February 29, 2008
Five For Friday #111 -- At Stan's Elbow
Five For Friday #111 -- Name Five And Only Five Elements (Situations, Plot Points, Relationships, Etc.) Of The Marvel Superhero Universe That Should Be Set In Stone -- Use the Following X Should Y Format
suggested by Chris Opinsky
*****
1. Reed Richards should feel an element of guilt for what he did to his friend, Ben Grimm.
2. The X-Men should be persecuted.
3. Bruce Banner should want to not be the Hulk.
4. Spider-Man should have personal problems.
5. The Sub-Mariner should be a dick.
This Subject Is Now Closed
*****
Five For Friday is a reader response feature. To play, send a response while it's still Friday. Play fair. Make sure you answer the question as directed. Responses up Sunday morning.
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If I Were In Vegas, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In Columbus, I'd Go To This
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Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* Kurt Westergaard is selling the original bomb-in-turban drawing that was perhaps the most notorious of the original Jyllands-Posten Muhammed caricatures (at least the most controversial one that was actually one of the drawings and not one of the drawings used by agitators to stir up crowds) and a dramatic part of recent events whereby some of the political turmoil was rehashed. Seeing as the last we heard from the cartoonist he and his wife were homeless after being booted from their hotel as a security risk, I supposed he could use the money.
* Spiegel Online has a nice profile of Westergaard.
* parents whose kindergarten-age children are being taught by Westergaard's wife, Gitte, have attempted to have her suspended because of worries she may put the children at risk.
* another incitement to have Westergaard murdered, this time on a Palestinian children's program.
* an association in Algeria protested directly to that country's Danish ambassador.
* this article uses the recent cartoon-related troubles to talk about past efforts to has destroyed statues depicting Muhammed.
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"I Think I'll Be Live Blogging My Firing"
The LA News is going to lay off 22 employees today, and editorial cartoonist Patrick O'Connor suspects he's going to be one of them.
While I'm talking about editorial cartoonists, let me take this opportunity to pull this profile of Henry Payne IV from the Charleston Gazette out of the miscellaneous and quick entries. I don't think I'd ever read a profile of Payne before. It's a pretty good one, too, talking a lot about his background as a favored son of Charleston as opposed to the usual blank slate such articles claim for artists, when they bother to talk about a cartoonist's upbringing at all. I also didn't know he was a wire editor for cartoons at one point, nor did I know that he supplemented his political cartoons with a weekly cartoon about cars.
That last thing is what interested me the most, because I think we're going to see a lot more of that kind of regionally focused special feature in the future, as newspapers struggle to compete with as much unique content as they can get out there, and as papers with staff cartoonists press that advantage as best they can.
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Michael George Trial: Juror Dismissed
According to the daily update by the Macomb Daily Express, a male juror was let go after it was discovered that his wife is a cousin to someone working the prosecutor's office. That takes the jury down from 14 to 13. A jury of twelve members is necessary for the trial to continue.
The articles also notes that sister of victim Barbara George, the then-32-year-old wife of retailer and future convention organizer Michael George whose death is at the heart of the trial, testified as to her observations of the accused after his wife's passing and at her funeral. The two men who found the body also testified. The article describes the evidence against George as "nearly all circumstantial."
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Go, Look: William Steig Gallery
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Go, Look: On Editorial Cartooning As It Has Had An Impact On Presidential Politics
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Go, Read: Architecture of Dreams 2
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Go, Read: Harold Gray Appreciated
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Go, Look: Cartoon Laffs 2
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Go, Look: David Petersen Process
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Not Comics: Alex Robinson's The Hierarchy of Animals, Based On Sexiness
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Shelf Porn: Sean Phillips Studio Tour
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Here's One Of Loyal's Brinkman Drawings
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Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* the writer and critic Dick Hyacinth has released his top comics of 2007 meta-list, compiling a number of various lists from various places and weighting them according to a system he's happy to explain to you.
* if I were going to SPACE, I'd be stopping by Frank Santoro's table and buying copies of the new Cold Heat 'zines.
* you can support the comics charity HERO and remember Steve Gerber at the same time by buying their Howard the Duck print, drawn by the artist Frank Cho. And also it isn't the main point, this is the first time I've seen it suggested that Gerber might have been the target of aid by the group.
* James Vance writes on legacy strips.
* if I'm understanding this article correctly, conventions in Lucca and Naples are fighting over a calendar date.
* Titan has apparently purchased Egmont's various older kids titles/properties Roy of the Rovers, Buster, Action, Johnny Red, Major Eazy, Tammy, Misty and Rat Pack in order to do a series of collections. I'm only guessing that Buster and Action are two separate thing despite the linked-to article because I can't find another mention of such a title. I like how clear the publishers are about what constitutes a viable property for children and what is essentially a nostalgia property. the first book, The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1980s will be published in June.
* cartoonist Henri Arnold retires from his popular newspaper feature after a run of 48 years. Haven't heard of him? You've heard of his feature.
* a letter writer defends the treatment of soldiers and their various issues in Doonesbury; the way that Garry Trudeau has become a champion of certain issues is one of the more remarkable turns by any cartoonist, ever.
* here's a nice report on Keith Knight I nearly missed.
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I Guess Today Is Sadie Hawkins Day?
That's what this article says, anyway. My high school's version was in the Fall and held every year instead of every four, but the article kind of suggests that was the case with Al Capp's version, too. How did the matching shirts thing start? Was that in the strip? Why is there no Andy Capp day?
posted 9:15 am PST | Permalink
Quick hits
Craft
Evan Dorkin Inks
Kids Comic Scanned
Sean Phillips Inks A Cover
Sean Phillips Roughs A Cover
Alex Collier Draws In Time Lapse Video
Exhibits/Events
Go See Moebius
Go See Matsumoto
Go See Adrian Tomine
Go See Tom Wilson, Jr.
Larry Marder at WonderCon
Go See Whitney Matheson, Tim Sale
History
Cute
On Wertham
On Dave Sim
On Dave Sim 2
On George Akiyama
Death Not Permanent
Mark Askwith on Filming Neil Gaiman
Industry
On Breaking In
I Hate Your Cartoon
Comic Shop Dialogue
Interviews/Profiles
CPN: Ethan Nicolle
Inkstuds: Dave Sim
FPI Blog: Kamagurka
Newsarama: Alex Cox
Websnark: John Allison
ComiXology: Jeff Smith
Forward: Leela Corman
Newsarama: JM DeMatteis
Newsarama: Bill Rosemann
Newsarama: Yoshinori Natsume
Daily Cartoonist: The Bad Cartoonist
Not Comics
Strange Nod in Blondie
Help Children Learn What?
