Remember when comics used to be fun? Kids used to devour the stuff! Not anymore. They've abandoned them and who can blame them? Now comics are for adults.
Boy, adults really messed up. Here's some samples from a new, hardcover comics anthology that's in the bookstores now. (click to enlarge). It's called "An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons and True Stories." In an effort to explain the title the editor tells us:"In comics words and pictures are not a mixture but an emulsion. Perhaps calligraphy might be a more apt, if still incomplete, metaphor. the cartoonist uses his own set of marks (or 'visual handwriting') to establish a consistent visual vocabulary in which to communicate experience, memory, and imagination..."
Translated into English that reads, "Expect nothing heroic, manly or interesting. Let us introduce you to characters you'd never want to meet, doing things you'd never want to do. This is the end of Western civilization and perhaps you'd like a comic to read while you're contemplating suicide!"
The character in the last panel (above) says, "...there are worse things than being in prison. Just being alive is worse. Maybe if we're really lucky someone will strangle us in our sleep!"
Here's (above) a rousing story.
Sorry for the slanted frame (above). Maybe the slant will add a little interest to the obsessive horizontals and verticals. What is this modern obsession with sterility? The whole second half of the 20th century is full of it: shoebox architecture, abstract bebop, Heiddeger, Derrida, giant canvases containing just one color, political correctness, emos, museum shows that are just a bunch of sand and broken glass on the floor, boring novels, ...well, it would be a long list. What's going on?
Gee, art comics are a pretty depressing subject. I'm going to scroll back to the naked girls!
57 comments:
Speaking of comics anthologies, and remembering a few posts back, you may be interested in knowing that a lot of old E.C. comics are being reprinted, including Weird Science, Shock SuspenStories and Two-Fisted Tales, among others.
I think Volume 2 of Tales from the Crypt is coming out within the next couple of weeks.
Y'know Eddie...
You and I have our differences from time to time - but you're spot on about the lack of fun in our society.
Comics should be a guilty pleasure. Comics should be fun! One of my best memories is buying Issue #2 of The Goon and laughing so hard on the subway that people moved away from me.
>> What is this modern obsession with sterility? The whole second half of the 20th century is full of it: shoebox architecture, abstract bebop, Heiddeger, Derrida, giant canvases containing just one color, political correctness, emos, museum shows that are just a bunch of sand and broken glass on the floor, boring novels ....<<
And cars. Don't forget cars.
Cartoonists need to start taking drugs again. Not zoloft and paxil. The GOOD stuff. Like whole bottles of cough syrup.
These comics ought to come along with a gun to shoot yourself in the head when you finish.
Oh, m-a-a-a-a-n!
You just don't get the whole "post-modern" thing do you?
Like, everything is so ironic and nihilistic that it's, you know, existential and everything.
You know, like Kafka?!?!? Now there's a guy who should have a daily newspaper strip!
I need my Little Lulu fix after that.
The fact that Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked proves that modern architecture did not have to be shoe boxes. There was another way, a road not taken. In the same way, the existence of people like R. Crumb and Gilbert Shelton proves that adult comics don't have to be like this stuff. Why was the other road not taken? Well, as Eddie suggests, it's probably part of a much wider cultural malady.
You're so right! It's the Decline of the West - We live in a decadent time - Spengler predicted this 80 years ago and now it's happening!
I'm not a big fan of Ayn rand, but it does seem like Ellsworth Toohey has triumphed!
An artist has to have a kind of certainty and audacious belief that his or her work deserves to exist- But Post-Modern theory has taught us that we can never perceive real truth anyway, so who's to say what's god or bad? The sand and broken glass on the floor is equally valid as Harvey Kurtzman's work.
If there's one independent comic that's still fun, it's "The K Chronicles" by Keith Knight.
That strip is autobiographical, but the cartoonist actually tries to be fun, as you can tell by his drawing style.
He does tackle serious issues, especially racism (the cartoonist's black) but there's still plenty of fun in his comics.
this is a subject near and Dear to my heart.
I LOVE comics , but not superhero stuff,I'm not against it... I just wanted funny stuff..
I remember asking a comic shop guy years ago if they had any funny stuff....he looked at me like I was from mars.
Ieventually got so bummed out.I wish more people made funny comics.
