MCR Interview with Erik Campos Part 2 of 3

This is part 2 of a three part interview held December 27, 2008 for the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio (MCR)

LB: Welcome back, everyone. This is the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio, 35 minutes after the hour, and we are back with Erik Campos, creator, producer and main character of MidToon, the first democratic comic strip in the world. Welcome back, Erik.

EC: Thanks.

LB: In the first segment of the show you made some striking comments about the Peanuts comic strip, and you said, and I quote: “Don’t even get me started with Garfield”.

EC: I knew you would bring that up…

LB: Erik, what is your take on Garfield?

EC: I don’t like it.

LB: Can you elaborate?

EC: Sure. I think Garfield, with all due respect to the fans that I’m sure it has, has been exploiting the same joke for years. The cat sleeps, the cat eats, the cat plays practical jokes on the dog, Odie, the human, Jon, doesn’t have a clue, the cat sleeps, eats, you get the idea.

LB: But don’t you think it is funny? If you find a formula for success, is it wrong to stick to it?

EC: Sticking to a formula is all right with me, but sometimes you can take it to the extreme. Look, one thing I don’t like about comics is how they fire the actors when they become too old to play the character. I have seen the early Garfield, and he was meaner and bigger that the one we have today. Obviously at some point, they fired the old cat and hired a new one. And this is not only in Garfield. Archie, one of my favorite comics, has replaced the entire cast more than once. Recently, they fired all the actors, and hired new ones.

LB: Tell us about your comic, Erik. Are you saying that you are not going to replace your actors? What will you do when they grow old?

EC: Make old jokes, I guess. I think I will keep the comic based on Midtoon instead of me. Look, when I graduate from High School, why would I want to keep playing a high school student for the next 20 years? I want to go on, learn new things, move to my own place, hopefully get married to a nice girl, you know.

LB: What if you move out of Midtoon, let’s say to study? Will the comic follow you?

EC: That I can’t say now. The comic is a democracy, so it will be up to the voters.

LB: That’s interesting, and it brings me to the next point I wanted to discuss with you. Tell us a little about the democracy part of your comic. How does it work?

EC: My comic strip is more like a reality show than a sitcom. Up until now, you had a comic strip bringing you a fixed story. You would love it, hate it or love to hate it, but besides that, and sending hate mail to the editor, there was not much you could do to alter the course of the strip. I intend to change that. My intention is to have at least one poll, and sometimes more than on the blog and the results of the polls will help shape and define the strip.

LB: I am looking at the blog right now and there is a poll up. It’s about what facet of Midtoon we are more interested in. May I vote?

EC: Sure, as long as you vote before closing date.

LB: Okay, I’m interested in the love life of the characters. Okay, here we go. (pause) Oh, look the results are up. My choice is winning!

EC: Congratulations.

LB: Does this mean that your next comic will be about the love life?

EC: Not necessarily. Look, there are two things we have to keep in mind. The answers to the polls will have an effect in the direction of the comic, but that effect may not be immediately apparent. First, there is a delay from the time a comic is made and the time it is published, so what the polls may be asking will have bearing on events later on. Second, some polls will call for a direct answer, such as a yes or no question. When that happens, the answer may be clear. Some others, like the one up right now, are less specific and point to a general direction rather than a particular action. So, judging for the results as I see them right now (at the time of this interview the poll still had 12 days to close) people seem to be more interested in love life humor, but they also want to see social, school and home humor as well, so this tells me that we should follow all those, but put special emphasis on the love life.

LB: So, sometimes the answers will be more direct than others. What will you do if people say a character should do something but their dream is to do something else?

EC: We have to keep in mind that this is reality comics. There will be events that will unalterably be shaped by the voters, but let’s say that there may be cases when the characters may choose to act against the will of the people. I think this is one of the issues with democracies, isn’t it? We vote for someone to do something, but they may or may not do it. The good thing is that if a character is going against the will of the people, the people have a way of taking some action and “voting them out of office”.