Jim Blanchard In Australian Textbook
Shelf Porn Stolen From Sean T. Collins
Publishing
This Again?
New Graphic Novel Line
Dominic Davies on What's Good
Reviews
John Jakala: Various
Paul O'Brien: Various
Greg Burgas: Various
Brian Heater: Haunted
Bill Randall: Filling Tooth
Avi Weinryb: Air Gear #7
Steven Haske: Black Hole
Geoff Hoppe: Kick-Ass #1
Jesse Schedeen: RASL #1
Brian Cronin: Kick-Ass #1
Zak Edwards: Kick-Ass #1
Byron Kerman: Bookhunter
Chris Randle: Popeye Vol. 2
Craig Fischer: Crickets #1-2
Matthew Brady: Monster Vol. 6
Charles Hatfield: Crickets #1-2
Richard Bruton: The Twelve #1
Greg McElhatton: Pax Romana #1
Sean T. Collins: The Chunky Gnars
Chris Murman: Elephantmen: War Toys #2
Johanna Draper Carlson: Le Chevalier d'Eon Vol. 1
Michael May: Graphic Classics: Free Comic Book Day
February 28, 2008
If I Were In Chapel Hill, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In Cambridge, I'd Go To This
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If I Were In Seattle, I'd Go To This
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Michael George Case: Opening Arguments
This article describes opening argument in the trial of former retailer and prominent convention organizer Michael George, accused of the murder of his then-wife Barbara in his comic book store in Michigan in July 1990. Prosecutors painted a picture of a man who wanted to escape the marriage and who stood to profit from insurance both on his late wife and theft insurance for books claimed to have been stolen in a robbery attempt pushed as the cause of the slaying. Defense attorneys focused on the lack of physical evidence placing George in the comic shop at the time of the killing. The case has become a high-profile one for central Michigan due to the cold-case nature of it coming to trial, the local personalities involved on both legal teams, as well as the lurid nature of the crime and the sensational aspects of evidence to be entered as to George's potential motives.
posted 10:25 am PST | Permalink
Crosbys Buy Out Other Half Of Keenspot
According to their press release, Chris and Teri Crosby have acquired the remaining 50 percent stake in webcomics publisher Keenspot Entertainment from co-founders Darren Bleuel and Nate Stone of Orthnormal Systems. The company was created in 2000. Bleuel and Stone will maintain the site's technical services while they train replacements to handle that function. Dan Shive was named the company's Chief Technical Officer and "major changes to Keenspot's structure and business model" have been promised. Eric Burns wonders about the fate of Bleuel's strip at the site, Nukees (pictured).
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Go, Read: Long Post And Discussion of Dave Sim's Legacy at The Beat
Heidi MacDonald has written a very long post about Dave Sim and his artistic and industry legacies heading into the publication of his Cerebus follow-up projects, Glamourpuss and Judenhass. A cantankerous comments sections follows. If the subject interests you at all, it's a must-read if only for the variety of opinions on display and the inarticulate fan fury with which many of them are expressed. If it interests you greatly, you'll probably know going in that MacDonald was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Sim's work.
There's one thing that I've always found a bit confusing. When some folks boil down the way they feel about Sim, they do so in terms of a construction whereby we should consider separating one's judgment of an artist from one's appraisal of his work. I have yet to sit down and read Cerebus in its entirety, so maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that his philosophy finds frequent purchase in his comics. Now, certainly the support material plays a role in how Sim and his comics are perceived. I suspect the essays and interviews are a big reason why the tone of the discussion about Sim feels different than similar discussions about R. Crumb. And I'm not equating the art from each that's come under criticism. I think they're very different. I'm saying I think people might have done so more frequently -- and maybe to Sim's advantage -- if Sim were a mostly-silent recluse instead of active within his industry and (especially) so vocal on his own behalf. My point is that I'm not certain there's a line to be drawn between artist and art with Sim the way there might be with other artists. If Sim had created Mutts, say, I can see that line of reasoning being more relevant.
I'm also not certain why anyone who holds the view that Sim should be denounced and shunned can be surprised that comics hasn't already done so. The vast majority of the American comics industry was built not by people who hold views folks might find objectionable or abhorrent -- they may or may not have held such views, I don't know -- but on the outright unethical and immoral exploitation of artists. It's an industry where members sitting on a board can receive money for a creator credit on a toy they only in the barest sense supervised while the person who actually created the character that led to the comic that led to the toy gets nothing at all. Comics: not exactly big on moral stands.
Additionally, I'm always a little perplexed that people don't make stronger distinctions between the issues around enjoying and consuming a work, the issues of public support and advocacy versus personal relationships, and the issues of honestly appraising art and adjudicating industry history. They seem to me conflated in a lot of these arguments, and not in a good way.
What do I think about Dave Sim? I think he's clearly a talented cartoonist and I believe he's historically important as both a creator and an industry figure. He's been nice to me at times, grumpy with me at others, but I've only had severely limited contact of any kind with Sim, most of which was positive. I find repugnant a great deal of what I've read of his philosophies, although I admire what I've read about his asceticism. I don't wish him harm because of those beliefs and don't know him personally in a way I could even begin to formulate an overall opinion about the man. As a matter of rule, I distrust interacting with cartoonists as if I know them when I don't. I haven't finished reading Cerebus, so I don't have a valid opinion on its overall level of achievement, but I enjoyed a lot of the stuff I read when I was buying the comic book (through #150) and didn't care for a lot of what I read in random comics after that. I disagree with a lot of his views of the comics industry, particularly the degree to which he believes certain things. A little bit of what I've seen and read makes me think that Sim has brought the curious brand of regard and disdain with which he's held onto himself, although given the kind of casual intimacy with which he engaged fans in his work and especially its supplementary material for so many years it might be hard for him to adopt a new way of interacting with the comics public. I'm not in a position where I'd have to decide whether or not to buy his work for enjoyment, so I don't know if I would or not. As I had stopped reading Cerebus before the flashpoint issue #186, I suspect not. Still, I'm happy to cover his work and his industry efforts, and I hope I can do so fairly, the same courtesy I'd afford any other cartoonist. Anything else, I'd have to make a decision when it came up.
