Hurm. Good question. I’m not sure I ever said comics “need” respect. Like I stated in a previous post, I just think it would be nice if comics were afforded the same or a similar level of respect as other mediums. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope for the success of something I love, or to hope that others would embrace something that I personally enjoy.
Why do people root for sports teams? Sports teams don’t need respect, either, but do you get pissed off when your team does well and fairweather fans jump on the bandwagon? Does it damage your pretentious indie rock street cred if a garage band you liked suddenly became pop darlings? Or do you root for their success?
I don’t know. I guess I’m saying it’s no skin off my back, either way, whether or not comics garner the proper type of respect. But if I could choose, I’d definitely hope the medium gets the respect it deserves in my mind.
It all goes back to the original article I linked to in the first post of this thread. I was simply curious about people’s thoughts on the matter, because the writer’s analysis of the situation seemed to be accurate, if somewhat designed to ruffle some feathers. I suppose if you reject the premise of the writer’s idea that comics deserve respect, then there isn’t a whole lot to discuss.
I tend to think that if you love comics, you want to see it grow and flourish, even if some of that expansion occurs in areas in which you’re not really interested. The more respect the medium gets and the more legitimately it is viewed, the less likely it is to waste away in the evaporating pool of obscurity where it currently lives.
Respect isn’t the same as mainstream succes though.
And while it’s a tired argument, money does corrupt. There are plenty examples of this in any form of entertainment. Like I said I know it’s old and tired to complain about the things you love getting mainstream succes but in many cases it does hurt the quality of their work when they start aiming for it because to get that kind of succes the main focus isn’t necessarily quality.
Look at Marvel nowadays, I still like quite of a few of their titles but there is so much shit being pumped out to capitalize on trends and hype. Imagine that multiplied by 100 to appeal to the masses. That just helps fill shareholders bankaccounts. Not the advancement of the medium.
Agreed but with te condition the main focus remains quality work.
Of course I feel that they deserve respect but I don’t feel they need respect from the masses.
Grow and flourish in quality, succes is a welcome byproduct of that.
I do agree with you, though. I haven’t equated mainstream success with quality. I don’t think the original Sequart article implied that, either.
But just because something can be loved by the masses doesn’t mean it can’t be good quality. Sure, that’s probably not the norm… But it isn’t unprecedented.
**"These are events only to a tiny, insular community. They are “events” only in the sense that any twist or turn in any continuing narrative constitutes an “event” for that narrative’s fans. They’re “events” only in the sense that the newest action movie is “the must-see event of the summer.”
**
I’ve never liked events. I always thought they were just a cheap money grubbing tactic in the guise of multiple character interactions.
Interactions, by the way, that don’t need an event to happen in the first place as long as people are careful with canon and continuity.