Comments on: Who Cares About the Comics? http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/ Independent Opinions on Comics of All Kinds Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:46:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Johanna http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/comment-page-1/#comment-81404 Johanna Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:19:21 +0000 http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/#comment-81404 Very insightful observation. The things comic strips are often criticized for -- over-familiarity, lack of graphic innovation, and so on -- are what make them comfortable to their readers. Very insightful observation. The things comic strips are often criticized for — over-familiarity, lack of graphic innovation, and so on — are what make them comfortable to their readers.

]]> By: Brigid http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/comment-page-1/#comment-81401 Brigid Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:35:57 +0000 http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/#comment-81401 I think most people experience graphic art in the form of comic strips because they are part of our daily existence. You don't have to seek them out; they arrive every day in the newspaper. Just last night, at a Christmas party, I had a long, intense conversation with a woman I barely know about whether Liz and Anthony should be getting together on For Better or For Worse. Clearly, she and I were reading completely different sets of values into it, and she was surprised when I told her that most of the internet seems to be dead set against it. This woman doesn't read any other comics, but she has been following FBFW for 15 years and feels personally invested in the characters, to the point where she was discussing minor plot points that happened years ago. Besides being readily available, most newspaper strips deal with the minutiae of daily life, I think invites comparisons to our own lives that may not occur to readers of Swamp Thing or Fruits Basket. I think most people experience graphic art in the form of comic strips because they are part of our daily existence. You don’t have to seek them out; they arrive every day in the newspaper.

Just last night, at a Christmas party, I had a long, intense conversation with a woman I barely know about whether Liz and Anthony should be getting together on For Better or For Worse. Clearly, she and I were reading completely different sets of values into it, and she was surprised when I told her that most of the internet seems to be dead set against it. This woman doesn’t read any other comics, but she has been following FBFW for 15 years and feels personally invested in the characters, to the point where she was discussing minor plot points that happened years ago. Besides being readily available, most newspaper strips deal with the minutiae of daily life, I think invites comparisons to our own lives that may not occur to readers of Swamp Thing or Fruits Basket.

]]> By: Johanna http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/comment-page-1/#comment-81397 Johanna Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:03:15 +0000 http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/#comment-81397 It's also still the form that most people are more likely to stumble across, I think. But yes, point taken... I think his studies focus mostly on strips. As for the other question, I think "the comics" sounds a bit old-fashioned, but that may be just me. It’s also still the form that most people are more likely to stumble across, I think. But yes, point taken… I think his studies focus mostly on strips.

As for the other question, I think “the comics” sounds a bit old-fashioned, but that may be just me.

]]> By: Sebastian http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/comment-page-1/#comment-81393 Sebastian Sat, 22 Dec 2007 10:12:07 +0000 http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/21/who-cares-about-the-comics/#comment-81393 Nice essay, but apart from the one remark "and its partner the comic book" he focuses exclusively on newspaper comic strips. So he's not exactly praising the "art form" comic, but a (today, progressively) narrow subset of it, it seems to me (although that, of course, was historically the root of everything else, IIRC). BTW, out of personal interest: is there a difference in meaning between saying "comics" and "the comics"? Stuff like that doesn't really show up in dictionaries. Nice essay, but apart from the one remark “and its partner the comic book” he focuses exclusively on newspaper comic strips. So he’s not exactly praising the “art form” comic, but a (today, progressively) narrow subset of it, it seems to me (although that, of course, was historically the root of everything else, IIRC).

BTW, out of personal interest: is there a difference in meaning between saying “comics” and “the comics”? Stuff like that doesn’t really show up in dictionaries.

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