First, I apologize for the lateness of this column and for the fourth panel. Brian and I didn’t mean to get all autobio-comix-lurid on you, but we’re just reporting True Events, you know?
One of the uplifting mantras I have about working in comics is “Remember, to most people, comics do not matter.” In fact, if you Google my name, you’ll find a comment I posted on Heidi MacDonald’s Publishers Weekly column The Beat saying just this. (I am sorry for repeating myself, but that’s what you do with mantras, isn’t it?) In the spectrum of invocations of humility, it doesn’t rank with “memento mori” (”remember you are mortal”), which a slave whispered in the ear of Roman conquerers during their triumphs, but for my purposes, it does the job. And my purposes as a comics editor are these: 1. Make sure good comics get published. 2. Make sure people know about these comics.
So if I remind myself that for most people, comics are nowhere near their radius of consciousness, it makes me work harder. And it makes me kind of depressed.
This is excellent! I work at a comic shop and spend most of my waking life thinking about comics, and I have very similar experiences at most family get-togethers.
Comment by Andrew Bobo — May 5, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
You know, Marvel did produce a Barbie comic back in the mid-80s…
Comment by matchesmalone — May 5, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
I work in the video game industry. I’ve told family members that at family reunions, then had to explain to them the difference between video games and TV shows.
But the most common response I get to telling people I make video games is, “It must be nice to sit around playing games all day.” It’s like they think furniture manufacturers just lie in beds all day in the factories instead of actually making the furniture.
Comment by Jason M. Bryant — May 6, 2008 @ 12:07 am
Morrissey (MOZ) is the best!
Comment by Gazoo — May 6, 2008 @ 1:53 am