell online subscriptions. This meant a goal of 4,000 with a minimum of $25 per year a starting point to subscribe. Before Christmas they reached around $60,000 in subs. Whilst a Syndicate wouldn't call this a 'Hit Strip', it shows exactly what I have been thinking all along. By targeting a small audience over the internet you can achieve a viable income and maintain your creativity. Macro Entertainment will become a way of the future and its a shame more artists are not willing to recognise it yet. Recognise or the fact they're too lazy to pursue something they don't understand.
Leave a comment