LB: Even you, Erik? Can you be voted out of office?

EC: I would like to say no, but the comic is called MIDTOON, not ERIK, so I guess the possibility is there that if people don’t like me, I may be ousted.

LB: Let’s wish that does not happen.

EC: Of course.

LB: Well, Erik, it is time for our break again. When we come back, we will be taking some more phone calls from the public and answering some of their questions. This is the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio. More of our conversation with Erik Campos after these short messages.

End of part 2. Stay tuned for part three of the interview, coming soon

MCR Interview with Erik Campos

This is part 1 of a three part interview held December 27, 2008 for the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio (MCR)

LB: Good Morning, everyone. This is the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio, 12 minutes after the hour, and oh boy, are the phone lines ringing! This is because we have a very special guest today. With us, is Erik Campos, creator, producer and main character of MidToon, the first democratic comic strip in the world. Good Morning, Erik.

EC: Good Morning, Ms. Blog, it is an honor to be here.

LB: Please call me Laurie. Erik, any words you would like to address to your fans before we open the lines for questions?

EC: What fans?

LB: Oh, how humble! Come on, Erik. We know that the phones are not ringing off the hook for nothing. You have an established fan base all across MidToon.

EC: You are too kind, Ms. Blog. I mean, Laurie.

LB: Erik, tell us a little bit about your venture. What gave you the idea to make a comic strip?

EC: Well, you know how sometimes something happens to you, or to someone you know and you say, gee, I think this should be in a comic strip?

LB: Not really, but continue.

EC: Well, in my family, it happened a lot. I found myself saying that over and over. You may say that I live in a funny family.

LB: Tell us about your family, Erik.

EC: Well, my father, John Campos, is a lawyer and works as a legal advisor to the mayor, so you have some political situations right there. After he divorced my mom, seven years ago, he married the former Mabel Snyders, who is now my step-mother, and you may say she is the smarter half of the couple. Then you have my brother, Javier. He's just 7 years old, but sometimes acts way below it. He suffers from Neurologic Unrestrained Thought Syndrome (NUTS) a very rare condition he inherited from our mother. Because of his condition, he sometimes has very, uh; let's say interesting thoughts and insights into situations. Because of Javier's condition, Mabel stays at home.

LB: Doesn't your brother attend school?

EC: He does. With therapy and medicine, he is able to function to a somewhat normal level. If his condition remains stable, Mabel has plans to go back to work.

LB: Well, good luck to you and Mabel. We hope your brother recovers from his NUTS.

EC: I kind of not.

LB: What?

EC: I wish my brother would not recover.

LB: Why would that be?

EC: Well, sometimes, when nothing funny happens and I need a quick situation to portray, I just hide his pills and that creates an instant-comic right there, because he is bound to do something funny.

LB: Isn't that a bad thing to do?

EC: Laurie, we ARE Comic Strip actors. That is what we do.

LB: Well, Erik. We have to break for adverteasing, but before we do, let's take a couple phone calls from our lines. Line 1 caller, from MidToon, you are on the air, welcome to the Laurie Blog Show.

Caller 1: Hello, Laurie, I love you.

LB: Thank you caller, I love you as well.

Caller 1: No, I'm serious. I want you to marry me.

LB: Not now, Frank. let’s go to line 2, from Boise, Idaho. Hello, welcome to the show.

Caller 2: Hello, Laurie. I have a question for your guest.

LB: Shoot.

Caller 2: Erik, with all the comic strips out there, what makes you think that yours has any chance? Isn't the market saturated already?

LB: Good question, Erik. What do you think of that? Is the market full of comics?

EC: There are two categories of strips out there, Laurie. The ones about my family and the ones that are not about my family. The second group is probably saturated, as the caller says, but the first category, that's where I think we can carve a niche.

LB: Thank you caller 2. Caller 3 calls from MidToon as well. Caller 3, welcome to the Laurie Blog Show.

Caller 3: I still love you Laurie...

LB: Someone do something about this freak! I'm sorry, Erik. Sometimes we have technical difficulties, that’s one of the problems of a live show.

