This is “Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere…” where we take a look at what has YOU talking. Twice a week, I’ll be showcasing two related discussion points about a particular topic, to help you keep up with some of the hot topics in comic fandom.
Last week, blogger and new comic writer Kevin Church wrote something called A Handy Primer For My Fellow Neophyte Comics Creators, a piece devoted to proper etiquette and common sense when dealing with negative reviews.
Point:
Via livejournal, creator Rikki Simons posts a rebuttal to Kevin’s primer.
Excerpt:
In fact all of these points expect point two — do not immediately assume they are a moron — I mostly disagree with. I don’t think they’re morons. I think they’re often just full of themselves. Critics, take your lumps, just like we do. You cannot post a review to a blog with a comments section turned on or your e-mail made public without expecting to hear from the author if they disagree with you. Your review is not any more immune from recrimination than an author’s books are.
Counterpoint:
Lyle at Crocodile Caucus responds to Simons’s rebuttal with his post Reviewing the Reviewer.
Excerpt:
I find it interesting that Simons seems to think that the only motivation anyone ever has to write a negative review is to allow the reviewer to demonstrate their superiority to the artist with their cutting put downs, as if the working principle is “Those who can’t belittle those who do.” instead of a desire to discuss their enjoyment of pop culture in more detail than “That series is the greatest!”
It’s an interesting discussion, go check it out!
November 22nd, 2006 at 11:05 pm
It stopped being interesting when Simmons wrote the following in the comments section of the livejournal entry:
“I do like watching a horrendous punch ups though. If both the critic and the author are being asses it’s even more entertaining. But I never know who to root for because it’s sometimes like watching retarded children slap each other.”
I know some folks may like the opinion more because of a “witty” line like that, but it just tainted the whole read for me.
November 23rd, 2006 at 1:35 am
I don’t disagree that the line’s in poor taste.
But if I cut out every opinion because of a comment in poor taste, I wouldn’t really have a column.
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:14 am
First, Rikki’s a guy.
Second, I also had a response.
November 23rd, 2006 at 7:15 am
Rikki’s a guy, by the way. And I had a response as well:
http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/11/17/simons-responds-to-critical-advice/
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:52 am
Ack! Thanks for the correction, Johanna! I’ll fix it now.
Thanks for the link as well!
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:53 am
Creators should always respond negatively to negative reviews. Especially if they use easily crackable pseudonyms. I’ve got a column to fill after all. Think of the gossip mongers…
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Thanks for the link, Johanna (who is a woman, no really, I met her once!
)
Simons (Sorry for misspelling the name on my first reply) gives me plenty of other reasons to dismiss the opinion. (And I operate in poor taste as well, there’s just a certain brand of poor taste that personally rubs me wrong. As with all things, it’s a subjective response and your mileage may vary.) Sweeping generalizations and disagreeing with Kevin’s point (in general, not in specific sense) of “You are not your comic” was reason enough to lose interest. Simons’ statement “So I think it is you the critics who should give us the authors and artists some slack and not the other way around” makes it seem he has taken the criticism personally.
Some creators do take the reviews personally. Here’s the thing, if you’re going to have the strength to be a storyteller a year or 10 years from now, you have to be able to recognize the criticism of your work as not being an indictment of you as a person. (“Take all commentary, good and bad, in stride and keep it separate from your ego if possible.” as Kevin puts it.)
Here’s a tip for a creator upset about a pan his or her work received from a critic they may respect. Odds are that critic has also panned works that you liked, even panned works by authors that they had previously liked. Find the forest and stop dissecting the tree.
Mr. Johnston, the United States will be a poor source for gossip today, as a great number of U.S. bloggers and message boarders will be fighting the effects of tryptophan (damn that infernal amino acid).