Everything about King Features totally explained
King Features Syndicate, a
print syndication company owned by
The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150
comic strips,
newspaper columns,
editorial cartoons,
puzzles and
games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. King Features Syndicate is a unit of Hearst Holdings, Inc., which combines the Hearst Corporation's cable network partnerships, television programming and distribution activities and syndication companies.
History
King Features was founded by
William Randolph Hearst in 1915, under the direction of
Moses Koenigsberg, who wrote an autobiographical history of the company,
King News (1941). Hearst paid close attention to the comic strips, even in the last years of his life, as is evident in these 1945-46 correspondence excerpts, originally in
Editor & Publisher (December 1946), about the creation of
Dick's Adventures in Dreamland:
» Hearst to King Features president J. D. Gortatowsky (December 28, 1945): "I have had numerous suggestions for incorporating some American history of a vivid kind in the adventure strips of the comic section. The difficulty is to find something that will sufficiently interest the kids... Perhaps a title,
Trained by Fate, would be general enough. Take Paul Revere and show him as a boy making as much of his boyhood life as possible, and culminate, of course, with his ride. Take
Betsy Ross for a heroine, or
Barbara Frietchie... for the girls."
» King Features editor Ward Greene to Hearst: "There is another way to do it, which is somewhat fantastic, but which I submit for your consideration. That is to devise a new comic... a 'dream' idea revolving around a boy we might call Dick. Dick, or his equivalent, would go in his dream with Mad Anthony Wayne at the storming of Stony Point or with Decatur at Tripoli... [Thiswould] provide a constant character... who would become known to the kids."
» Hearst to Greene: "The dream idea for the American history series is splendid. It gives continuity and personal interest, and you can make more than one page of each series... You are right about the importance of the artist."
» Greene to Hearst (enclosing samples): "We employed the dream device, building the comic around a small boy."
» Hearst to Greene: "I think the drawing of Dick and His Dad is amazingly good. It is perfectly splendid. I'm afraid, however, that similar beginning and conclusion of each page might give a deadly sameness to the series... Perhaps we could get the dream idea over by having only the conclusion on each page. I mean, don't show the boy going to sleep every time and then show him waking up, but let the waking up come as a termination to each page... Can you develop anything out of the idea of having Dick the son of the keeper of the Liberty Statue in New York Harbor? I don't suggest this, as it would probably add further complications, but it might give a spiritual tie to all the dreams. The main thing, however, is to get more realism."
» Greene to Hearst: "We don't have to show the dream at the beginning and end of every page... If we simply call the comic something like Dreamer Dick, we'd have more freedom... Some device other than the dream might be used... A simple method would be to have him curl up with a history book."
» Hearst to Greene: "If we find [thefirst series] isn't a success, of course we can brief it, but if it's a success it should be a long series."
» Greene to Hearst: "I am sending you two sample pages of
Dick's Adventures in Dreamland which start a series about Christopher Columbus."
» Hearst to Greene: "In January, I'm told, we're going to 16 pages regularly on
Puck, the Comic Weekly. That would be a good time to introduce the Columbus series, don't you think so?"
After Greene, Sylvan Byck was the head editor of the syndicate's comics features for several decades, from the 1950s through the 1970s. Byck retired in 1978 and died in 1982.
In 1978, cartoonist
Bill Yates took over as King Features' comics editor. He had previously edited
Dell Publishing's cartoon magazines (
1000 Jokes,
Ballyhoo,
For Laughing Out Loud) and Dell's paperback cartoon collections. Yates resigned from King Features at the end of 1988 in order to spend full time on his cartooning, and he died
March 26,
2001. In 1988, Yates was replaced by
Jay Kennedy, author of
The Official Underground & Newave Comix Price Guide (Norton Boatner, 1982). On
March 15,
2007, Kennedy drowned in a riptide while vacationing in Costa Rica. King Features appointed associate editor Brendan Burford to the position of comics editor on
April 23, 2007.
Strip submissions
When asked to speak in public, Byck made a point of telling audiences that King Features received more than 1000 strip proposals annually but chose only one each year. However, in
Syd Hoff's
The Art of Cartooning (Stravon, 1973), Byck offered some tips re strip submissions, including the creation of central characters with warmth and charm and the avoidance of "themes that are too confining", as he explained:
» In humor strips, it's better to build around a character than around a job. For example, it's possible to do some very funny comic strip gags about a taxi driver. But a strip that's limited to taxi driver gags is bound to wear thin pretty fast. I'd rather see a strip about a warmly funny man who just happens to earn his living as a cabbie and whose job is only a minor facet of his potential for inspiring gags. Narrative strips can be and often are based on the central character's job. For example, the basis of a private eye strip is the work he does. But even here the strip will only be as successful as the characterization in it. The big question is: what kind of a man is this particular private eye?
