Friday, September 22, 2006

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

on tributes

Kochalka comments on 9/11 with all the opaque humor of his cute-baby stories:



Classy, sir.

Even in the inundation of 9/11 tributes five years ago, I didn't understand all the comic commentaries that came out. Yes, comics in their current form are an American art form, and there are certainly comic artists that are capable of making successful comics in response to the attacks, whether it be because they are fucking great writers, have made significant contributions to American culture, or both.

But many of the comics I've read in response to 9/11 carry on the same irritating characteristics of contemporary comics--oversaturated emotion, broad proclamations of trite messages, and plain and simple poor writing. Comics could be the "art form" that many have prematurely labeled it as, but most comic artists (myself included, no delusions in this blog) have about the same relevance and clout as dime-store novelists. We have neither the responsibility nor the right to throw our artistic voices into the big-kid discourse.