There are interviews on youtube with Chris Ware The guy they say is the best around now.... He IS an incredible artist, but he doesn't draw that way in his comics, and he seems so downbeat and meloncholy in this interview. What is so cool about being depressed and negative all the time.
There are some funny comics, but they are for adults only .
I guess if you want good funny comics you have to go to Belgium or something, or start making your own?
nail on the fucking head eddie, nail on the head
Yeah, I'm not a big comic book reader myself, mostly for the reasons you stated in the post.
However, I did belong to a comic book until recently. I won't be able to contribute because I will soon be working on an animation production in Sydney, Nova Scotia. And, as I'm sure you're well aware of Uncle Eddie, those animation schedules are brutal.
The only sample I ccould show you is the one I put on my blog. Would you call it depressing?
There is actually a LOT of variety out there in the world of independent "adult" comics. Looks like you just got a hold of a few pages from folks who do sad/bittersweet stuff. There is a lot of that, but there are adventure, horror, comedy, etc. series, one-shots, and graphic novels out there, too.
If you just go to Barnes and Noble, you'll probably find almost exclusively the sad stuff--because that seems like the stuff that appears most frequently in the novel format. Try an actual comics shop. You may be surprised at how many weird and fun comics you find.
Cbru: K Chronicles have a lot of energy but I'm not a fan of any political cartoon strip, right or left. You can't get into issues in any depth in a daily strip, there's only room for sound bytes and ridicule.
For some reason I'm more tolerant of one-panel political cartoons.
Lester: Good point! I wish there was a book about paths not taken!
Kent: True, so true! This is another subject that needs a book.
David: The strip was covered up!
Kris, Maybe you can recommend something that you like.
I agree completely, Eddie. Comics are depressing. Especially that guy who did Ghost World. Yuck.
But I don't know if there's anything sterile about emo.
Oh, Eddie, I forgot to mention:
I CAUGHT YOU, FITZGERALD!!
Kent Butterworth
John Dorman
Paul Fennel
Eddie Fizgerald
Rich Fogel
Milt Gray
John Kricfalusi
Tom Minton
Virgil Ross
William Wray
"...experience, memory, and imagination..."
I think your analysis of that statment depends on whose experience, memory, and imagination we're reading about. Your blog posts do the same and are far more entertaining than the strips posted here.
I like Milton Knight. He's modern and not sterile.
I like Chris Ware as an artist- I have his sketchbook which is chock-full of funny drawings. His comics don't do much for me though.
My British friend gave me (err uh, loaned me) this weird comic compilation called Filth. It was pretty ugly and weird, but there were some funny parts, but overall the title described it in a nutshell.
Kent b wrote...
An artist has to have a kind of certainty and audacious belief that his or her work deserves to exist - But Post-Modern theory has taught us that we can never perceive real truth anyway, so who's to say what's good or bad?
This statement summarizes beautifully the problem with humanities (vs. the sciences) today. If we applied more scientific methodology to the humanities, we wouldn't have Post-Modern malaise.
I made a dang comic once. I dont think it stinks as much as the comics you list, but atleast its somewhat funny!
http://www.geocities.com/aeroplanecompu/wt3p1.html
Thank you!
In new york, all the hipsters read these stupid things! when you say you like cartoons, they think you mean this stuff!
All these comic artists are just so darn UNIQUE & SPECIAL I don't know who to shoot first.
Chris Ware's work gives me goosebumps, it is so cold. It looks like it was drawn by a computer program.
Well, yeah, some people do miss the point of post modernism, that it is not an acceptance of the cold and sterile, but a reaction to the cold and sterile. You aren't going to 'get' adult comics, or adult swim, for that matter, if you think that all being presented is sincere, or sincerely the best attitude being strived for. It is cynical, ironic, poorly done, cold what have you, on purpose, and if you can't get your world view to lean that way for a moment, its damn easy to say it's Spinach and the hell with it. But it is still missing the point- there can be some fun there.
But there is still a big problem with comics not being made for kids anymore, and that has almost everything to do with what happened to distribution of same thirty years ago. It is a damn shame that kids don't have Little LuLu, Harveys, Dell, etcetera, teaching them to like cartoons and to read, but it has almost everything to do with distribution killing that market.
