got the internet goin’ nutz
April 18th, 2012 by david brothers |Hey, so I quit corporate comics (& their superhero movies, but none of the ones this year looked good anyway) and wrote about it for ComicsAlliance. It’s probably worth reading. The past few days of posts came directly out of that post, actually. I wrote that last Friday in a burst, and then the weekend blew up on me and I wrote a lot more. if I had to guess… I’ve probably done around eight thousand words on the subject over the past five days? blaow
Anyway, I did that thing I said I did and wanted to link it here in case some peeps read 4l! but not CA. I think I’ve said all I really wanted and needed to say on Before Watchmen & creators’ rights, so enjoy the next couple weeks of posts about fart jokes in comics or Leiji Matsumoto or Dr Slump something!
I also made the font on 4l! bigger, ’cause I heard that some people thought it was too small.
Similar Posts:
- Before Watchmen: “there’s a war going on outside no man is safe from”
- Reading Comics: Fart Jokes Are Funny
- Before Watchmen Is Comic Book Poison
- got the internet goin’ nuts: i hate everything
- if newsarama knew better, it would do better
NOW, it’s too BIG!
Kidding.
David, I found my way over here in March from a twitter link about Mark Millar and race in comic books (and during the fever pitch of the Martin shooting), and I immediately bookmarked your page because I loved your viewpoint and the topics you’ve been covering. There aren’t two things closer to my heart in comic books than Jack Kirby and sociopolitical change in comics, with Moore’s contributions to the medium always buzzing around in a part of my brain. Was looking forward to your Comics Alliance article and it did not disappoint. Keep up the great work!
So if you quit corporate comics, what western comics do you pick up (if any at all) if you don’t mind me asking?
I’m sure you’re being inundated with comments and I don’t have much new to add but I thought I’d throw in my. 02: You’re fighting the good fight. Thank you and keep going. I have a lot of respect for anyone drawing attention to the underlying issues at hand instead of passively consuming without any consideration and you’re doing a better job of summing up what’s wrong and why than nearly anyone out there.
I used to be a guy who bought quite a lot of DC and Marvel comics, then got bored with the sameness and lack of innovation, then became queasy with the whole Moore/Siegel and Shuster/Kirby situation and I’m more and more fed up all the time. I’m arriving at the same conclusion as you: this is too shameful to continue supporting. I only want to read creator-owned books and why not? They’re better and more entertaining anyway.
Maybe the most absurd part are the apologists who argue that mercenary, cutthroat capitalism is fine just because its legal, disgusting if they really believe that and pathetic if its self-justification for making cartoon characters priority over people. Thanks again for the outspoken words.
yeah, this is gonna last.
@batman: I know! David is totally going to make the font small again in like a week, that liar.
Also, I’m sad to hear that the Joker’s destroyed the shift key on the Batcomputer. That fiend!
Hey, I’d just like to say I’ve found your posts on this whole situation both insightful, illuminating and very refreshing. I’m sure I’m merely one of many new(ish) readers who will stick around and continue to follow your writing in the future. Keep up the excellent work, dude.
I respect your decisions, but you seem upset and possibly drunk. Remember not to time travel.
Excellent post, David. That was a perfect example of why I’ve been telling people they need to read what you wrote for awhile now.
Bold move, David. Respect.
I’m down to just 2 DC books, Batman & Batwoman (though I’m about to drop Batwoman because of the hacky art), and no Marvels.
Your CA post (and everything her as of late) has sort of inspired me to think about swearing off both companies, by design, not just by natural attrition.
Pondering…
Big fan of your stuff David, I always love reading your views. I always felt the way you do regarding the Before Watchmen and Avengers situations but couldn’t articulate the way you did in your great article.
I totally support you in not contributing any longer to either company. It’s going to be really hard, and I probably couldn’t ever really do it myself.
With all that said, are you not going to see the Dark Knight Rises this summer? Because man, if that’s true than you should really be Green Lantern because your willpower is off the charts.
Whatever you do, don’t read the comment thread on CA. I did and tried to engage. Big regrets.
Never, ever read the comments.
He said, posting in a comments section.
Your recent string of Before Watchmen / creator rights posts have been great. I really appreciate the effort and passion you put into them. Reading these posts has cemented my decision to avoid Before Watchmen (even the titles I think will be good) and the Avengers film.
For me – and maybe this makes me heartless – I don’t feel very bad for Moore, because he is, in all likelihood, wealthy enough already that he doesn’t have to work another day in his life. Even the Kirby heirs, I don’t really sympathize with them, although obviously I feel bad that Kirby himself was deprived the fruits of his labor.
For me, the issue with Before Watchmen, Avengers, the Kirby and Friedrich suits, etc, is how the actions of DC and Marvel reflect on the companies themselves. Probably it’s been this way since time immemorial, but the recent news has done a lot to expose the soullessness of these companies, how they don’t give even one particle of a shit about art or artists. I see now their willingness to exploit anyone and strip mine any property for a fast dollar.
Sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable purchasing a comic about what it means to be a hero when I know profits go to a company that conducts itself like a villain. Similarly, I’m uncomfortable buying artwork from a company that regards artists in its employ in the same way a carpenter regards instruments in his tool shed (in view of which “Marvel’s Avengers” makes perfect sense; Marvel built the House of Ideas, and Kirby was only the saw they used to cut the boards, can I get an amen?).
Anyway, that’s my two cents. I’m off Marvel now except for Daredevil, and my DC pulls are slowly dropping, although I admit it has more to do with a decline in quality than any ethical considerations.