I also think that's a really high number of thoughts to have about one cartoonist I don't even read anymore, even when trying to make certain distinctions. Sometimes I wonder if Dave Sim is of a time, not so much for his comics but in the way a specific generation of readers came to interact with them.
posted 10:15 am PST | Permalink
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* Bahrain urges the European Union to investigate the re-publication of Kurt Westergaard's bomb-in-turban Muhammed caricature.
* this editorial is pretty typical of one way of thinking that's prominent after these instances, asking that we see recent events in the context of more directly terrorist acts against artists and politicians.
* calls for a renewed boycott of Danish goods are circulating in Saudi Arabia.
* this article suggests that the handling of the news and the events leading up to the latest political turmoil and protests did more harm than good.
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Editor & Publisher: Semi-Retired Perry Bible Fellowship To Become A Monthly
A staff report at Editor & Publisher indicates that Nicholas Gurewitch's popular The Perry Bible Fellowship, which recently made news for its cartoonist ending its run as a weekly in order to better pursue other projects, will continue as a monthly. I hadn't seen anything firm before that piece on how PBF would be published -- the initial reports indicated that it wold irregular rather than on any schedule at all.
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David Horsey Heroically Rips Sam Zell
The Post-Intelligencer editorial cartoonist takes up the flag waved by many journalists and well-respected newspaper folk who have worked under Tribune Company and real-estate mogul Sam Zell and proceeds to, well, plant it. I found the original cartoon and blog posting brutally forthright for someone whose livelihood depends on media owners like Zell, and encourage you to follow the links in this post.
I'm as critical of the culture of the American Newsroom as anyone who has ever helped put a daily newspaper to bed, but Zell's statements on journalism and the news itself seem loopy if not outright damaging to any value that journalism might hold other than a bottom line. Editor & Publisher discusses Horsey's statements here. They interview Horsey and get commentary from the Tribune Company here.
In much less bracing editorial cartooning news, the top story in Daryl Cagle's still oddly non-permalinked blog features a nice section on Michael de Adder, the editorial cartoonist now unemployed due to the closure of the Daily News in Halifax. There are also links like this one to a gallery.
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Jersey School Admins Review Cartoon
The student newspaper at Clearview Regional High School in Harrison Township, New Jersey, has been halted after school administrators objected to a cartoon about a school sex education program. I'm not sure there's much more to the story than that, but I wanted to pull it out because of it's the first such story I can remember about a high school in a while, after tons of stories in 2006 and 2007 about cartoons in university newspapers. I also can't imagine such a move won't magnify the power of the cartoon about 10,000-fold than if it had just been published. It's also one of those things where one suspects the administration objection isn't to the content or to its effect on the students but in anticipation of potential parental complaints.
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Please Consider Helping Rachel Nabors
Cartoonist Rachel Nabors needs expensive dental surgery, and like many cartoonists -- like many US citizens -- she lacks insurance that covers dental and doesn't have the resources to pony up that much money on her own. I hope you'll consider helping her. I plan on giving a small amount myself; I have to imagine anything helps.
posted 9:57 am PST | Permalink
Go, Look: My Grandmother's Funeral
new ending and additional material
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Go, Look: Eddie Campbell Egomania Art
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Go, Look: Scooper Conlon Scrapbook
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Go, Read: Collector's Edition
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Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* as long as they're not from 23-year-olds trying to impersonate Hunter Thompson, my favorite con reports are personal meditations on the whole experience with a heavy dose of alienation mixed in for good measure. Ladies and gentlemen: Mathew Maxwell -- 1, 2, 3.
* here's a link to all the various videos and trailers like the Mattotti one yesterday; I knew it was some sort of movie project and that it had been around a lot of places, I just couldn't remember what it was or where it was.
* the release of RASL, Jeff Smith's self-publishing follow-up to his mega-successful Bone series, has brought with it a battery of interviews and press coverage. One of the more high-profile pieces is this New York interview, which is accompanied by this exclusive preview. We're also starting to see reviews of the first issue: Jog, Don MacPherson and Sean Kleefeld. One thing that I think worth noting: Jeff Smith isn't debuting a graphic novel but a comic book, and to have press focus on that kind of release is becoming a rarer and rarer thing.
* it's sort of surprising that a lot more people haven't done this kind of thing: David P. Welsh describes how he buys his comics in terms of what he buys where. Given the multiple options available to comics readers these days, I think that's a very important thing to discuss. I know that my own comics buying changed forever for the good when about 18 years ago I stopped buying at the comics shop every week, cut the amount I spent every week in half, began depositing that amount in a no-cost checking account, took six weeks off, and then started buying from multiple sources. I recommend that strategy to everyone. I saved money and had more comics I liked and wanted to keep. There's an argument to be made that one thing that's kept a number of people from becoming lifelong comics readers is that the mode of purchase which they're most encouraged to pursue by several agencies may lead in many cases to dissatisfaction and burnout.
* the letterer Todd Klein has announced a sales date for the second printing of the Alphabets of Desire print.
* the critic Don MacPherson writes about the newer Brian Bendis comics as compared to the old one. I'm not as up on the later comics as I am on the earlier ones, but MacPherson's assessment suggests that Bendis may be making certain stylistic choices that stand in opposition to some of the comics by which he made his name. I find that kind of thing fascinating, actually, and I don't think I've ever seen a writer with Bendis' skill set completely seize on how to do "big screen" fight-scene driven comics of the kind that Marvel used to surge into its market lead the 25 years ago.
* just about the only thing missing from the various reminiscences of Steve Gerber was one from someone who knew him growing up. This fine, slightly mournful piece that ran on STLtoday.com fills that void.
* I enjoyed this appearance by David Lasky in a brochure (PDF) about Seattle artists and how awesome Seattle is for artists.
* here's what looks like this year's essential piece of comics criticism.
* the writer Chris Butcher ends his long series of photo-stuffed travel posts on a 2007 trip to Japan. Butcher has a great eye for comics retail, so there's a bunch of material in the series showing how various retail establishment rack and display their comics. Here's a link to the whole series.
* another article on the cartoons a man has claimed were done by Adolf Hitler. The problem with the story, to my eyes, is that Hitler wasn't a skilled enough artist to do the cartoons claimed for him. Most of his work was really crude; these look like a professional animator did them.
