Originally published September 30, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1089
What’s the purpose of labels or ratings?
Category: But I Digress…
Words and pictures
Originally published September 23, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1088
It has been several years since “Name Withheld” crawled out from under his rock, announced anonymously in Oh So? that writers had outlived their usefulness in comics and that artists no longer had need of them, and then scuttled back away into darkness.
In more recent times, the artist behind said letter has been a bit more forthcoming about his authorship (although he has yet, to my knowledge, to explain his base cowardice in the matter). I don’t mention him by name because lately he’s been working overtime to provoke me into giving him publicity… apparently on the assumption that McFarlane was able to, so therefore he should be entitled, too.
I only mention him in order to set the stage for the advent for a soul mate. This newcomer is one John Kricfalusi, best known as the (eventually cast-out) creator of Ren and Stimpy.
Seduction of the Innocent, Part 3
Originally published September 16, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1087
Well, I was wrong about something.
Unfortunately, my mistake is not something about which a lot of folks are going to be particularly pleased.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been discussing Seduction of the Innocent (the infamous anti-comics tract by Dr. Fredric Wertham) and the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the United States—specifically, the subcommittee’s investigation into comics.
Seduction of the Innocent, Part 2
Originally published September 9, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1086
We were discussing Seduction of the Innocent, the 1954 book by Dr. Fredric Wertham which became the symbol of the notion that comic books were destroying America’s youth.
Seduction of the Innocent, Part 1
Originally published September 2, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1085
So there I was, gnashing my teeth over the latest issue of Self magazine.
Movie review: The Mask
Originally published August 26, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1084
Some years back, author Gary K. Wolf wrote an offbeat mystery titled Who Censored Roger Rabbit? It told the story of a down-in-the-mouth detective named Eddie Valiant, and his involvement with cartoon-strip actors… i.e., “characters” who posed for comic strips and spoke in word balloons that materialized over their heads.
It was fairly hard-boiled stuff, considering the subject matter. The titular rabbit was pretty pathetic, and even became pretty dead (hey, how big a spoiler can that be? It was in the dust jacket.) Most of the supporting characters were unpleasant, including Roger’s wife, Jessica. Ultimately, although the book was good reading, it was fairly bitter and kind of depressing.
Then the story was made over into Who Framed Roger Rabbit (no question mark, as if Doctor Who were the culprit). Roger became framed rather than dead, the characters became more accessible, Jessica became a doting wife rather than a literally one-dimensional bìŧçh. The entire story, in short, became family entertainment.
Now history repeats itself, as The Mask opens at a theater near you.
Image Concerns
Originally published August 19, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1083
In an earlier column, I pointed out that Marvel Comics was suffering from a major perception problem. That, to an extent, it didn’t matter what its motivations for certain actions were. Credibility was being damaged due to the public perception.
It has since been pointed out to me that I have the same situation in regards to Image.
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