Rustle The Leaf - Economic Realities

Economic Realities

Much to the surprise (and chagrin) of the Zeitlers, Ponce and Wright, it became clear that—despite all the enthusiasm and acceptance for "Rustle the Leaf" among tens of thousands of readers worldwide—there was little opportunity for the strip to become self-supporting. The Zeitlers were enormously patient and generous in supporting Wright and (for a four months in 2006) also supporting Ponce, but all efforts to find additional sponsors, or a meaningful revenue stream, fell short. From the time the Zeitlers agreed to fund the original version of "Rustle" through the discontinuation of the strip in June 2007, the Zeitlers invested over $200,000 of their own money on the project. Thousands of phone calls, emails and other inquiries were made on "Rustle's" behalf; none of them ever generated a credible revenue stream.

One revenue possibility that was explored (and also funded by the Zeitlers) was the addition of one of the world's leading comic strip licensing experts, Bruce Cantrell, who was the head of licensing for Paws, Incorporated—the corporate entity behind Jim Davis and his record-breaking comic strip and multimedia phenomenon "Garfield." Davis (who had a place in his heart for two comic strip creators who were also from Central Indiana), knew Wright from his "Wildwood" strip, and knew Ponce from a prior "Garfield" licensing deal with one of Ponce's clients. Cantrell approached Davis with the idea of providing guidance and lead generation for licensing "Rustle" intellectual properties, and Davis agreed to let Cantrell "moonlight" for a few hours each month on behalf of the strip. Despite Cantrell's gracious guidance and tireless efforts, no real licensing opportunities ever emerged, and Cantrell's participation ceased after 6 months.

In May 2006, Steve Zeitler had to make what was undoubtedly one of the most difficult phone calls of his life, and informed Ponce that he and Melissa would not be able to continue fully funding "Rustle the Leaf." Wright's funding was partially continued, and Ponce worked with Wright through the end of 2006 to create new strips and to try to find additional revenue or sponsorship. By April 2007, with no real prospects on the horizon, the Zeitlers were unable to continue any funding, and Wright officially stopped working on "Rustle the Leaf" in May 2007. For a few weeks following, Ponce posted some previously unpublished strips on the site, but all new material stopped in July 2007.