EC: No problem. I wish I was as popular as you are, Laurie.

LB: Thanks. Our next caller, line 1 again, from San Francisco. Line 1, you are on the air.

Caller 1: Hello, Laurie, long time admirer.

LB: Thank you.

Caller 1: Mr. Campos, You have a peculiar style that I find a little hard to place. I have been wondering who your influences are.

EC: I grew up reading comic strips and for the most part learning how NOT to do them. There are a few jewels out there, though. I think that in the panel form, the Farside must be my all-time favorite. In the strip form I think Luann is hot, even though she doesn't always agree. I also like Candorville and Dilbert. In longer form, I like Archie, although I like the artwork more than the storyline sometimes. I have also been a huge fan of The Flintstones, the old ones, before Pebbles and Bam-bam came along, and The Simpsons, and even though they are not comic strips, their perception and their world view definitely influenced my work. I think Matt Groening and Scott Adams are geniuses.

LB: Let me add something here. What about Peanuts?

EC: I like the salty ones. Oh, and also peanut butter.

LB: I meant the Peanuts comic strip.

EC: Ah, sorry. The Peanuts comic strip is an institution. I respect the influence that it had in the medium, and although I personally don't like it, I recognize that I use some of the conventions that it helped create.

LB: You don't like Peanuts? But Snoopy is the cutest!

EC: I respect its legacy and influence but I think it belongs in a museum, or in collectable books, not in the pages of your daily newspapers. The daily newspapers should be about current, living comics, not re-runs.

LB: Do you realize that you are likely to alienate a large segment of the comic strip readership by your last statement?

EC: It is just my point of view. I understand that some people cannot live without their daily fix of Snoopy and the gang. It is just not something that I like.

LB: Well, Erik, we need to go on a break now, but why don't we take a call from Wichita, Kansas?

EC: Sure.

LB: Wichita, line 2, you are on the air.

Caller 2: Laurie, let me tell your pompous guest something. Sir, you are a and how can you say that you don't like Peanuts? Peanuts is the best comic strip ever!

LB: To say I told you so, would be an understatement. You are going to alienate some people.

EC: Yes, Snoopy is very popular. There are two kinds of people, those who like Peanuts and those who don’t. Now, don't even get me started with Garfield.

LB: We will have to leave our talk about Garfield for after the break. This is the Laurie Blog Show on MidToon City Radio. More of our conversation with Erik Campos after these short messages.

End of part 1. Stay tuned for part two of the interview, coming soon

Midtoon Getting Ready to Lauch!

Finally, after much time, Midtoon is getting ready to launch!

2009 will be the first official year of Midtoon. The first e-mail only comic will be sent January 5, 2009. Not all of the services that Midtoon will offer will be available from day one, so we have come with a promotional offer to offset the lack of certain features; the first 50 individuals to move to Midtoon will receive free Citizenship and will get their Taxes paid for the first year, absolutely free.

Did I say Free?

Yes, free. Midtoon cannot be a democracy if there are no voters. The presence of at least 50 people at launch, will make the democracy part work. As a special 'thank you' for being there at the beginning, the Mayor of Midtoon will be issuing free Citizenship certificates. Take is now, while supplies last.

What can you expect on January 2nd?

Expect to receive an email with the first Midtoon Strip and links to this blog, and to other resources. The body of the message will also include special content, blatant self-promotion (although no adverteasing) and announcements as to when the next features of Midtoon will become available.

What Features am I talking about?

The launch of Midtoon.com, the opening of the online store, the publication of Midtoon Yearbooks (obviously, this won't happen until early 2010, after Midtoon: Year One, is completed) The availability of special, autographed editions, opportunities to pre-order, and much, much more.

What if I am not part of the 'first 50'?

