The New Mainstream or "Art Comix Snobs versus Spandex Junkies: Morons, the lot of them!"
A few days ago, I commented a bit on AIT/PlanetLAR and how they publish interesting comics. Chris Butcher and John Jakala both linked to a series of posts in which George Gebhardt, a writer for SilverBulletComics.com says that any time he sees "alternative" he thinks "crap," which is one of the most kneejerk, stupid comments I've seen on the internet and I've been online since 1991. Of course, there's an immediate response equating superhero comics to "gateway drugs" so people can get grow up and "try the good stuff" from companies like Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly.
Now, I want to know where Larry Young's little publishing outfit falls into these narrow worldviews. He's making comics that aren't exactly art in the narrow, alternative snob sense. He's making comics that aren't superhero tales (outside of his own Planet Of The Capes, which I thought was a failure, but a noble one) that most Marvel and DC people want. He's publishing high-octane action, surreal comedy, and a glorious real-life romance. Who the hell is he publishing for, anyway?
Someone like me, I guess. I'm the sort of person who enjoys a great Superman story just as much as he likes Jimmy Corrigan. I look at comics as a medium with an infinite amount of diversity. I think it's ludicrous and stupid to think that the genre of comics that you read are the only comics that are worth reading. There's levels of quality in everything. There's crap black and white indie material just like there's crap spandex and capes books. You can't tell me that Grant Morrison is on the same level as Rob Liefeld when it comes to creativity because they both work on superheroes and you can't pretend that Chris Ware and Dan Clowes are offering the same sort of nuance and texture as the majority of the minicomics or self-published books. Don't pretend that Batman: Year One is as easy to dismiss as Batman: Knightfall because they're both comics about Batman. Don't pretend that because you don't sell as much of Black Hole or Stray Bullets as Ultimate Spider-Man that they're "crap" comics.
Celebrate guys like Larry Young, who are boldly creating a middle road that hopefully will bridge the gap. Celebrate books like Street Angel, which defies categorization. Celebrate quality, non-genre specific publishing that's aimed at people who aren't narrowly focused in their little cliques, masturbating over Hawkman's overly complex continuity or Adrian Tomine's illustrations in ReadyMade Magazine. It's not all Naughty Nurse Novels versus Great Works Of Self-Expression, despite what people like Warren Ellis1 want to tell you.
1Currently writing two stories set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.
A few days ago, I commented a bit on AIT/PlanetLAR and how they publish interesting comics. Chris Butcher and John Jakala both linked to a series of posts in which George Gebhardt, a writer for SilverBulletComics.com says that any time he sees "alternative" he thinks "crap," which is one of the most kneejerk, stupid comments I've seen on the internet and I've been online since 1991. Of course, there's an immediate response equating superhero comics to "gateway drugs" so people can get grow up and "try the good stuff" from companies like Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly.
Now, I want to know where Larry Young's little publishing outfit falls into these narrow worldviews. He's making comics that aren't exactly art in the narrow, alternative snob sense. He's making comics that aren't superhero tales (outside of his own Planet Of The Capes, which I thought was a failure, but a noble one) that most Marvel and DC people want. He's publishing high-octane action, surreal comedy, and a glorious real-life romance. Who the hell is he publishing for, anyway?
Someone like me, I guess. I'm the sort of person who enjoys a great Superman story just as much as he likes Jimmy Corrigan. I look at comics as a medium with an infinite amount of diversity. I think it's ludicrous and stupid to think that the genre of comics that you read are the only comics that are worth reading. There's levels of quality in everything. There's crap black and white indie material just like there's crap spandex and capes books. You can't tell me that Grant Morrison is on the same level as Rob Liefeld when it comes to creativity because they both work on superheroes and you can't pretend that Chris Ware and Dan Clowes are offering the same sort of nuance and texture as the majority of the minicomics or self-published books. Don't pretend that Batman: Year One is as easy to dismiss as Batman: Knightfall because they're both comics about Batman. Don't pretend that because you don't sell as much of Black Hole or Stray Bullets as Ultimate Spider-Man that they're "crap" comics.
Celebrate guys like Larry Young, who are boldly creating a middle road that hopefully will bridge the gap. Celebrate books like Street Angel, which defies categorization. Celebrate quality, non-genre specific publishing that's aimed at people who aren't narrowly focused in their little cliques, masturbating over Hawkman's overly complex continuity or Adrian Tomine's illustrations in ReadyMade Magazine. It's not all Naughty Nurse Novels versus Great Works Of Self-Expression, despite what people like Warren Ellis1 want to tell you.
1Currently writing two stories set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.
