As I mentioned, my New Year's Eve was thoroughly uneventful. I drank a bit too much, listened to music a bit too loudly, counted down the new year with my neighbor, then crashed and slept in the new year. So when I got up today, I was reading over the blog and then Dave Sim's Blog & Mail, then sauntered on over to Eddie Campbell's (which is really funny, btw), and I got to thinking about some of the things I have said here and how they may have been misconstrued, so I wanted to take a moment to clarify a few things:
I don't dislike Alan Moore or Dave Sim. I don't dislike Matt Maiellaro or any of the ATHF staffers. I don't really know any of these people personally, even if I have met them (even several times, as in the case of Sim) or corresponded with them. I am not an all-out Frank Miller fanboy.
Okay, yes I am; I'll own that one.
I completely love everything Frank Miller does. He is one of the few people I can think of in whose presence I would literally just be awed -- starstruck, what have you. I am not saying I would perform oral sex, or sex of any kind, on or with him -- that's going a bit far. MAYBE some consensual heavy-petting, but it would take a few drinks to make that happen. Or at least the promise of a few drinks afterward. And then what if he didn't call? I'm just not sure I can handle that sort of rejection at this point in my life, but I digress...
I do think this season of Aqua Teen Hunger Force is exceptionally bad -- I mean downright awful -- and am really dismayed by that. This season is to ATHF what The Black Album was to Metallica; calling it a "nine-inch nail" is an understatement -- it's the death of the art behind the Product and not the Product, itself. I don't even bother to talk about the show with others anymore. I actually feel slightly insulted, which makes me question my priorities and so it has become a sort of albatross, which is really messed-up because like, how shallow am I? What else goes on in my life that I should have the luxury of obsessing over such a thing to such a degree?
I do think Alan Moore is overrated within the comics field. He is great -- of that, there is no question -- but I think that his name value exceeds the value of his work in most cases. He sells books simply by name power and, while that's great for him and I applaud his success, I find myself most often disappointed with his work. It's not a bitter disappointment, but more of that sort of, "That's it?! Is this the lead-in to a new series? Did I miss a page?" Some will say that I miss the point and am possibly incapable of ever "getting it" because they assume I are dum. And I guess that's fair, but that's my opinion of it. I don't think it's his fault; I don't think he set out to do it. I think the industry and the fans did it and I could use a break from it. Like 20 years ago.
I think Dave Sim one of the most incredible talents in the field. He excels in literally every department -- writing, pencils, inks, lettering, pacing, characterization, I could go on for days -- but the guy holds some major views, and a bit of an attitude on paper. Of all the creators -- in any field, really -- Sim is one of the few guys I'd enjoy literally just hanging out with. I've done so a few hours at a time at a few cons, but I was just a kid (really a kid -- like 12-13, around in there).
Still, he had a profound influence on me and my work -- he gave me encouragement, graciously signed all my Epics with his work, talked in-depth about the pieces and told me little inside bits like who this character's face was and so on -- even more now that I have so many of the Cerebus issues and have been reading them. And I will say this: Dave Sim is one of only two, maybe three, cartoonists who has ever made me literally laugh out loud -- full-on, wide-mouthed bellylaugh -- through sequential art alone: no dialogue, no captions, no text (probably some sound effects, but I don't recall), just the deliberate pacing and set-up through the images and sequence of events. (The other was Bill Watterston and I threw Jack Davis and Don Martin a bone there, because MAD cracked me up as a kid).
It gets hard to be critical of others' work sometimes, but it's not just out of pettiness or sycophant..y-ism? or anything like that. I truly love the things I talk about and they often move me, sometimes for the good, sometimes in the bowels. I usually try to remain objective about them, but specifically because I love them so much, I often develop a personal attachment to them. I need a girlfriend or at least a bike or a boat or something -- something to get me out of doors.
At any rate, I just wanted to clear those things up so we can all start our New Year brightly. I have resolved to make no resolutions and I'm sticking to it, so far. (Fingers crossed.)
3 comments:
Ok I've already well established my love for Alan Moore, AND the fact that I don't know comics, so the rest of this is going to read like blasphemy.
I am trying to finish an article that talks about V for Vendetta. And to talk about the movie, you have to talk about why Alan Moore got his panties in a knot over it. And then you have to read the comic since it inspired the movie. And then it's still bloody difficult to compare the two while keeping some focus. And I came to the conclusion that V for Vendetta never should have been a comic to start with. Furthermore, Alan Moore has his panties bunched up for no good reason. It's not as though they wiped their ass on the Magna Carta.
Alan Moore has the potential to be a genius. I've heard him. He always comes across MUCH better in interviews and his spoken word albums. The only problem with that is that he is a writer. It's like saying that Paul McCartney is great to talk to, but rubbish when it comes to making music. Because Alan Moore is a writer, he should get on with it and write already.
And this has nothing to do with comics as the specific type of writing. He has become a slave to the form, IMO, at the cost of the story.
Ten bucks says I never finish the article, but if I do, I at least narrowed the focus. Now I don't need to rip him a new one there because I already did it here. :)
It really isn't just me, is it?
I read V for Vendetta very close to when it came out. My folks still had the collectibles shop back then and Dad had purchased a lot of comics, which included the entire run (or close to it) of V, and I read it in the back of the van going on some vacation (where to, I don't recall).
I read Watchmen in the Trade hardcover format (which I still have, but it was completely ragged by one wholly unruly Dane who is no longer with us -- but not because he did that to my book).
I've read a lot of Alan Moore over the years, actually. And I've just never been as impressed with his work as I felt I should be. He has just never lived up to the hype, is what it boils down to. And like I said, I don't think HE made the hype and I don't necessarily think it fair he should have to try and live up to anyone else's expectations of him, but let's be honest: if someone tells you a guy can breathe fire and swallow knives and you buy a ticket, you have every right to expect to see the guy breathe fire and swallow knives!
"I liked his dance, I liked the music, he had an interesting bird... but I thought he was supposed to breathe fire or swallow knives?"
To which the fans roll their eyes and exclaim that we "just didn't get it." Well, get what?! I came to see a guy breathe fire and swallow knives and he did neither! What's to get?
But again, Killing Joke was excellent. I forgot all about that one when I mentioned Moore in the first place.
He didn't necessarily create the hype, but I have to wonder if he came to believe it. He's SOOOO adamant about his stuff NOT being turned into movies, and I realize there are a lot of reasons for this (League, anyone?). But he has reached a point where it's almost silly.
This slightly touches on some stuff in the article... He saw the script at one point and blew up over it because he doesn't like the breakfast they fix for her. I mean, nevermind that this Evey in the movie is superior to Evey in the book. I don't want a stupid child that needs every single lesson explained to her in excruciating detail. I want a woman who is capable and intelligent, but frightened. Evey s supposed to stand for the entire populace, and the one in the comic is the last person I want standing for me.
And yes, sure, the IDEA is better than a lot of the dreck out there, but it was an idea that was only half realized. Anyway, I'll shut up because we're in agreement and I'm in danger of posting all the little goodies of the article here. :D
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