Distributors were ripping off the publishers, when comics were returnable, not getting the books on the stands, and over reporting returns etcetera. So when the direct market was discovered, one that did not give credit for returns, because they were stores that hoped to speculate on back issue sales, the publishers jumped at it.
Then you had a market that was only reached by a long car drive to a regional store... skewing the readership to adults, who could drive. And comic creation became a very inbred thing, copies of copies, little freshness being injected.
Kids meanwhile, had Video tapes and video games taking up the media babysitter slack. Comics for kids? Cartoons for anyone other than some company trying to hype a toy? Come on!
Kids used to buy things for themselves, when they could walk to the corner drug store or market. They don't do the voting with the dollars anymore, they are driven there and controlled by those that give them the allowance.
Anon, I hardly think every po-mo hipster doofus on "Adult" Swim is trying to deliver ironic messages through their crudely animated programs. They retro-actively use po-mo as an excuse for their lack of talent. "It's SUPPOSED to be ugly!" And why does EVERY show look like that, isntead of only a few? (Was my use of "retroactively" a malapropism?)
If the creators are trying to send "bad on purpose" ironic messages about art and beauty through their shows and comics, it's not working, and the actual effect it's having is making everyone immune to ugliness. People get used to the smell of garbage after awile.
The only ones who can sincerely say they are bad on purpose are South Park, and that is because they were doing it before anyone else (back in 1991), because the show started as a parody of childhood with appropriatley crude construction paper cutouts, because they actively make fun of the show's animation on the program, and because the writing for the characters on that show is sincere and uncynical (especially for Butter.) Everyone else is just jumping oin the bandwagon.
For example, The Family Guy is crude because 1. Its no talent hack of a creator saw that The Simpsons was on and that it was crappy, so he thought "Hey I could do that!" and 2. He actually thinks expresionless characters are "inherently funny." (his words)
The Simpsons really started it, I think, and Matt Groening was inspired by Rocky & Bullwinkle, something he's said in many interviews about how the show's writing triumphed over its crappy animation and inspired him.
Your info on why kids don't have comics anymore is greay, however.
Kids aren't even allowed to play in their backyard anymore, much less walk to corner stores. thanks to over-protective parents, thanks to those damn suburbs, thanks to those damn freeways, thanks to goddamn Los Angeles, thanks to goddamn GM. Everyone should build old style cities and tall buildings and fast before all the life and land is sucked out of the west. Damn sprawl...
Jorge: Ouch! I was hoping those cartoons would never surface! One of these days I'll post a fragment of a board I did for Quackula and you'll see that the way I drew it isn't the way that appears on the screen.
Kali: I'm not a fan of Ware but the sketchbook sounds interesting.
Okapi: Interesting!
Anon: Wow! An interesting defence of post-modernism and the best short summary of the ills of comics distribution that I've seen in a long time!
About post-modernism... If it relies on irony (deliberately saying something different than you mean) then it's no wonder that the public is confused by it. Irony is fine in small doses but our era over-uses it.
About comics for kids...what you described is very sad but artists have to take some of the resonsibility. Too many artists go out of their way to put elements in their stories that kids can't relate to. They usually do that out of preference, not necessity.
Hmmm, I think I'll do a blog about that.
The only ones who can sincerely say they are bad on purpose are South Park, and that is because they were doing it before anyone else (back in 1991),
Actually, Jorge, South Park debuted in 1997. Although Matt and Trey had been working together since they attended the same film school together. I have no idea how long ago that was. It could have been 1991.
HAHAHAHA! Oh man! I dont think I've ever laffed at a commercial that hard before. That "wrinkled prunes commercial" was hilarious. As for comics, there is some real shite out there, but good stuff still exists. Scott Pilgrim is a great example of a fun comic, that doesnt take itself seriously, has great expressive artwork, and actually has JOKES! Check it out Eddie. Its dynomite!
By the way I love your blog. Always lots of cool stuff. Very informative and fun. I would love to see more of your drawrins' tho!
You know, Eddie, I think you should look into a Japanese comic called One Piece.
http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0102rm7.jpg
http://img45.imageshack.us/my.php?image=431002003kc7.jpg
http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=onepiece4220102kk4.jpg
In terms of heroes, manliness, and fun, there's nothing better. Read from the first volume if you're ever in a Borders. Then download the rest off the internet! You're not allowed to complain until you've checked it out!