Comic books and licensing
Strips from King Features were often reprinted by comic book publishers. However, in 1967, King Features made an effort to publish comic books of its own by establishing
King Comics. This short-lived comic book line showcased King's best-known characters in seven titles:
Beetle Bailey,
Blondie,
Flash Gordon,
Jungle Jim,
Mandrake the Magician,
The Phantom and
Popeye. The comics imprint existed for a year-and-a-half, with titles cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967. When it ended, the books were picked up and continued by
Gold Key Comics,
Harvey Comics and
Charlton Comics.
In addition to extensive merchandising and licensing of such iconic characters as
Betty Boop and
Popeye, King Features has diversified to handle popular animation and TV characters (from
Kukla, Fran and Ollie to
Howdy Doody,
Mr. Bill and
Mr. Magoo), plus publicly displayed, life-size art sculptures --
CowParade,
Guitarmania and
The Trail of the Painted Ponies. King Features also represents David & Goliath, an apparel and accessories line popular with teenagers.
With rising paper costs and the downsizing of newspapers, the comic strip arena became increasingly competitive, so by 2002, King salespeople were making in-person pitches to 1,550 daily newspapers across America. King was then receiving more than 6000 strip submissions each year, yet it accepted only two or three annually. Interviewed in 2002 by Catherine Donaldson-Evans of
Fox News, Kennedy commented:
» It is difficult for cartoonists to break into syndication, but contrary to popular understanding, there's more new product being pitched now than 30 years ago. In that regard, there are more opportunities for new cartoonists. There's a finite amount of space to run comic strips — less now than 50 years ago. There are fewer two-paper cities and a lot of papers have shrunk their page size. New strips can succeed. The new cartoonists just have to be that much better.
King's DailyINK online
Confronted by newspaper cutbacks, King Features has explored new venues, such as placing comic strips on mobile phones. In 2006, it launched DailyINK, an online service which bills subscribers $15 annually. DailyINK makes available, on a web page and via email, more than 70 vintage and current comic strips, plus editorial cartoons. The vintage strips have included
Bringing Up Father,
Buz Sawyer,
Flash Gordon,
Krazy Kat,
The Little King,
The Phantom and
Rip Kirby. Jay Kennedy introduced the service early in 2006, commenting:
» Comics are consistently ranked among the most popular sections by newspaper readers. However, because of space, newspapers are not able to offer as vast a selection as many readers would like, and therefore millions of comic lovers are often not exposed to some of the most creative strips. In creating DailyINK, we wanted to ensure that fans had a destination where they could experience our complete line-up of award-winning comic artists and writers. DailyINK really sets the standard for comics online. By offering all of our current favorites updated daily, along with access to our archives of beloved characters as well as political humor and games, we've designed DailyINK.com as a destination fans will want to visit every day for something new.
King Features strips and panels, past and present
Editorial cartoonists
Jim Borgman
Ed Gamble
Jimmy Margulies
Jim Morin
Mike Peters
Mike Shelton
Mike Smith
Columnists
King Features columnists, past and present:
Commentary
Walter Cronkite (2003-2004)
Stanley Crouch
David Hackworth, "Defending America"
Roger Hernandez
Rich Lowry
Marianne Means
Dan Rather
Charley Reese
Maria Elena Salinas
Helen Thomas
Amy Goodman, "Breaking the Sound Barrier"
Lifestyle and advice
Dana Block and Cindy Elavsky, "Daytime Dial"
John Bonne et al, "The Wine Chronicle"
Helen Bottel, "Helen Help Us!"
Tad Burness, "Auto Album"
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, "Chicken Soup for the Soul"
Al and Kelly Carell, "Super Handyman"
Harlan Cohen, "Help Me, Harlan!"
Peggy Gisler and Marge Eberts, "Dear Teacher"
Ken Hoffman, "The Drive-Thru Gourmet"
Arthur Frommer, "Arthur Frommer's Travel Column"
Heloise, "Hints from Heloise"
Rheta Grimsley Johnson
Jeanne Jones, "Cook It Light"
Ralph and Terry Kovel, "Kovels: Antiques and Collecting"
Tom and Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk, "Click and Clack Talk Cars"
Tom McMahon, "Kid Tips: Practical Solutions for Everyday Parenting"
Seventeen (magazine), "Dear Seventeen"
Debbie Travis, "House to Home"
Barbara Wallraff from Atlantic Monthly, "Word Court"
Allan Wernick, "Immigration and Citizenship"
Terry Stickels, "Wit and Wisdom", Stickelers column
Phil Erwin, "The Card Corner"
Sources
Koenigsberg, Moses. King News: An Autobiography. New York: F.A. Stokes Company, 1941.Further Information
Get more info on 'King Features'.
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