Welcome to the Tucson Comic News, a monthly (for now) compendium of political cartoons and other cartoon features. We're going to have a lot of fun with this; you, the advertisers; them, the readers (your customers), and me, the publisher.There are around thirty such papers around the US. Most of them provide an inexpensive and effective advertising vehicle by publishing nationally-syndicated humor features geared towards the well-educated reader. Since most daily papers are written for the marginally literate, they can't take advantage of the more sophisticated cartoons currently available. The small independent cartoon newspaper is able to fill that void, and in so doing, target a lively and intelligent audience. And, because the TCN and publications like it are produced with a minimal overhead, ad rates can be kept well below those of other types of small-circulation tabloids.
Another advantage the TCN has over entertainment, community, and alternative publications is that more of it gets read. While readers typically scan other types of publications for entertainment listings, specific reviews or columns, they are apt to read all of the features in a cartoon newspaper and spend more time doing so. And when a cartoon newspaper presents a coherent partisan point of view, it tends to develop a fiercely loyal core audience who will go out of their way to shop with the paper's advertisers.
The first cartoon newspaper, the Santa Cruz Comic News, was developed nine years ago by one Thom Zajac, the “Godfather of all Comic Newses.” I've been working with Thom since the big earthquake of '89 hit Santa Cruz, and now that I have moved to Tucson for other reasons, I'm ready to strike out on my own.
So, not to toot my own horn too loudly, but that's what this prototype is for. Thom has stated more than once that he has never known anyone more qualified to start a cartoon newspaper than yours truly. My extensive background as a journalist, editor, author, cartoonist, graphic artist, office manager and liquor store clerk has prepared me for this job, and I'm ready to hit the ground running. And because I'm going to handle every aspect of the paper single-handedly during the startup phase, your ad rates are kept even lower than normal.
Okay. Have a look through “issue zero” and see if you're not as excited as I am about the Tucson Comic News. I'll be seeing you.