Creators Syndicate

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Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips, editorial cartoons and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control control of their material.

1 Creators Syndicate
2 Founding
3 Features represented by Creators Syndicate
4 External links

[edit] Creators Syndicate

Creators Syndicate was founded in February 1987 by Richard Newcombe. Over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles-based syndicate has done what few believed possible when it was originally founded: it has become only the second major independent syndicate founded since the 1930s.

Dozens of new syndicates are started every year, but other than Creators Syndicate, the only successful independent syndicates founded in the past 50 years have been Universal Press Syndicate in 1970 and the Hall Syndicate more than half a century ago.

With the newspaper industry in a period of reorganization because of competition from other media, most experts thought it impossible to start a successful new syndication company in recent times.

When Rick Newcombe left News America Syndicate after it was sold to King Features in 1986, his upstart syndicate was quickly given substantial fire power when Ann Landers, and soon thereafter Johnny Hart, signed on. Within a few months Herblock joined the team.

Creators Syndicate now represents over 100 of the most talented writers and artists in the world, including Robert Novak, Mike Luckovich, Bill O'Reilly, One Big Happy, BC, Wizard of Id, Speed Bump, and many many others.

On February 13, 2007, Creators Syndicate celebrated its 20th Anniversary. The company has marked its 20th year by rolling out a completely redesigned website, [www.creators.com].

[edit] Founding

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When Creators Syndicate was founded in 1987, it revolutionized the syndication industry by allowing cartoonists to own their work and have relatively short contracts. It set these policies to help correct past abuses in which cartoonists were fired from their own strips, given no input on the licensing of their characters or frustrated by syndicates that refused to tell them where their work appeared or even to answer their phone calls or letters.

In the 20 years since its inception, Creators has been at the forefront of this paradigm shift, with other syndicates following suit and improving the industry as a whole.

When Rick Newcombe founded Creators Syndicate, he made waves not only by giving artists control of their work, but also by taking with him Ann Landers, an industry giant who was syndicated in over 1,200 newspapers at the time. Shortly after the formation of the company, political cartoonist Herblock and cartoonist Johnny Hart, of BC and Wizard of Id fame, joined as well. Creators now syndicates over 100 features worldwide.