I had sent a bunch of my High school: Part II strips to cartoonist Greg Evans to evaluate.  His suggestions are what led to the creation of Hodge-Podge.  It's basically the adventures of Gunk outside of college, fleshing out his origin and giving him a supporting cast.  The title refers to the eclectic mix of characters, particularly Gunk and Peck, who were plucked from other strips of my creation.  Even still, I'm not sure the title really worked for the strip.  The most positive thing to come out of Hodge-Podge was the introduction of Miz Bijou and her always mentioned but never seen relative, Cholly, both of whom, along with Gunk, would figure greatly into three of my future comic strips.  Despite the improvements I made to Gunk's world, the syndicates just weren't interested.