* Anime News Network confirms the cancellation of the anthology Dengeki Comic Gao!. The magazine ran for 15 years.
* here's a follow-up interview to that story that PWCW ran about Diamond's move into the remaindered books business.
* mediabistro.com blogger Ron Hogan shares a brutally negative assessment from a literary agent/reader of his blog concerning the importance of the various on-line initiatives of the Reed Business Information properties that as a group are up for sale.
* this New York Times article has an interesting perspective on the use of a comic book as a textbook to teach German kids about the Holocaust. Instead of the initial articles about objections that concentrated on comics' suitability to convey the amount of information necessary to grapple with the subject matter, and the potential vulgarization of the topic, this piece talks about the comic as an aid for students to talk about that historical event in light of years of what sound like dysfunctional talks and lectures in German schools.
* finally, if you're already signed up with the Fantagraphics web site or can be persuaded to do so, you should check out this preview of Jessica Farm, Vol. 1. The self-published version of Josh Simmons' comic was extremely affecting.
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I Still Miss Pete Millar
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I Still Miss Archie Goodwin
gone now 10 years
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Quick hits
Craft
On An Alex Ross Cover Design
Steven Grant on Form Vs. Content
Exhibits/Events
Torino Comics Previewed
Go See Doug Davis' Work
Go To School At Angouleme
Preview of Manhua Exhibit in UK
History
Abhay Khosla on Combat Kelly
Manga Vs. Marvel on Star Wars
On Howard the Duck For President
Five of the Worst Moments In Comics
Prisoners of Gravity Video From Early '90s
Industry
Where Did The Comics Go?
Chronicle Late In Covering Gay Comics
Is Comics Perceived as a Young Readers' Genre?
Interviews/Profiles
Naperville Sun: Tom Wilson
Examiner.com: Matt Richtel
AMCTV.com: Three From DC
The Oregonian: Mark Schultz
Sun-Times: Jean Gould O'Connell
Bags and Boards: Jonathan Mostow
Websnark: James Grant, Mel Hynes
Not Comics
Bill Kristol = Mr. Fear
RIP CR Hero, WC Heinz
How to Recommend Comics
That Really Is A Funny Cover
Happy 50th Birthday, Avalon Hill!
Larry Marder's Beanworld Posters
Hillary Clinton Doesn't Seem To Have Favorite Comics
Publishing
Manga For Adults 02
That's A Funny Cover
X-Men Books Analyzed
Shakespeare Comic Project Profiled
Fantagraphics' Spring 2008 Releases
Sort-Of Comics Publishing Deal Inked
Comics Journalism Explains News Better
Still Another Profile of Comics Journalism
Reviews
Keith O'Neil: Daredevil
Don MacPherson: Various
Shannon Smith: Ferrule Comics
Adam Stephanides: Hoshi Wa Utau
Dave Ferraro: Antique Baker Vol. 1
Sean T. Collins: Aline and the Others
Andrew Wheeler: Alice In Sunderland
Greg McElhatton: Mutts: Animal Friendly
Rob Clough: Betsy and Me, Terr'ble Thompson
Johanna Draper Carlson: X-Men: First Class #9
Warren Ellis on Elements of LOEG: The Black Dossier
February 27, 2008
If I Were In Vegas, I'd Go To This
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Jury Selection Today In George Case
The legal proceedings swirling around former prominent Pennsylvania retailer and convention organizer Michael George enter a new phase today as jury selection begins for the trial, which includes a murder charge. George is accused of the 1990 slaying of his then-wife Barbara in their Michigan comics shop. The trial has garnered a lot of attention for its "cold case" status -- George was arrested last August -- and the lurid nature of both the crime and some of the racier circumstances prosecutors will enter into evidence as potential motivation. The Detroit News has a classic big-newspaper write-up.
posted 10:25 am PST | Permalink
"Shall Be Deemed To Be Obscene": Canada Denies Comics And Anime Imports
Canada's Border Services Agency has made public its latest ruling on what adult-themed comics and anime can and cannot pass into their country. Denied are a number of books from publishers like Eros Comix and Icarus. On the other hand, the article notes that various others were approved to enter the country, which has a long history of deny entrance to adult comics of all types, which tends to become a bigger piece of news when the items of question are believed to have a greater or more obvious literary value.
posted 10:15 am PST | Permalink
Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update
* the protest and political statement action seems to be focused on the Sudan, where there was an at-least sizable protest and the president agitated against the cartoons generally. The severity of tone keeps me from making any jokes about the relative severity of not being allowed into that country, so please make up your own.
* one thing I've been tracking about the Danish Cartoons Controversy since its inception is how it has changed our perception of artists who work in the more out-there areas of free expression. This article is pretty typical of a piece not about the Jyllands-Posten cartoons that is informed by the discussion surrounding those cartoons.
* newspapers of Europe, German's Minister of the Interior has your back.
* your media brother and cousins in Jordan, not so much.
* the Foreign Office in Pakistan condemned the re-publication.
* the aim was not to offend, assured Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen in his latest public statement on the matter.
posted 10:10 am PST | Permalink
Your Comics-Related Spectrum 15 Winners: Adam Hughes, James Jean
Best In Show, James Jean
Gold Award -- Comics, James Jean
Silver Award -- Comics, Adam Huges
more information and a full list here
posted 10:05 am PST | Permalink
On Ross, Rockwell And Nostalgia
Three CR readers wrote in expressing various degrees of dismay at this article at PopMatters. At one point, Monte Williams' opinion piece draws a comparison between Alex Ross and Norman Rockwell, and suggests that such is the power of Ross' art that the Justice League of America fighting Starro takes on at least an element of the same reaction we afford to Rockwell's depiction of Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by US marshals. I agree with the e-mailers that that's an unfortunate conflation no matter how many caveats one makes, and I'm also in concurrence with what I think is their related, collective implication that processing art demands that we grapple with what is being depicted even as we allow ourself to be swayed by an abstract artistic effect.
