In lieu of his usual Sunday interview feature, Tom Spurgeon offers “Two Dozen Things I’d Decree To Make Comics Better.” There’s always something to quibble with sure, but by and large it’s hard to debate the merits of items like the following:
4. Make An Industry Goal Of Reliable, Accurate, Instant Information On The Availability Of Comics
I can walk into a bookstore and get a reasonably accurate answer as to whether something is in print and whether or not I can order it. About half the time I try to ascertain this kind of information in a comics shop I’m greeted by obfuscation, ignorance and bullshit. I don’t know what has to be done so that people can provide accurate information upon demand, but I figure this should be more of a possibility now than at any time in comics history. As emperor I would declare that we come to industry-wide agreement that this is a desirable goal: an expectation that someone can walk into any comic shop or any bookseller and find out about the availability of any comic. Then we work on the problem itself.
More at the link.
