The Sorensen Monologues

Editor: Comics help keep print readers loyal

In response to the recent Austin Chronicle story in which I was interviewed about the future of alt-weekly comics, an editor who publishes my work wrote me this noteworthy email:

Jen,

I read the article about the decline in political cartoons in the alternative press, and as usual, there’s a tragic flaw in the reasoning for getting rid of comics to cut costs.

By dumbing down the print side of their publications, publishers everywhere are destroying their own industry.  If anything, the logical response to online competition would be to add *more* comics, columns and thought-provoking material to keep readers loyal.

We’ve taken that approach at Northern Express and the print side of our business is thriving.  For what it’s worth, we sometimes run more pages now than i’ve seen in the Village Voice, and our geographical area encompasses a population of under 300,000.

Meanwhile, the daily in our town has gone all-in with the online delusion and has gone from a staff of 12 reporters to 3.  What publishers don’t realize is that their online presence should be the gravy on the potato — not the other way around.

Thanks for indulging my favorite pet peeve.

Bob Downes,
Northern Express Weekly
Traverse City, MI

Well-put, methinks. To be fair, I understand that not every market is the same, and I know some editors have cut comics due to space issues when they truly didn’t want to. But considering that we live in an increasingly visual age, and political satire is popular, I suspect comics cultivate regular readers better than… well, a lot of other things.

Austin Chronicle article on altie cartoons

The Austin Chronicle recently spoke with Tom Tomorrow and me about the future of alternative political cartooning. Also includes my thoughts on Austin and a photo of me in front of some Futurama graffiti (Captain Zapp Brannigan’s crotch, to be specific.)

Open Letter to the Supreme Court

I neglected to post this while I was traveling and having some FTP issues, so in case you haven’t seen this elsewhere (it is the most widely-shared thing I’ve ever drawn), please check out this 4-page “graphic op-ed” I created for Kaiser Health News. Click through for the rest of the comic.

It’s a personal piece about my history with health insurance on the individual market. During the Affordable Care Act debate, there was lots of discussion about “death panels” and other complete nonsense, but little about the difficulties faced by self-employed people. Being a freelancer is hard enough — when you throw in this disincentive, it becomes downright impossible for many people.

Suffice it to say, I’m not optimistic about the Supreme Court’s looming decision.

Altweekly Awards

While I was wondering around the Rhode Island Convention Center in a daze this past weekend, the 2012 Altweekly Awards were announced… and apparently I won first place this year. Totes awse!

…And We’re Back

I think my website FTP problem has been resolved, knock on mousepad.

I just returned from Netroots Nation, where I was on a panel with Tom Tomorrow and Matt Bors. For a great photo of all three of us in the costume shop of Big Nazo, see the This Modern World blog.

Speaking of Gay Marriage

I have a cartoon in a cool book that just came out, Here Come the Brides!: Reflections on Lesbian Love and Marriage, edited by Audrey Bilger and Michele Kort (Seal Press). I collaborated with LA writer and performer Judy Scheer, who was fun to work with, and a natural at prepping a cartoon script (many people are really not).

The book is filled with moving essays from women with a variety of takes on relationships and the institution of marriage. Coincidentally, I turned in my final art just as crowds were pouring into the streets of New York City to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state. More info at the editors’ blog here.

Oregonian interview

The Oregonian did a nice interview with me as part of a series on their local blog partners. What’s the most common misperception about me? Why am I leaving Portland? How do I summarize myself in a single word? Those exciting answers and more can be found with a click of the mouse!

The First Order of Change

I hope you’ve got those loins fully girded, per my earlier instructions. The first thing I’m changing around here is that I’m de-emphasizing the name “Slowpoke” and using my name instead, the way most daily editorial cartoonists (and op-ed columnists) do. You may have noticed this week’s strip lacked a logo. Or not. It’s pretty subtle, actually. I’m pretty entrenched with the old name, so I’m not going to start calling the strip “The Cartoon Formerly Known as Slowpoke” or anything.

Why the switch? Well, Lil’ Bow Wow eventually had to become Bow Wow at some point. (Hopefully someday he’ll just be Wow.) I’m designing a new site that encompasses all my different projects, and this keeps everything simple.

Change is Afoot

I want to let regular readers know that there will be some changes around here,  concerning both my website and my real life (I’m moving again). This means I’ll probably post extra-minimally on the blog for a while. So gird your loins, or do whatever it is you need to do to Be Prepared.*

*Actually, there is nothing you need to do.

Slowpoke Named Herblock Prize Finalist

I’ve won a prize! The Herblock Foundation announced the 2012 Herblock Prize winners yesterday, with my colleague and friend Matt Bors taking home the grand prize, and yours truly named the Finalist. Normally, the term “Finalist” implies something trifling like “honorable mention,” but in this case, I’ve been awarded $5,000, which makes it the best Second Place ever. (Don’t even ask what Matt’s getting.) To avoid any ambiguity, from now on I’m going to refer to my award as the Herblock Prize Lite™.

It’s heartwarming to see our little genre of “altie” political cartoons finally recognized by a major editorial cartooning award. Here’s hoping my talented and deserving multi-panel peers, many of whom have been in the business longer than me, can look forward to more such recognition in the future.

The Washington Post’s “Comic Riffs” has a story here.

Travel Article

Exploring my outdoorsy side once again, I’ve got another travel piece in today’s Oregonian. “Community spirit, Portland expatriates keep Galena Lodge aglow in the snow”

Daily Kos Interview

Daily Kos blogger Bill in Portland, Maine asks me some interesting questions for his “Cheers and Jeers” column.