Why Write About Hypocrisy In Comics Journalism and Activism?
Don’t you got nothing better to do with your life?
I wake up and go on Twitter. Right there, I fucked up.
But then I see the new work of some artists I like & I’m like:
Quickly, however, it all turns to poop, into my agita’s agita. I see Mr. Fucking Obnoxious Mainstream Comics Journalist (literally: “SJW & proud of it!”) proactively harass a conservative veteran comic book artist & mock him for not getting enough work in his career. What Mr. Fucking Obnoxious Mainstream Comics Journalist could do, if he wanted to really be bold & “investigative,” would be to research how much the comic book industry has dropped the ball over the last 20 years on providing steady work decent wages for creatives. See, that’s a very important issue in the funny book biz at the moment that has impacted the lives of many many many writers and artists (on both the left and right of the theoretical ideological spectrum).
But if Mr. Fucking Obnoxious Mainstream Comics Journalist did that, it might jeopardize whatever writing gig for the Big Two he is most likely fantasizing over. So it’s better to just hit at “low hanging fruit.” So to speak.
As a person who had been involved in theoretical Comics Journalism & Activism for about a decade, it’s very interesting to see the change from conservatives bullying liberals to liberals bullying conservatives. The Underdog becoming the Updog, so to speak. I’m sure this will all solve many many problems. In fact, I hear from reliable sources that it might even restore Comics to the sort of mainstream powerhouse broad-based sales force it was in 1991. Or 1941.
It might even fix the Comixology shit.
***
Why am I writing this series of posts? Is it because I am advocating some sort of political/ideological change in the industry & community? Is this yet another crusade-conflagration for me to jump upon, calling out to the heavens “J’Accuse!!!!!!!”
No. It’s not. After about said decade of being quite involved in Comics Journalism & Activism, one thing has become quite clear: you can’t adequately advocate for “social justice” issues (of any stripe) within a business that is so shaky, so unstable, so much in flux, and filled with so many general run-of-the-mill sociopaths. In the final analysis, if an industry cannot provide basic living wages & security…whether Power Girl has a boob window on her costume doesn’t fucking matter. And I’ve written a post about her fucking boob window back in the day myself! Low-hanging fruit, high-hanging fruit, yadda yadda yadda.
So why do I write about “Hypocrisy In Comics Journalism & Activism”? Two reasons:
It’s fucking HILARIOUS. It truly is. It’s like “Bonfire of the Vanities” meets “Always Sunny In Philadelphia.” It’s like some real-life fucking Vonnegut shit.
I cannot help but apply many of the lessons I’ve learned about said topic to the wider world of mainstream media & politics.
So that’s it for this post, my friends. Thanks for reading. Like & subscribe. Peace & chicken grease.