Ericka Crouse
Ericka Crouse is a contributor to Comixpedia.
A Brief History of Syndication in the U.S.
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The business of syndication as we know it today began in the nineteenth century when many newspapers, especially in smaller cities and towns, found it tantamount to impossible to maintain a large enough staff to do anything other than gather and report the local news. Therefore national organizations sprang up that sold national articles, columns, and anything of interest to the smaller papers. These syndicates allowed a small paper to carry high-quality national content and a highly varied selection of features, in spite of the small staffs they maintained.
Behind the Cartoon Shield: The Comic Book Legal Defence Fund
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You probably know that a court can prevent shops from selling certain materials. Did you also know they can prosecute retailers for selling adult comics to other adults? That retailers can be prosecuted and convicted for selling obscene material even if those comics are in a separate part of the store from regular comics? Did you know that law enforcement and the District Attorney's office can make life very difficult for a private individual, for selling comics that are not obscene to minors? Did you know they can prevent you from drawing or creating anything, even if it's for yourself in your own home?
You'd know all these things if you follow the thrilling exploits of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. You'd also know that sometimes, but not always, justice wins out over stupidity and repression.
Like The Undead, It Keeps Coming Back: Creature-Features.com
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When the Creature-Features site was originally conceived (under the name CreatureFeatureComics.com), it was meant to be a webcomics subscription site of a horror or sci-fi bent about, well, creatures – something like Modern Tales, except with a theme. The site was going to launch over the summer of 2003.
In the months of twists, turns, delays, and personnel changes that the site has been through since its conception, it's no big shock the site has evolved into something almost – but not quite – completely different. The horror theme is the same, but the philosophies of updating, subscriptions, and content have all seen major revisions.
