Friday, February 10, 2023
Obscurity of the Day: Future Shock
I am always impressed by successfully self-syndicated comics, whether or not I actually like the comic itself. When I think of the amount of effort involved, both creative drive and business ability, it boggles my mind. Future Shock is both impressive and a fun read to boot. The daily panel and Sunday strip looked to modern living and the future for its gags, using no recurring characters. Jim McGreal handled art while his brother Pat took on the writing chores. No word on who made the all-important sales calls and sent proofs to client papers.
According to the strip's Wikipedia page the first client they signed up in September 2009 was the Chicago Villager. Unfortunately I can find no trace of a paper by that name, but I do have the feature starting just slightly later in the Pasadena Star-News, on October 12 2009. Apparently the McGreals continued accruing other clients here and there, but it wasn't until the end of 2012 that they scored the comic strip equivalent of a TD in the Super Bowl when their Sunday debuted in the Chicago Tribune. Unfortunately that gig did not last long; they lost their spot to Brewster Rockit: Space Guy on November 3 2013. Meanwhile their daily panel also seems to have sputtered out; the last place I can find it running is the Helena Independent Record on June 15 2013.
While this is the last evidence I can find for Future Shock in print, the McGreals still have a Future Shock website in which the likely fiction of a currently produced comic is maintained.
I tried to contact the McGreals a few times seeking more information about Future Shock but never received a response. Would still love to get definitive start and end dates for the feature, though!
Labels: Obscurities
