Jim Toomey:  I admired the work of Charles Schulz. When I was a paper boy, I used to kill the time by reading comic strips. It was a world I enjoyed being in every day.

ANB:  I understand that before Creators Syndicate picked you up you were 'self-syndicated.' How long did you attempt to become syndicated (with the syndicates) before syndicating your own strip?

Jim:  My "attempt" was actually a better show than Creators' "attempt." I did it for 6 months and had 16 papers. Creators contacted me after they had lost a sale to me.

ANB:  What kind of work was involved in self-syndication?

Jim:  Back in 1991 distribution was the biggest problem; there was no internet to speak of. the recipe is simple, really. Draw the strip, photocopy it, and send it out to your client papers. Then invoice them based on their circulation. Then call them after 30 days when they haven't paid their bill. Yadadada. In reality, 99% of the major newspapers only buy from the big syndicates.

ANB:  Once you achieved your goal of syndication, how did your life as a cartoonist change?

Jim:  Zero. Except that I didn't have to do the accounting side of the business.

ANB:  There are numerous comic strips with talking animals that emulate humans. Yours has animals emulating humans while retaining their animal characteristics. How did you come up with this winning combination?"

Jim:  I think my strong suit is that I can think like animals. I can get inside of their head and express what they're feeling. That's the humor of it. It's a little like Far Side in that regard. I hit on that formula in the beginning because that's what came natural.

ANB:  The first Sherman's Lagoon I saw was from several years ago. Sherman is at a Christmas party and attempts to 'quietly' scarf down the shrimp guest. In the end, some of the other fish guest see this in horror. I laughed so hard that my sides hurt!  What a classic strip! Did (do) you take flack for strips like this?"

Jim:  Not for strips like the one above. I occasionally get weird email from folks who have an agenda, but I don't really pay much attention to it. The possible ramifications are well thought out before a strip is published, so when there is flak, it's easy to ignore.

ANB:  What's the one piece of advice you'd give to someone trying to get a foot in the door?

Jim:  Find another dream. Seriously. This industry is a sinking ship. At least, don't explore the traditional print syndication route. Try the web.

ANB:  When you say this industry is a sinking ship, are you referring to the newspaper industry or comic strips in newspapers?

Jim:  The newspaper industry will always be around, but it is definitely in a long-term contraction phase. Within newspapers, new comic strips have no space because the old ones just keep going.

ANB:   There are tons of cartoonist showing there work on the web (as my site shows). Very few actually make any money from their online work (and these make money due to their popularity). Do you have any advice on making money from comic strips on the web?"

Jim:  One way would be to join with other on-line cartoonists so that you have enough critical mass to sell advertising. There is an online syndicate that is trying to do just that called iSyndicate at http://www.isyndicate.com

ANB:  Anything else you'd like to say?

Jim:  Nope. Thanks for listening.

Thanks Jim!  You can buy Sherman's Lagoon books here.