By the way, have you been reading John K’s SavageCritic posts, in which all reviews include “Created by” credits? It really ought to be made a standard practice.
Good job. I’m doing the same.
finally David brothers going to do nothing but indie comics.
@B Lau: A ton? I feel like I’ve mostly written about non-Big Two comics over the past year anyway. I don’t really have a list, but BPRD, Hellboy, Prophet, Chew, Peanuts, 2000AD, Saga, DHP, and more besides. I’m not lacking for new stuff. Stay tuned. I’m sure I’ll keep writing about it.
@D. Peace: Imagine if everybody who said “That’s life” or “You don’t understand how business works” immediately got five across the eyes. Earth would be better for it.
@batman: I quit eating swine in 1999 for no good reason. I’m pretty sure I can live without some tights & fights.
@C: No entiendo. Sorry. I’m not much of a drinker, though, and I hate being drunk.
@Lugh: Pick your battles, bro.
@Cass: I find it hard to get into John K’s writing. Something about it grates. I do like that he credits people, though. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that in an organic way for a while now.
And do what makes you feel good. If you’re quitting because of quality, that’s cool. Before I quit, I was down to basically just Jeff Parker Comix and a few outliers at Marvel.
@SomerandomGuy: indie comics, adventure comics, porn comics, japanese comics, stand-up comics, whatever. I ain’t picky.
100% backed. Just keep the posts coming. This site has been getting me through work for months now.
@david brothers: I remember you blogged a while back about how you realized it was stupid to be reading comics that were just okay. This has caused me to, about every 6 months or so, reevaluate what I’m reading and if it’s any good.
I don’t know if I could see myself giving up Lemire’s Animal Man or a few other Big 2 books; I do know that once the creators I like are done with DC/Marvel, though, I’ll probably be going with them.
Dunno if Roberson leaving was just coincidence, but it seems like a lot of folks are listening to you. Keep fighting the good fight.
@JokersNuts: I forgot about this–I don’t really get down with Nolan’s Bat-movies. I saw and liked them the first time, but the flaws were apparent and plentiful on time two. So sitting in a theater for another dreary three hour epic with crap fight scenes? Nahhhh.
I less quit and more only read Big 2 stuff that makes me happy and where I respect the people involved, but I just wish I could make a direct deposit to Jeff Parker and Kev Walker’s account instead, you know?
It would be cool to see a David Brothers authored comic series… if there’s a lot of free time coming up 😉
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote in that CA piece. I haven’t quit Marvel and DC but I’m damn close, only holding onto a couple titles from each company. 95% of the Big Two comics I buy are used copies from mail order comic shops. Why? Because they’re much cheaper and usually much better than what’s being produced now.
For me, it isn’t just a moral issue but rather an issue of artistry and quality, and the latter two criteria have declined in spades over the last few years. Still, the moral outrage inside me is growing; it seems to grow in proportion to others turning a blind eye and accepting whatever the Big Two do simply because they are good little consumers.
It’s not only pseudo-corporate sites like Newsarama, it’s also sites like iFanboy, which used to seem like a small operation run by a handful of buddies. But now they’re basically inventing excuses to just be “okay” with everything. “Before Watchmen doesn’t sit well with you? Well, you like Darwyn Cooke, don’t you? Therefore you must be okay with Before Watchmen. Get over it.”
On the other side, the Avengers movie would have been interesting to me had I not had to undergo so many months of mounting propaganda. I don’t care how hot Scarlett Johannson is, that’s not going to make me spend $15 seeing this movie. And Sam Jackson was a lot cooler to me before I saw him everywhere, and particularly before he admitted to voting for Obama just because he was black (while simultaneously saying he was disappointed in how Obama worked out AND holding a fundraiser for the Prez; whatever your political leanings (and I don’t HATE Obama), all of that was just too much like double-think for me to stomach). Ditto with Downey–he was sort of cool before he was everywhere and before everyone told me I had to be endlessly impressed with the guy.
The big-picture view on all of this is that I’m tired of the HYPE. There is creative injustice going on, and creative laziness, and legally shady practices–and it all rests under a huge banner of HYPE that tries to hide everything distasteful. Basically, I feel that we have to start resisting. People have to realize how much free will they are in fact losing because of their addiction to hype. Everyone knows that Before Watchmen is a bad idea; but people can’t resist the hype, no matter how shady it looks. Avengers would be a cool movie, sure–but the amount of hype it’s getting should put people off a BIT, I would think, unless they were utterly addicted to hype. Which they sadly are.
@david brothers: …that’s all it gets? wow, I could go at it, especially when you’ve shown love to all-star b&r and Azzarello’s Broken City, but this ain’t the thread
@Niles Day: this is in reference to the quickest brushoff to Nolan’s films
@Niles Day: What more do you want me to say? I watched Begins and TDK and liked them the first time. The second time through, I thought they were wack.
@david brothers:
I’ll take an apology. Nah, I’m just messing around. But as someone who loves quality work and Batman, I could go on for miles spelling the virtues of The Dark Knight and half of Begins, how the stars aligned for the magic conjured. I guess I’d love a dissertation dedicated to the pictures (TDK really) and why you think they’re wak. But this is your blog, if the brushoff is all it gets, then I guess I’ll stay cold.
Just wanted to drop by and give Brothers the thumbs up.
Love the passion and skill you put into your words, looks like you really got some people thinking, myself included.