*some* manga are not so bad to look at ,like soos said one piece is cool ^^ i've always liked the radical character designs on the bad guys
also french comics like astrix and spirou et fantaisio those are the bomb!
yesterday i bought a comic the sand man by neil gaiman (i've read a novel by him written with terry pratchett which i liked thats why) the guy isn't a comic artist he generaly just writes it and gets artists to draw it with a difrent artist each chapter 3 artists were really good the rest where crap
ooh yea "bone" bone's a great comic too
i'll be working on my own comics soon i hope they're not bland and unintresting ...
David-
Matt and Trey did three pre-"South Park" cartoons that were crudely-done construction paper animation:
AMERICAN HISTORY (just Parker on this one)
JESUS VS. FROSTY
JESUS VS. SANTA
"American History" was an assignment to Parker and he literally waited at the last second to start working on it, so he had his Japanese roommate narrate (hilariously bad) about the American history and Trey animated over it with some crude construction paper figures. He ended up winning the Student Academy Award for it.
"Jesus vs. Frosty" was a proto-South Park with similar but different characters.
"Jesus vs. Santa" marked the first appearance of the familiar boys in "South Park" (Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny). The animation was crude, but more...er..."professional," compared to their previous two efforts.
Eddie,
Man, I so would like to read more about your experience at Filmation. That studio, while it suffered from clunky production value, still has a special place in the Saturday Morning history, so I'd like to know more about it.
This is why I stay WELL away from 'art' comics - it seems that being chronically bitter and depressed in your subject matter is a pre-requisite.
The hell with that, I want to smile and laugh when I read a comic.
As for GOOD anthologies, the Flight and Afterworks series are where it's at. MUCH better mix and the mood is firmly rooted in fantasy and the more whimsical kind of make-believe that some of us prefer.
I have a soft spot for Filmation toons - like the Hasbro/Sunbow crew, I think there were some genuinely good stories and strong characters in there, just bogged down by budget.
Soos: Wow! Nice, gutsy covers! Thanks for posting that!
Ted: I looked up Scott Pilgrim! It's good at establishing mood! I can see why live action picked it up.
CBrubaker: Really funny films except I disagree with the point History was making.
I had a ton of fun at Filmation but the finished product was so bad that it's painful for me to talk about it.
It was great to work a studio where everything: animation, assistant animation, ink & paint, etc. was done under one roof!
Jorge, (I'm the anon that did the po-mo post)
I agree that postmodernism isn't an excuse for bad work, and there are plenty of other reasons for badly done animation and comics on many levels.
But, I think it is probably still true that a lot of people that cannot see that 'Well done animation" is besides the point for these shows, that cannot enjoy them for that reason, and don't get it, nor think they are funny, may just not see the attitude behind it. PoMo is in there sometimes, if only by accident.
You have a ton of the nadir of HannaBarbera's 'serious' limited animation of the late sixties and seventies, hacked out as good enough for kids then, being used on Adult Swim content partially because the material was simply available to them, and partially because, they thought the bad quality itself was funny to make fun of.
Chris Ware may be cold, but he can be funny, when he makes fun of people trapped within their own shell, be they comic collectors or mere introverts. But, he isn't really kid friendly.
The stuff that IS made for kids these days is too smiley care bear in a lot of situations, mere toy commercials, thought of as product tie in first, commercial/cartoon/comic second.
And it is damn hard to sell anything for under 5 bucks a transaction unless it is coming from a vending machine. Maybe that is why Manga does so well in Japan, and the general populace kids and adults, are not afraid of reading them in public.
Hey Eddie,
Good point about boring comics. I've got an indie book of my own comics coming out this fall, though, and I hope it's a lot more fun than this stuff. It's all about pretty girls and monsters. Check out sample pages and info here, and if you like, I can send you a preliminary copy of the whole thing:
http://www.lunchbreakcomics.com/theclawscomeout.htm
Hey Eddie
I agree with you about indie comics being too sterile, and I'm all for autobiographical comics if INTERESTING things happen in them. What was that saying about...taking all the boring parts out?
