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Gary Groth once said that most superhero comics are "oafish slam-bang physicality that resist subtlety and nuance as well as the ability to communicate any genuine connection to human life."
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any thoughts on this?
Formulas like Groth's are always true and useless. Try plugging anything into this:
ReplyDelete"Most X resist subtlety and nuance as well as the ability to communicate any genuine connection to human life."
Music? Art? Literary Criticism? Poetry? Fashion? Journalism? Political speeches? conversations with people? It all fits because the word "most" deadens it so completely. Try getting rid of the word "most" in the formula and see if you can't think of an exception.
"conversations with people?" - devastating, but so true.
ReplyDeleteHere's something that sucks: I just charged down to the comic shop on my lunch break, eager to find out whether I was right about who's a Skrull (yeah), only there was a Bank Holiday this week so comics are out tomorrow. Curse you, Diamond!
Garfield Minus Garfield:
ReplyDeletehttp://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/
With Garfield removed, this site reproduces comic strips that become devestatingly funny looks at a man's struggle with loneliness, depression and mental illness.
It's my current obsession.
Gary Groth is one of the great elitist snobs of comicdom. I've had 25 years of reading this guy. I'm sure he means well, but he expects that people completely abandon their love of genre (i.e. superhero comics). I mean, it's all well and good to like Love and Rockets and Blankets and James Kochalka, but you can't get 8 year olds into that (without getting in trouble, that is) and I'm sorry, but if you want to get into comics, you're probably going to start with capes.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there's a lot of BAD superhero comics. But there's a lot of BAD alternative, BAD independent comics, too.
Just had to get that off my chest.
The Brooklyn College MFA program is having a Spring Open Studios Exhibition - which I helped to organize.
ReplyDeleteThe dates and times are: Friday, April 11th, 6pm-10pm and Saturday, April 12th, 3pm - 8pm.
Come for the free booze, stay for the free art.