Going a bit further, I don't think I would afford Ross' work as much authority and effectiveness as the writer does no matter how we each might believe it works on its audience. I'm not a great Rockwell fan, but I think that "The Problem We All Live With" is a far more satisfying work of art than any of Ross' covers with which I'm familiar. I would also point out that despite its age, Rockwell's painting was published a couple of months after Bridges walked the line. This means it's probably not the best Rockwell picture to be used in this comparison in the first place. But that may just be me. I agree with the writer's point that art made in a time beyond our memory can have a power that art made within our experiences cannot, and find interesting the notion that Ross' work functions at least a little bit in the same manner propaganda might. Unlike at least one of the e-mailers, I wish him no ill will.
posted 10:00 am PST | Permalink
The Bookstore Vs. Comic Shops Nerd Blather Cage Match Post-Game Show
There are a few what look like final writings on the subject of Brian Hibbs' use of Bookscan numbers to make points about the Direct Market compared to the bookstore market for comics popping up. Dick Hyacinth muses on the implications for how readers come to comics and how their tastes change within their comics reading habit, Alan David Doane argues further that superheroes aren't mainstream, Brian Hibbs sums up by accusing Dirk Deppey of moving the goalposts and re-stating some of his original conclusions. Heidi MacDonald has what looks like one more post as well.
I stopped having a horse in this race a long time ago, when the subject matter turned to the indy/alt/mainstream nature of various comic book properties and what that means. As far as that goes, I don't know and I don't care. Concerning the rest, I stand by my original take. These numbers vary much too wildly from a) the actual numbers and b) from book to book that they render useless anything but the broadest of broad claims, and make silly any kind of comparison that involves applying assumptions to mitigate those shortcomings -- let alone a conclusion drawn from such a lumpy stew.
I also find the thrust of the argumentation on both sides depressing, and the nature of the apparent advocacy wrong-headed.
Ten years ago we used to hear from a significant number of Direct Market retailers and their advocates that the American comic shop was an ideal marketplace for comics and as a result they reflected with a great deal of accuracy the national appetite for specific creative offerings. If ACME Novelty Library sold 3500 copies and X-Men sold 120,000 copies, this was a fair and relative measure of the grasp each had on the pop culture consciousness. The fact that ten years later top alternative comics publishers and creators can show me royalty statements and sales sheets that say they sell more through their book distributors than they do through Diamond, and the fact that what I've seen is generally reinforced by statements from company officials with unimpeachable industry reputations, indicates to me that this line of thinking was wrong.
Hashing out issues raised by Brian's original article over days and days may have redefined the word tedium, but it's been useful for me in one significant way. I realize now I'm about as interested in "who's stronger -- the DM or the bookstore market?" as I am in my late 30s to know the answer to a similar question about Superman and the Incredible Hulk. All of the noodling about various factors that feed into who wins that argument are about as compelling to me as whether or not we're talking Weisinger-era or Byrne-revamp Superman, or if the Hulk gets access to a kryptonite light saber.
Both of these markets are vitally important to comics. That's because all markets are important to comics. These markets -- and all markets -- can be improved upon.
I suspect what's deeply frustrating to many publishers and their advocates is that they now see comic shops through the lens of their recent experiences with bookstores. Despite the lack of saturation in the bookstore market and the fact they're competing with so much product and it's tough there and all the many, never-denied problems with book sales, over the last decade they've been made to feel much more welcome in that market than they have ever felt in the comics market. Their bookstore distributor probably hasn't signed massively unfair and restrictive contracts with their other clients that puts them at a structural disadvantage. They're treated with respect and enthusiasm at BEA compared to the disdain or begrudging acceptance that greets them at comics conventions. Their bookstore distributor doesn't try to sell them services as much as it seems to work with them as a partner in selling as many books as possible. Their retailing partners at the bookstore level don't spend hours trying to convince them that they're doing better or at least as well as another market. There is no framework by which the idea that anyone owes anyone anything is ever floated. No one from Amazon.com has ever to my knowledge publicly ripped into a comic book publisher for allowing a comic shop to take one of their sales. Can you blame many publishers for simply making room for a market that has in the last decade moved so many books, treated them professionally in doing so, has been the avenue for their biggest hits, and whom their records now indicate serves more than 50 percent of their bottom line? I can't.
The thing is, there is very little keeping these companies from serving all of these markets and serving them well. Publishers don't make decisions on where and how to promote and what to invest based on people ranting on the Internet; they make decisions based on returns from past experience. And there is certainly nothing in any percentage breakdown that should keep any of these markets from growing independently of one another.
In fact, there are huge obstacles ahead in both bookstores and comic book stores for those publishers that have come to count on both.
In bookstores, comics may cycle off of their current public goodwill and stop being a hot category as soon as a few months from now. Competition for bookshelf space continues to be fierce and will only get worse. No one really knows what will happen to the manga market. It takes more money to operate within the realm of book publishing than it ever has to enter and thrive in comics, which may have a drastic impact on who enters the field. Major book publishers are beginning to push some really shitty, thrown-together or otherwise uninspired books that may over time pollute that marketplace and the public's perception of it. Print by several measures is in overall decline and traditional avenues for selling books could therefore be in jeopardy. No one really knows if the economies of the Internet will have a positive effect on that sales avenue or how that positive effect may make itself known.
In comic book shops, it's distressing that five years of sustained, positive press for many publishers hasn't had a similar sales effect in comic book stores or even much of an effect at all. It's depressing that saturation levels remain so low with the quality of certain books so high and that significant percentages of the market can wear as a badge of honor a limited selection and fealty to a rigid definition of the medium. Diamond is broken in that scary, daunting and systemic way that we see when our national power grid sometimes stops working, and there is nothing in the way the market operates that makes an incentive of acting in a manner that facilitates slow, overall growth and general health. Manipulating the market and cynical publishing ploys that burn away goodwill are consistently rewarded; unprofessional behavior is almost never punished. This becomes reflected in industry values, and thus more people in comics proper know Scott Rosenberg's name than know Chris Oliveros'. Core economic injustices are more frequently defended than they are moved against. Adding more elite stores hasn't yet had the effect that conventional wisdom once suggested it might.
Those who proselytize on behalf of their favorite market by pointing out the mini-comic stuck in the eye of the supposed competitor have several longboxes in their own they might be urged to concentrate on instead.