Me and my friends made a self published comic, and we worked hard making it really crazy, funny, and visually exciting! The front cover is like a hundred insane drawings of cartoon characters...and the inside comics are pretty bizarre. It's not perfect but we were proud of how it stood out at the comic conventions we sold it at.
-Jordan
hey eddie, who drew the comic with the cat and doughboy?
"Comics are depressing."
Reading Jorge is depressing too.
lol
Ryan: I'll look it up!
The bald-headed guy comics... great design work, love the old typefaces, but unfortunately that stuff is supposed to make you squirm, make you feel uncomfortable... you know, nervous laughter. That's the artist's intent. or so I remember reading in an interview.
Unique at first, but repetitve.
My favorite comic out there is Nexus, and Steve Rude is putting new ones out with his own publishing company. Check out his website. He's the best comic artist, bar none.
Has anyone seen this Adult Swim show, 12 Ounce Mouse or something? It is simply astonishing it even exists in the same dimension as the rest of humanity.
"Well, yeah, some people do miss the point of post modernism, that it is not an acceptance of the cold and sterile, but a reaction to the cold and sterile." Thereby being cold and sterile to point out the cold and sterile, and influencing others to cultivate their talent in cold and sterile thinking it's a valid path when it's supposed to be some sort of neo-bourgeoise intellectual self-aware irony. A humor without the humor. Clever without being clever. ...But then again that's the point, isn't it? When you can't know if anything is true, you don't know anything true, you don't strive to know truth, and you become a non-person. Congratulations, you've taken humanity a giant step backwards out of the Concorde, off the moon, off the New World, and figuring out how to use your prehensile tail in Madagascar.
It's bullshit. It's like the Dadaists wanting to break down all the precepts of art and now they're considered "brilliant" and pieces sell for tens of millions, sitting in art museums next to the bullshit 'installation art' they 'inspired'.
Eddie should do a blog about installation art.
i think installation has a great potential, it's just that artists themselves have not realized it. I don't know when will we move out of the bullshit phase, though.
But those comics ARE funny!
William: I never heard the term "installation art" before you mentioned it. You mean things like Duchamps' urinal?
Anon: Rude can draw, no doubt about it!
Ryan: The doughboy was done by Archer Prewitt.
I'll look it up!
The doughboy was done by Archer Prewitt.
Thanks Eddie!
Hey now don't be so hard on these comics. Maybe you guys should research these artists a little more. These comics may appear "cold" but give them a try. Ware hand inks all his work. He draws all his letters too. The Ghost World guy...Daniel Clowes, has written some of the best stories. Pick up 20th Centruy 8 Ball. Most of Clowes' comics in there are social commentary and he really nails it. Archer Prewitt's Sof' Boy is making fun of humor. It says f-you to a few laughs which put the laughs right back in. Clever. I pick up the two Sof' Boy books I have again and again to look at them. The art is great and all hand done too. These "art" comics are sort of what's bringing comics into place with art and literature. Don't resort to calling them emo...I think these comics have a pretty good set of balls. I don't think any of these guys use computers much to draw and ink. They make you think and each has their own unique voice. Just like works of art.
Learn about Chris Ware in this 3 part series! (Excuse the French, but Ware will speak in English):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwoTqgwliCY
Learn about Daniel Clowes:
http://albertoforero.com/movies/clowes.mov
THANK YOU! I am in complete agreement. Comics should be for kids. Comics should entertain & excite. Adults should make comics for kids & make money & grow up. The end. I'm also with Nate, cartoonists need to start huffing glue & taking angel dust.
Have you read "The Comics Journal", it's the most clear example of what's wrong with the comics world today. A bunch of old men thinking about comics.
Mad: Your comment is so reasonable and so well-argued that I'm dying to agree...but I can't. I'm all for self-expression but why express only depressing things?
I couldn't get the Dan Clowes link to work but I did watch the Chris Ware. It was interesting! Thanks for putting it up!
Hey Eddie,
Yea, it is interesting that most of these comics do express depressing things. I think this comic movement is newer and no one has really answered back to it yet. Someday though.
I was worried the Clowes link wouldn't work. Try this one, it's worth seeing:
http://drawn.ca/2006/05/15/video-profile-of-dan-clowes/
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