comics

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droid

Guest
LOL. Well said. Add also, Garth Ennis.

Morrison I think is one of the most overrated writers out there. Plus he stole all his best ideas from Moore. Animal man was the final straw for me.
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
Actually, I really liked his work on Animal Man. What's the objection there? The self-conscious, sub-Watchmen post-modernism?

From the same period, I also really liked his work on Doom Patrol - although it was sometimes perilously close to STNTBTiRCaE territory. Basically, I think he's a talented but deeply flawed writer.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
There is a federal election in Canada today, and in my riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto, I can vote for Chester Brown as a Libertarian Party MP! I'm not going to, but still pretty cool.
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
There is a federal election in Canada today, and in my riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto, I can vote for Chester Brown as a Libertarian Party MP! I'm not going to, but still pretty cool.

Yeah, I heard about that. Why is it cool? And here's a question I've been meaning to ask for quite a while now: Why do so many comics writers and artists turn into right-wing extremists?
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
Yeah, I heard about that. Why is it cool? And here's a question I've been meaning to ask for quite a while now: Why do so many comics writers and artists turn into right-wing extremists?

Well, given his recent activism what with the release of his new book about his experience with prostitution, I think he is running on a heavy platform of labour rights for sex workers. He doesn't strike me as a right-wing extremist at all, no less because last night at his book launch he was vocally very explicit about encouraging people not to vote Conservative. It is probably without question that he is on the left-hand/possibly extreme left (i.e. anarchist) side of the libertarian spectrum. He's no Steve Ditko :)
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
Well, given his recent activism what with the release of his new book about his experience with prostitution, I think he is running on a heavy platform of labour rights for sex workers. He doesn't strike me as a right-wing extremist at all, no less because last night at his book launch he was vocally very explicit about encouraging people not to vote Conservative. It is probably without question that he is on the left-hand/possibly extreme left (i.e. anarchist) side of the libertarian spectrum. He's no Steve Ditko :)

I guess I don't know that much about the Canadian Libertarians but the American version strikes me as a bunch of terrifyingly right-wing Ayn Rand worshippers. Maybe the Canadian party is truer to the typical libertarian claim that they have nothing to do with traditional right/left ideologies. In any case, it sounds like he's no Dave Sim. ;)
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
Do they? :eek:
I wasn't aware of a trend. Do you have some more examples?

Well we've mentioned Ditko (Objectivist) and Dave Sim ("anti feminist"). There's also Peter Bagge (Libertarian). Frank Miller's outlook has seemed increasingly libertarian but I'm not sure he has any affiliation with the party. I'm sure there are others that I just can't think of right now.

The same is also true of sci-fi authors, BTW. Heinlein springs to mind.
 
Well we've mentioned Ditko (Objectivist) and Dave Sim ("anti feminist"). There's also Peter Bagge (Libertarian). Frank Miller's outlook has seemed increasingly libertarian but I'm not sure he has any affiliation with the party. I'm sure there are others that I just can't think of right now.

The same is also true of sci-fi authors, BTW. Heinlein springs to mind.

Well, I wouldn't call that "so many" ;) I don't think the conservative ratio is much higher than among film makers or something like that. But Bagge? Even if "libertarian" isn't what I'd consider a "right-wing extremist", I wouldn't have guessed that.

Anyway, just read some Baru the other day, he's definitely more on the left side
baru_bruno_extrait.jpg
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
Aside from any outward political comments Frank Miller may have made that I haven't yet heard, my impression of his world view from his works alone isn't so much libertarian as it is just wildly ignorant and, well, American.
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
Aside from any outward political comments Frank Miller may have made that I haven't yet heard, my impression of his world view from his works alone isn't so much libertarian as it is just wildly ignorant and, well, American.

I think one of the things that might drive some of these people towards loony right-wing views is the isolation inherent in being a comic book artist. Basically, I think that lots of time spent alone, bent over a drawing board can make your brain go a bit funny in the head. It seems like around the time of Give Me Liberty, something started to go a bit wrong in Frank Miller's wiring. Not sure if there's any evidence for that but I do think there's some evidence for the belief that Dave Sim has actual mental health problems.
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
A bit like finding out that Johnny Ramone was really a fan of Reagan ..., doesn't really change anything but "huh, how does that fit together"

Well, somewhere along the line the Ramones kinda stepped under the umbrella of that whole lowbrow art/red meat/faux redneck scene (which is very big here in Vancouver), so it kinda makes sense that one of them became a very active right-wing Republican. (It's worth noting, though, that Joey was a very active left-wing Democrat.) At a glance, Bagge's comics could be seen as sheltering under the same umbrella but if you actually read the things, his storytelling and social commentary is much more subtle than the bugged-out and garish artwork would suggest.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival looks great this year. Among people who are going to be there doing lectures: Chester Brown, Seth, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine, Natsume Ono, Usumaru Fuyura, Paul Pope...

All the best lectures are taking place in the pub next door as well, which is excellent. Comics is something Toronto is definitely good for.
 

petergunn

plywood violin
a guy i work w/ just gave me his password for marvel.com... it's pretty amazing... a whole lot of shit archived, if you can deal w/ reading comics on yr computer... spent the last few days blowing thru all the john byrne/chis clairemont X-Men stuff i hadn't read...
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
was in waterstones today and picked up this book by the author of 'jimmy corrigan' (still haven't read it... generally can't afford comics at the moment)

a462fc927bc040.gif


seemed quite interesting, full of great drawings and ''YOU CAN'T DRAW YOU SHITHEAD'' self-lacerations.

it worried me that in his journal notes I simultaneously recognised a man drowning in self-doubt and self-hatred and uhhh ME.

[i couldn't afford the book, though, cos it cost about 25 quid]

petergunn - I was reading through this thread and saw you think Joe Sacco's comics suck assholes. I'm interested to know why you think this?
 
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I've been getting into talking animal comics recently. First off there's Grandville. A lot more easier going than Alice in Sunderland and better artwork.

grandville-page3.jpg


Pride is probably meant to be a savage criticism of the Iraq war but I can't help but think of it as an honest tale about lions

pride-bomber.jpg


And a bit more obscure than them two, the filipino comic Elmer. Chickens gain the ability to talk overnight, and must overcome genocide in order to win 'human' rights.

elmer.gif


And shameless plug, I'm selling some comics on ebay at the moment (though none of the above)

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/owengriffiths/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25
 
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