I love comic shops -- they're entire shops that sell almost nothing but comics! -- and I love the fact that comics are available in bookstores and that an additional market has opened up in the last decade for many artists I admire. I think manipulating admittedly wildly inaccurate numbers and implying that a market sells more copies of certain kinds of comics when valid testimony of better numbers supported by many numbers known outright says otherwise is ridiculous. I find equally ludicrous front-running statements about comic book shops being worthless or declarations related to that notion -- such as saying that spending time in the pursuit of ways to make that market grow somehow isn't time worth spending. It's hard to imagine a more useless dialectic, including Superman vs. the Incredible Hulk. At least in the case of the big S and the green goliath we might get a decent comic out of it.
posted 9:55 am PST | Permalink
Go, Read: Louis I Kahn Travel Sketches
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Look: Felix Lorioux's Cinderella
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Look: Ever Meulen Exhibited
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Bookmark: Bill Randall On Comics
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Look: Jeff Jones Illustrations
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Look: Cartoon Laffs
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Go, Read: Dating Newsstand Photos
posted 9:45 am PST | Permalink
Random Comics News Story Round-Up
* the writer and critic Jeet Heer follows up yesterday's post on this site linking to images of "The Krazy Kat Club" with some analysis and perspective.
* Martin Lilja wrote in to point out that the Mat Brinkman show at Loyal that starts March 7 "is focused on new original pen and pencil works on paper," which I agree is very exciting. Pictured is one of the old drawings, which I also find exciting.
* here's the information on that Great Outdoor Fight hardcover from Dark Horse we talked about yesterday. September 2008.
* the Quill Awards have been suspended, after Reed Business Information, currently in the market for a new buyer, withdrew support. The Quills were a book awards program with the backing of a television network that honored comics in its own category. The article at PW makes them seem like a really top-heavy entity, with a 40-person advisory board, which is something I hadn't known. It makes sense that such an awards program couldn't survive without its backing; its backing was the point.
* speaking of Reed, Ron Hogan has a nice piece on how potential buyers might perceive the company's future.
* the huge comics industry news and discussion site Newsarama has signed into a media partnership with the New York Comic-Con for coverage of the event. CR would like to announce that we have entered into a similar though slightly less formal partnership with the North American beer industry for that same weekend.
* an anonymous, only roughly-identified source at The Beat says that yesterday's $600,000 venture capital figure mentioned for Boom! isn't money on hand but the upper limit of money that's being made available to them. Or something.
* finally, a must-read interview with Lewis Trondheim on Newsarama.
posted 9:30 am PST | Permalink
Happy 48th Birthday, Norm Breyfogle!
posted 9:15 am PST | Permalink
Happy 48th Birthday, Jeff Smith!
posted 9:15 am PST | Permalink
Happy 46th Birthday, Andy Kubert!
posted 9:15 am PST | Permalink
Quick hits
Craft
Moshi-Moshi
Sean Phillips Inks
On Adapting Poetry
Frank Quitely in Dangerous Ink
Marko Djurdjevic Makes a Cover
Exhibits/Events
Go See Nancy Goldstein
PWCW's WonderCon Report
Portland Comics Show Preview
History
Eric Reynolds Letter in Elektra: Assassin
Industry
The Multiverse Is Strictly Business
Hey, Where Are Your Obama Cartoons?
Matt Maxwell on DC's Commitment to TPBs
Interviews/Profiles
Wizard: Brian Bendis
ComicBloc: Greg Pak
PWCW: Pete Friedrich
Wizard: Joe Madureira
Newsarama: Ed Brubaker
Indie Spinner Rack: Jeff Smith
Comics Waiting Room: Steve Rude, Jaynelle Rude
Not Comics
Egad
That's Just Cold
Marc Mason Hates You Geeks
Publishing
Tranny Press Kit
Mechademia Returns
BuzziNews.com Hype
Macbeth Project Profiled
Titan UK Projects Profiled
Trinity Sounds Good To This Columnist
Profile of Labyrinth Projects At Tokyopop
Reviews
Mike Baehr: Pines #1
Marc Mason: Zorro #1
Marc Mason: Foundation
Marc Mason: Shojo Beat
Marc Mason: Kick Ass #1
Jonathan Woodward: Various
Anonymous: The Ten-Cent Plague
Sean T. Collins: Daredevil #103-104
Katie McNeill: Harukaze Bitter Bop Vol. 1
Richard Pachter: Superman Vs. Hollywood
Marc Mason: Pandora: A Death Junior Manga
Marc Mason: The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo Vol. 2
Marc Mason: Courtney Crumrin and the Fire Thief's Tale
Valerie D'Orazio: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol. 6
Marc Mason: A Dummy's Guide To Danger: Lost At Sea Vol. 1
Marc Mason: Students of the Unusual Giant-Sized Music Special #1
A Short Interview With Joe Casey About The Act of Promoting His Comics
*****
You see them all over the comics Internet: mainstream American comic book creators doing short interviews and profiles in relation to a new project, a kind of comics version of the talk-show circuit. What's that experience like for the creator? Is it time well-spent? How does one walk the fine line between promoting your work and overselling it? Is creator-directed promotion a necessary evil? Is it necessary? Is it evil? CR pal and writer Joe Casey is one of the more prominent comics creators out there in terms of maintaining a public presence through hyping his latest works -- or is that maintaining the hype for his latest work by fashioning a public presence? In the midst of his latest campaign, for a Marvel Comics project called The Last Defenders, Casey answers some questions about feeding the publicity machine and keeping sane while doing so.
*****
TOM SPURGEON: First, let me get some context. How important do you think being active in publicizing your work has been for your career? Have you ever considered just withdrawing from that element of the industry?
JOE CASEY: Every moment of every day, Tom. I mean, it's not exactly part of my job description, is it? Here's some hyperbole for you... self-marketing is a necessary evil, emphasis on "evil." But in today's Direct Market, awareness is everything. Back in the day, I would spin my wheels to gain awareness for myself as some sort of entity in the industry, which was an attempt to help build my career, but now it's all about the work. Doesn't make it any easier. OK, maybe a little easier. Nevertheless, it's damn important. Unfortunately, these days it seems like it's almost as important as the work itself actually being good. A sad state of affairs, my friend...
SPURGEON: At what point when you're working on a project do you start to think about how you can support it in the marketplace. Do you have a menu, a basic plan that you adapt to individual books?
CASEY: For my own creator-owned stuff, as soon as I get a sense of when it's going to come out, when we're going to solicit. For work-for-hire stuff, as soon as its green-lit. Different projects demand different promotional agendas. For instance, the promotion I'm doing for The Last Defenders is as extensive as any pimping I've ever done, all of it geared specifically for this particular book. That is to say, I couldn't take that marketing plan and superimpose it onto another project.