To be absolutely honest, since I do not have an adverteasing budget, I don't expect that we will go too far beyond fifty before launch. If we do, it will be amazing. I don't feel that it will be fair to charge full-price for the residency and the citizenship. There will be discounted fees from the time we reach 50 Midtoon Citizens until the time Midtoon.com goes online. This date has not been determined yet, but during this period, becoming a resident will only cost a $1.00 tax for the entire year, while becoming a Midtoon Citizen will cost $6.00 tax for the entire year.

After Midtoon.com goes online, the tax increases will likely bring the Resident Tax to $3.00 and the Citizen Tax to $9.00 (Prices subject to change)

What is the diference between Residents and Citizens?

Good question (even if I made it myself). Midtoon Comics will be distributed for free to anyone who wants to suscribe. The person who enjoys this free suscription will be called a VISITOR and will be able to enjoy the storyline, shop in the local stores and very few other things.

Residents will enjoy the following added benefits:

• Will be able to log on and comment of the Midtoon Blog postings.
• Will be able to vote on General elections and Town Hall meetings, affecting the storyline.
• Will be able to receive a resident discount on selected pre-order merchandise.*
• Will be eligible for contests and giveaways.

Citizens will enjoy all the benefits of Residents plus:

• Will be able to pre-order special autographed editions of yearbooks.
• Will be able to pre-order merchandise at cost* (yep, you heard it, $0.00 mark-up)
• Will be eligible for even more contests and giveaways.
• Will be able to vote in all elections such as steering committees, etc.
• Your likeness may play a Cameo in Midtoon. (Details of this to be determined).

* discounts can only be accessed by preorder because they will only be available to me via volume orders. I will be placing an order for all the pre-ordered items at launch time and getting discount price for them.

Why is the TAX so low?

I have to be honest about this. It is my belief that it will be easier to get 1 million individuals to give me $1.00 than to get one individual to give me one million dollars. By distributing the comic for free and charging a low tax for added services, I am hoping to reach a wider audience. Historically, no web-only comic has made any money, so most support themselves by selling other items such as will be available in Midtoon.com and the online stores. The Tax system is a kind of micro-financing, because a Citizen (at full price, after the launch of the Website) will be paying (possibly) $9.00 for a whooping 312 comic strips. If this was all the Midtoon Citizen would get, it would come up to a little over 2.8 cents per comic. For a Resident, the cost would be even lower, a little less than a cent per comic. Doing this, I am hoping to make Midtoon reach a wider audience and unleash the true potential of the 'first democratic comic strip in the industry'.

What if you have more question?

Keep coming to this blog. I plan to keep updating this with new information as it becomes available.

The First Reality Comic Strip

MidToon, the first comic strip where readers can vote to determine the fate of an entire cast of characters is a "reality comic strip" It will be coming soon to www.midtoon.com No, don't go clicking on the link just yet. It will take you to a place holder page. The website is not ready yet. Since this is going to be a low budget operation, I am learning how to make the site myself. This will probably take some time, because I still have to maintain my day job to pay the bills.

When the population of MidToon reaches 100,000, I will probably take the plunge and retire from my day job and work full-time in my Reality Comic Strip to try and make it grow to 1,000,000.

Who wants to become the first Resident of MidToon? The MidToon Passport Office will open soon...

See you there!

A bad experience with Network Solutions

Today I set up several things. I officially own the webpage www.Midtoon.com. Something bad happenned when I was trying to obtain the domain name. I was searching for information from various domain name providers to see wha the price was going to be. I searched the domain in Godaddy.com and 1&1.com, and the prices were very reasonable. I checked Network Solutions and it was more expensive, so I went back to purchase from GoDaddy, and something strange happened; the domain was already taken! By law, the domain name companies have to disclose who owns the site, so out of curiosity I checked, and the owner was no less than Network Solutions! They just went ahead and claimed it after I did the search. I ended up paying $35.00 for the name I wanted instead of the 9.99 for GoDaddy and the 6.99 from 1&1.com. I bought from them, but am not a very happy customer, and will not host with them, or renew my domain with them when the time comes...

Today I also set up my paypal account and my ebay account. I also set up a direct deposit account so my paypal operates on a separate card, because my regular checking account is being used by my wife for her business.

