So this week I found this really great opportunity with Tokyopop, all I have to do is… what’s that? Read the fine print, you say? Oh never mind. Seriously though, look anywhere else in blogland for opinions on the latest Tokyopop fallout/spin, as I only briefly touch upon the subject here. And I mainly did that because Waid drops an f-bomb modifying a noun. If you’re looking to appear in Quote, Unquote either drop an f-bomb in a fun way or inject the term fluffer in the discussion, and you’re almost assuredly getting quoted. Honestly, if I miss something you find quote worthy, feel free to add a link in the comments section. Extra points if you can find a quote that incorporates apes or talking animals with Frederick Wertham.
“What Schulz is is one of the two or three greatest artists of the twentieth century, who also happens to be one of the most popular creators of the last fifty years. His work is going to be around for generations. There are going to be lots more biographies over the years, and lots more poetasters who’ll hitch their wagon to his star by saying dumb things about him. You might as well let them; it’s not going to hurt Schulz any. If you’re going to have faith in any art at all, Peanuts is the thing to have faith in. It’s indestructible. Ultimately, Michaelis just made an ass of himself; Schulz and his work will be fine.”
- Noah Berlatsky, placing a certain amount of perspective on the work/reputation of Charles Schulz in the wake of the recent David Michaelis’ Schulz biography
“Then why would you agree to do a TP project under the caveat that, particulaly on (but NOT LIMITED TO!) new media, they might (translation: are planning to) leave your name off and claim sole authorship? What, they can’t find room on the iPhone screen to put the artist’s name? If they can can find the room to put the fucking Tokyopop logo, they can find room to bill the creator.”
- Mark Waid, proving yet again why his non-fiction work is as fun to read as his fiction
“I’m happy to have my name on; Alan and I, although we’re friends - and I really hope that throughout all this that we remain friends – we are two different people; we have our own experiences, and we each have a different position.
I suppose I’m sorry that he can’t see his way to having his name on it, but it’s his decision and I respect it. My real feeling is that something which started off so creatively rewarding has actually come to a point where it can’t be by ‘Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’…in an ideal world, that’s what I would like.”
- Dave Gibbons, on having his name in the Watchmen movie credits and respecting Moore’s request to not be in the credits
“1:02PM: So Banshee takes the X-Men on a vacation, but only Storm is allowed a seat in the truck/car thing he’s driving. Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus have to ride in the bed of the truck/car, like dogs. Adorable.”
_ Tucker Stone, live blogging as he reads the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus
“Jules Feiffer is the great American cartoonist that for some reason, in a way that kind of breaks my heart, gets pushed to the margins whenever discussions of great American cartoonists take place. I think people may forget Feiffer because his work was published and thrived outside of those places that would become the preferred avenues of exploration for that great 1970s generation of cartooning boosters and enthusiasts. Most hardcore comics fans of that period collected comic books and were at least aware of the newspaper strips, if only their former greatness. Only a select few of that number bought Feiffer’s books or regularly read the Village Voice. It’s been our loss.”
- Tom Spurgeon, championing the talent of Jules Feiffer
“We are the walking dead. Look in the mirror, Maniacs. We do this to ourselves. At some point, fans have to stop thanking Marvel and DC for serving a burger when we ordered steak. Buy good comics. Consider other genres. If a comic is months or years late, wait for the trade. It boggles the mind why DC thinks it acceptable to break Kurt Busiek’s Camelot Falls arc into pieces scattered throughout his run of Superman. But, wait for the trade and there it sits in a single collection. Marvel and DC listen to your dollar, not your message board tirades. Remember that next time you plunk down hundreds of dollars for spin-offs, tie-ins, or yet another X-Men title. Only we, the fans, can fix the problems by voting with our wallets.”
- Kurt Amacker, voicing what some would consider to be the obvious about the power of a consumer
“Personally, I’ve really been enjoying the overall diversity and quality of output from Image the past year or two, and it looks only to increase. I hope Larsen continues in his role as publisher, and is able to move the needle of people’s perception of Image. If you’re one of those 30-somethings who, like me, got turned off to the early days of Image, it might be worth a look to see what they’ve been doing lately. It still may not be your cup of tea, but they’re a much broader company focusing more on substance over style these days. And the comic industry needs, in my opinion, a lot more of that.”
- Sean Kleefeld, reconsidering his initial take on Image Comics
“Words and art; It’s a collaboration and a marriage and it doesn’t work unless both are synchronized and firing on the same level. To be honest that usually comes down to the art. One can write a gripping and well-constructed story but in the end the comic artist plays the roll of every other member of the film crew; actor, director, fluffer and cinematographer. Most illustrators consider sequential art the hardest commercial form of drawing. It is, too. Because, I say so.”
- Rick Remender, acknowledging the importance of art in the comics collaborative effort and using the word “fluffer” in the process–no really.
“The blogverse is a conversation. You will be disagreed with. If you only want agreement, start a cult.”
- Johanna Draper Carlson potentially telling me why I should start a cult, I think. Maybe I’m taking her broad advice too personally. Feel free to disagree. Please. Then I’ll tell you how wrong you are. Or accept your cult membership application. Your call.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Anyone else dying to know the comics industry “fluffers” are? Five’ll getcha ten Liefeld’s name comes up in that discussion.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
You know, while the earlier Peanuts is great and no doubt about it, the last 15-20 years of it sure do suck.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
If I’m going to say that, I guess that I should say why I think so. What I mean is, the last decades of it seem to go through the motions in a rote, almost Marmaduke-esque kind of way. Another football, another WAUGH. Another “The Doctor is IN” another lightly sarcastic barb. The pathos and subtle characterization and expression just kind of dried up.
June 1st, 2008 at 1:56 am
In the last five years, especially the last three, Schulz was on a strong creative upswing (most notably in the material focused on the character Rerun).
June 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
If the Re-Run strips were its own feature by a different cartoonist, it’d be one of the top three strips of the last 20 years.
June 1st, 2008 at 9:16 pm
“If the Re-Run strips were its own feature by a different cartoonist, it’d be one of the top three strips of the last 20 years.”
Thats interesting…do you have any specific examples? Haven’t read any of those.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
“You know, while the earlier Peanuts is great and no doubt about it, the last 15-20 years of it sure do suck.”
But those are the ones they keep reprinting in the paper. It drives me nuts.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 am
That depends on what paper you get. There are two sets of Classic Peanuts offered to papers; originally, they were just going to offer one track, which is reprinting much earlier strips, but comic strips have changed dimensions some over the years, and newer strips better fit many papers’ current layouts. Everyone is getting the older Sundays.
As for “which Rerun strips”, it’s hard to point to one and say “there! There is brilliance!” in a way that would be meaningful here. Pick up any of the books of the last three years — “It’s a Big World, Charlie Brown“, “It’s a Dog’s Life, Snoopy“, or “Peanuts 2000“. (All three books are compiled, albeit out of order, in the hard-to-find bargain hardcover Peanuts Collection.)