SPURGEON: Can you describe in a bit of detail how you conceptualized your promotion for The Last Defenders, then? Have there been any mid-course corrections, or do things tend to work out pretty well according to plan?
CASEY: I guess I figured, in the midst of what I'm sure will be a massive marketing campaign for this big Skrull story that Marvel's doing, I should go for more of a grassroots approach... doing what I can to speak directly to readers -- and, to be honest, retailers -- who might dig this kind of superhero team book. At least, as directly as the Net will allow. And I want it to be interesting, as well. So, working with Newsarama, it'll be a series of interviews with various members of the creative team, it'll be individual character profiles, it'll be process stories (how we actually put the book together), it'll be Q&A's with the Newsarama posters. All of these are simply different ways of disseminating information about the book, even as each issue is coming out. Some of it, folks have already seen. We're just in the opening stages of this thing. So far, so good.
SPURGEON: Does part of how you hype a book depend on accessing non-comics sources or is most of what you do tied into the comics press and comics-interested press?
CASEY: I might be somewhat short-sighted, but I really have no interest in outreach promo anymore. That is, I abandoned chasing anything that stinks of the "mainstream media" long ago. The thing about the dedicated comic book press is simply this... those guys like comics. They like to talk comics and so do I. My aim for creating awareness for something like Defenders is to hook in those readers who want a cool Marvel superhero team book. I know they're still out there, because I'm one of 'em. I talk to the comics press because we speak the same language. And I like that language.
SPURGEON: Do you or any of the creators that you know feel pressured by the companies you work for to go out and hype a book? If someone was to refuse to do interviews for whatever reason, would that have an impact on their career or your ability to get work? How much is expected of you guys?
CASEY: That, I really couldn't answer. I certainly never feel any direct pressure by publishers to interact with the press. Formal requests directly from marketing departments are few and far between. Even "mainstream" print journalists pretty much find me on their own. Now, having said that, I would think that a creator who does get out there and shoot their mouth off is more attractive to publishers because it can often aid in the marketing of a particular project. It certainly worked for me at a certain stage of my career.
The pressure you can feel is when you're not getting boatloads of marketing support from the publisher. You do want to create awareness for what you're working on... so you ask yourself, "Do I put myself out there and try to move the sales needle, or do I follow my own personal sensibilities and shut the hell up and let the chips fall where they may?" Look what I'm doing with The Last Defenders. It's a full court press, countless pieces that will hit Newsarama over the next few months. Is Marvel asking me to do it? No. But, then again, they didn't ask me to do the book in the first place. I pitched it to them. And, having pitched it to them -- in a sense, convinced them that the book was worth publishing -- I want it to succeed.
SPURGEON: Would you prefer for your publishers to provide a more concerted effort in publicizing your books?
CASEY: The easy answer to that is, "Of course." I say that because it would mean I could spend more time writing comics. But I'm too aware of the limitations of marketing departments, even at the big publishers. There's just not enough manpower to promote everything with equal vigor. And I'd be completely naive if I blamed them for that, not to mention a real asshole. So I don't blame them at all. Some of these people are friends of mine.
SPURGEON: What about the notion that's been floated that you guys don't know about sales and therefore the market would be better off if this were taken out of your hands and returned to professional sales people? Are you really your best advocate?
CASEY: That's a really good question. I honestly couldn't say whether or not I'm my best advocate for myself or my work. Probably not. But most of the time, I don't have a choice. Comics is still a relatively small business in that respect. My version of "market research" is simply to ask myself whether or not the book I'm pimping is something that I'd want to read. It's really an extension of why I'm doing the book in the first place. Having said that, nothing would please me more than having crack marketing departments that were laser precise in targeting their promotions and knowing the unique virtues of every project... but it's just not practical.
SPURGEON: How big a role does timing play in setting up hype? Is there such a thing as mistiming the hype for a book?
CASEY: As they say, timing is everything. There are definitely windows of opportunity. We announced the Defenders book a week before March '08 solicitations hit the 'Net. We did that to give both readers and retailers a chance to digest the idea of the book and the fact that its on the way before the onslaught of March solicitations hit. In Marvel's case, they're pretty much Skrull crazy at the moment so anything outside of that publishing initiative has to fight even harder to grab eyeballs. You need to hit people with a lot of press right when retailers are ordering the book... which is three months before the book hits the stands. On the other hand, almost two years ago I announced a new Image book I'm doing called Charlatan Ball. It ended up taking a lot longer in production so I stopped talking about it because I didn't want to blow my wad before I had to do real promotion for it when it does get solicited. Constantly talking about a book that was still quite a ways off would've let all the air out of the balloon.
SPURGEON: Is promoting a work at Image any different than publishing one through Marvel? Is there a difference in terms of the support you get from either company, what they can do for you?
CASEY: For me, at this point in my career, the promotion is pretty much the same, in so far as I'm still talking directly to comic book press. Oddly enough, the support issues are the same, as well... I wish both companies had more personel in their marketing departments. Just form a manpower standpoint, there's too much product and not enough hours in the day to give all of them the attention they deserve. Right now, they're doing the best they can with what they've got. Once again, it's pretty much down to the creator and his (or her) enthusiasm for getting the word out, getting it out there on time. With Image especially, it's very much a partnership between the publisher and creator. Granted that puts an onus on the creator to be somewhat savvy in the marketing of their product, maybe more than some of them are comfortable with... but that's the world we live in.
SPURGEON: You sort of began to touch on this earlier, but is there a two-tier approach to hype -- is some hype aimed at the buyers/retailers, and others at fans? How are those kinds of hype qualitatively different?
CASEY: Absolutely... although right now I'm experimenting with something that breaks away from the two-tier approach. With Last Defenders, I'm working with the guys at Newsarama to keep the light on us for the entirety of the run of the series... from first issue solicitation until the release of issue #6. That's basically a nine-month period. The balancing act there is not to be obnoxious about it. And, the great thing is, the "hype" doesn't have to differentiate between reader and retailer... mainly because the best retailers are readers, too. I like it when retailers are excited by a new project as a fan, not just as a businessman. That's when the industry can really be fun for everyone involved.
