No DC executives were harmed in the collecting of this week’s quotes. As tempting as it might be to have some DiDio-related quotes, it seems his name has been negatively bandied about in recent weeks even more than Bill Jemas at his worst. So I have opted out of the DiDio news cycle for this week’s column.
“For the best American edition of foreign material category, the judges looked over a year that saw the publication of Tekkonkinkreet, Mushishi, Osamu Tezuka’s MW, To Terra, Tokyo Is My Garden, and significant chunks of Emma, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and After School Nightmare, not to mention NBM’s beautiful edition of Run, Bong-gu Run, and opted for the manga version Romeo and Juliet, which is pretty good but not exactly original, and the hideously drawn Witchblade, which is based on an American comic. You get the feeling that the judges felt grudgingly obligated to pick some of that manga stuff so they just threw a dart at a stack of old Previews.”
- Brigid Alverson, trying to make heads or tails of the thought process behind the 2008 Harvey nominations
“The publications covering comics today are as reliant on the media incarnations as I was but I think they play favorites more, both with their personal interests and with whatever exclusive deals they could cut with a publisher. CBG is still hanging in there but clearly its time has passed and Wizard‘s day seems to be coming to an end, too. The real news and information about comics are the online sites and there are plenty for people to pick from for news, reviews and interviews so in many ways, it’s never been a better time to be a fan since the information is a click or two away.”
- Bob Greenberger assessing the overall changing face of comics journalism
“No child should ever have to choose between a mother and a father. First my mother was taken away (when I was) a child, now my father is being taken away. My dad is my life. We will never quit until my dad is free … and they have the right person. I truly believe it will happen.”
- Michelle George, remaining faithful to her father, former comics retailer and convicted murderer Michael George, prior to his receiving a sentence of life in prison with no parole
“Behind the scenes I’ve had a lot of the busiest Marvel and DC creators tell me that they are so frustrated with the constant assembly line of events, crossovers and rewrites due to so many uncreative fingers in the pie. Editors have told me that they long for a more streamline path to getting good comic books out on time.”
- Beau Smith, making me eager for a better cook and tastier pie.
“This scholarship means a lot to Suzanne and me. We made the decision to establish it the week Mike died. Mike was five years older than me but we went to college at the same time because the money just wasn’t there when he graduated high school. So he spent five long, grueling years working in a grocery store to save up enough money to put himself through school. He hated every minute of it and his frustration was painful to watch. When I graduated high school, the money was there and I enrolled in community college to put off adulthood just a while longer. Mike enrolled because he desperately wanted to be an artist. Mike worked hard for every single thing he ever had and earned every bit of it. But that five years he spent toiling away as a produce manager instead of drawing comics haunts me. Our hope is that this scholarship will enable some other talented person to get on with making their dreams of drawing comics a reality. Maybe we can spare someone years of frustration and uncertainty. And when they think back on how they got their start, they’ll know that Mike Wieringo helped them get it.”
- Matt Wieringo, settling upon a great way to help keep the spirit and memory of his brother, the late Mike Wieringo, alive.
“But here and there I’d say ‘Jesus Christ, I used to be good.’”
- Jules Feiffer, reflecting upon his early Village Voice Work