We'll see what else I can do this weekend.

NOTE: Please don't go looking at my website yet. It is still under construction and full of advertising for Network Solutions.

Democracy Comes to Comic Strips

I want to publish a comic strip. Not like your regular daily funnies, but a new concept. You see? Up until now, you read comic strips, like them or hate them, but besides ranting to a newspaper editor or writing hate mail to the author, there has been little that you can do to influence the course of the comic strip's story-line. I propose to change that.

I propose that comic strips should become democratic, that is, that the readers of the strip should be empowered and educated and then vote on the principal issues that affect the characters of the strip. It is still unclear how the voting will take place, but it will probably have to be online, since I don't expect to have the resources to handle paper ballots, and can't put a voting machine in every precint. Of course, if I were to go the voting machine route, it would be subject to rigging and elections could be stolen. I still have not decided if there should be super-delegates or not, and how many electoral votes each state should get. I think that every citizen deserves the chance of getting their vote counted and recognized.

My idea is that there will be a website associated with the comic. For now, Midtoon.com seems to be available (please don't take it). All the comic s will be avaliable there for perusing, and there will be elections every week (several may be running at a time) the results of the electoral votes will be calculated and they will affect the life of the citizens of Midtoon, USA. In a future post I will talk about the main characters and the way they interact with each other.

How is this new Democratic Comic going to fund itself? Making a comic strip can be a lot of fun, but it is also hard work, and I expect that my efforts in bringing you a quality product should be remunerated. But how? That is a question that keeps me tossing and turning in my sleep, and that affects my day job (yes, until I become a millionarie web comic publisher, I will have to keep a day job). Am I going to impose a Tax to all residents and citizens of my comic world? Will it be donation supported? Will it sell itself to the corporate media and be funded by adverteasing? I know it is spelled advertising, just think adverteasing is more accurate. Will it plug and place products and try to license out to gather funds? Will we issue an IPO?

What seems more likely is that in order to vote in Midtoon elections, you must register, and to do so, you must be a resident of Midtoon. Becoming a resident of Midtoon will probably require some type of tax. The amount has not been determined yet, but it must be really really low, to allow for a million people to pay it. A million of you giving me one dollar a year? Far-fetched? I don't know, but I don't think it should be hard, especially if Midtoon is successful. There are likely to be sales of products, online auctions, a paypal donate button, a "citizen" tax (something way higher than the resident, maybe $5,00 that would give you access to the citizen's only events, a red white and blue Midtoon Citizen pin and a full year of bragging rights)

In keeping with my strong belief in freedom, Reading the comic online will not require payment of any type. Once a year, I plan to publish a Midtoon Yearbook; a professionally printed collection of a full year of Monday through Saturday comic strips and maybe some electoral information and political analysis of the happenings of Midtoon. My goal is to reach the 50K readers mark in three years. I think the Yearbook will be running around $12.00, but this is subject to change.

As far as adverteasing goes, no. I don't think that adverteasing should have a place in the first Comic World Democracy. Sure, there will be self-promotion and links to our own products (like framed art, pins, t-shirts, hats, etc) We will see if we can make the efforts worthwhile woith this financial scheme. I plant to accept political contributions, but Midtoon has very strict anti-lobbying laws, so don't expect that you will be able to influence the results of an election just because you make a campaign donation. Your vote will still count as one, unless you happen to be a super-delegate. I have not decided if the vote of the citizens will be worth more than the vote of the residents, or if there will be super-delegates at all. This is probably a principle that undermines the basic concept of a democracy, so I may not allow for that. We will see what the future brings along these lines.

There are many options available to us, but before we can decide how to fund this venture, I have to create the content. This is not the .com era when people were getting millions just on the idea of future income. Today, you need something real to offer. I will be talking about it in the next post. For now, I will go sign a deal with McDonald's to include a Midtoon character in their kid's meals and sell the movie rights to Miramax.

See you soon in Midtoon.