SPURGEON: How do you "not be obnoxious about it"? What is the kind of hype that goes over the line, in your opinion?
CASEY: Hell, Tom... it's all around us. Mainstream comics sold with a Pro Wrestling mentality. There's no point in pointing fingers or naming names. Even the solicitations read like they were written by slicko used car salesmen. Now, c'mon, when solicitations come across as obnoxious, something's gone horribly wrong, don't you think...?
SPURGEON: Beyond the garishness of some hype, do you think creators have the responsibility to do their best to make sure what is written about them is the truth, or is allowing people to write things about you that may or may not be true just part of the publicity game?
CASEY: I think this is one of the few entertainment-related fields where -- in the absence of bone fide publicists on anyone's payroll -- a creator can control what's written about him (or her). We can have a message board, we can have a blog, we give lots of interviews to a multitude of news outlets. Lots of opportunities to speak.
The point is, we're able to represent ourselves quite a bit in our own words, so in a very real sense, we're able to shape our own public personas. Comic book journalists -- the ones who pride themselves on being journalists -- seem to me to be a pretty principled bunch. They don't make shit up that doesn't have some basis in reality. Even a guy like Rich Johnston, who traffics in rumor and gossip, applies pretty high standards to what he does. So it's the creators themselves who set a tone for how they're perceived.
There was a time when I could actually get behind the old chestnut, "any press is good press". But it's just not true. The "garishness" you're mentioning... it comes from our side, the creators, the professional side. The press isn't goading us into talking like pro wrestlers. Obviously, there are nice guys and assholes on every block, but oftentimes it feels like the assholes are outnumbering the nice guys, because the assholes make more noise. These days, how many times do we see a creator spout off about something, causing massive amounts of general eye-rolling? Okay, none of us are running for public office here, but I sure as hell didn't grow up reading articles about -- or interviews with -- my favorite creators where I somehow ended up resenting them in the end. Hearing about how much money they're making, how much their books sell, how they're the envy of the rest of the industry... I don't think I would've been very inspired to try and get in the game myself. That's kind of where it all falls for me.
SPURGEON: Have you ever been upset about something that's been written about you or a way you've been presented or a reaction someone's had to you in the course of getting your books out there to be promoted?
CASEY: Not upset, really. But it's definitely happened. The X-Men relaunch I was a part of in 2001 was a hyperbolic clusterfuck on many levels... lots of grand, sweeping statements flying around and I definitely made more than my share of them. I certainly said things that went overboard in the hype department and I was called to the mat on it, even before the books came out. And rightly so. I look back now and realize that the only positive thing to come out of that experience was that the Morrison-Quitely X-Men book was so good. Mine certainly wasn't. It sold well enough, I guess (which might be an argument for hype)... but ultimately who cares if the quality of the work's not there? I suppose I wasn't upset because I realized everyone was right. Tough pill to swallow, but sometimes the truth hurts. I was more upset at myself because I didn't bring my A-game to the gig. Hopefully, I've learned a lot since then.
SPURGEON: Is there any prioritizing that goes on when you're publicizing a new work? For instance, do you target a couple of magazines over the rest?
CASEY: I've got a pretty good relationship with the Newsarama guys, one that stretches pretty much over the entirety of both of our careers. We started pretty much around the same time, and it just so happens that they are the top site for comic book news. No one else comes close. Christ almighty, there are folks who work at major movie studios that cruise that site every day...! Now, I'm happy to talk to almost anyone who seeks me out, but I personally go to Newsarama well in advance to plan things out strategically.
SPURGEON: Does anyone ever ask for exclusive access, or a story or interview first? Has Newsarama ever asked for an exclusive or for something first? How do you negotiate that when it comes up?
CASEY: Those situations can crop up between publishers and news outlets. Mainly, I know it happens between major publishers and WIZARD Magazine. And, of course, there was a time when Rich Johnston was a severe pain in publishers' asses (and God bless him for it), so there would always be a bit of negotiation going on with him. But the fact is, I don't really work on projects that command the kind of attention or interest on a level that would necessitate any kind of exclusivity with any one news outlet.
SPURGEON: How much is hyping your work a subject of discussion with your and your fellow comics professionals? Have you ever received a worthwhile tip or pointer from another pro that you use in taking a book out?
CASEY: Honestly, I can only speak for myself here. I've joked about it with a few of my friends in the business, but I haven't talked to them enough to know for sure if anybody thinks about this stuff the way I do, or as much as I do. More than likely, everyone has their own way of dealing with the press.
SPURGEON: How much are you conscious of building your own name brand in the process of discussing a work? Is there ever any conflict between those two things, is it possible to get yourself over and have people leave with a positive impression of you but not the book. How do you balance that?
CASEY: For better or worse, I think I built a brand for myself a few years ago. I did what I had to do at the time, and now I'm kinda' over it. Not to date myself, but there was a time when only a few of us were really using the 'Net (and the press, as well) to create that kind of creator-specific brand, that cult of personality. And basically we were all following in -- what were at the time -- the still-fresh footsteps of Mr. Warren Ellis. So, I've been there, done that. Here's what I'm conscious of... it's not the game I like to play anymore. I'd rather talk about the work exclusively.
In the past few years, I think I've become more and more of a private person. So, unlike most creators who you see online a lot... while my company has a work blog -- updated semi-regularly, I'll admit -- I don't have my own creator-centric message board, I don't engage in the excessive name dropping/back slapping that's gotten ridiculous, I don't talk about my family, I don't brag about what I got for Christmas, I don't try to turn a news piece into a lifestyle piece. I don't want to be famous. That is to say, I don't desire large groups of people to be envious of me because I'm constantly -- and painfully -- trying to convince them that I'm living the life they wish they were living. Actually, I find that kind of thing pretty distasteful, but different strokes for different folks. When I talk to the comic book press, I'm talking to them as a comic book writer, not as a faux celebrity who assumes that the readers give a rat's ass about what I had for breakfast or who I hung out with at San Diego last year or what meetings I'm taking in Hollywood. These days, all I care about talking about is the work. What it's about, when it's available, where it came from, etc.
SPURGEON: How has this change in attitude had an effect on the hype itself? Do you feel you'd have more opportunities to hype your work if you did play that game?
CASEY: I don't know. That's a interesting question, though. Is a potential reader more inclined to pick up something if the creator comes across as some kind of rock star? Are we 
