Alex Groff
Jun 16, 2005, 08:53 am
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/te_logo.gif" align=left width=115 height=100 border=0 alt="Typographical Errors">by Alex Groff
Earlier this week, a student told me that she didn’t know what to do this summer. I knew she was an artist, so I suggested she keep a comic journal about her summer-- a page each day or so. I loaned her Craig Thompson’s Carnet du Voyage as an example. She jumped at the idea.
There are so many examples of comic journals—Robert Ullman’s Lunch Comix and Signifying Nothing, James Kochalka’s Sketchbook Diaries and Clutch’s minicomics all came immediately to mind—but Thompson’s rises to the top of the list, because my student is also big into the fine arts. Comics are often looked at as the bastard child of the arts world because of the “simplicity” of their work—an attitude that even separates independent comics from mainstream comics. (I avoided Jeffrey Brown’s work because the art looked childish; today, Jeffrey Brown is probably my favorite comics creator.
Sadly, a book subtitled “How I Lost My Virginity” is not something you loan to students. Instead, I loan out other, more appropriate comics, like Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan.)
2
The older you are, the easier it is to forget how creative children—even teenagers— can be. Spontaneity is certainly not encouraged by schools, nor by most places of employment. If you disagree, call your boss at 7am on Monday and tell him you won’t be in at all this week because you had an urge to paint or because you decided to go on a road trip to upstate New York. Our very American obsession with hierarchy, structure and minutiae works very hard at trying to crush the creative spirit. A co-worker is now fighting for her salary over the summer because she filed paperwork before the appropriate date.
In spite of this, many people remain innovative and interested in the arts, in comics. I had a second student who created a comic book where I was the hero. During the day, I was a mild-mannered teacher, but after the students left I became a superhero named Action Groff and traveled through time to ruin European history. Google it if you don’t believe me. I have no idea why he chose to write said comic, or the various sequels, but it still amuses me.
I was put in charge of the literary magazine for 2005-2006. The previous sponsor said that they didn’t accept anime-styled art as submissions because manga was looked down upon in regional reviews of high school literary magazines. As such, our anime club remains at about three times the size of our literary magazine. When I talked with students, the first thing suggested was that we do a comix-style magazine. Suggested, I might add, by someone who wasn’t a fan of anime.
3
Books I’ve loaned to students this year:
Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s Fury
Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s Transmetropolitan
Paige Braddock’s Jane’s World
Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s Seaguy
Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s Action Philosophers
Steve Emond’s Emo Boy
Art Speigelman’s Maus I
Patrick Atangan’s The Yellow Jar
Daniel Clowes’ Ghost World
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Mr. Punch
Jim Mahfood’s Stupid Comics
The list of what I’ve loaned to my younger cousins (both in elementary school) is a bit longer and more superhero oriented. Right now, they’re reading Hellboy and Astonishing X-Men. I just got JLA: Earth 2 back from them, and they wanted to know when we could hang out at the comic shop again. The owner and manager of the local comic shop are both great with kids, which makes it all the cooler.
4
I’ve heard the argument that not enough people read comics, that comics are inherently a niche market, and that massive change is needed to bring in new readers. I don't believe a word of it.
The largest single problem with the comics market is exposure. Watching a superhero movie is still watching a movie; it is not reading a comic book. I wonder if the academic set throws their hands up in despair when the recent remake of Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, didn’t translate to increased sales of Shakespeare.
People need comics in their hands to understand what comics are about. And they need a wide variety of comics. The student who read Jane’s World wouldn’t have liked Action Philosophers; the student who liked Fury wouldn’t have liked Ghost World. My younger cousins like superheroes in costume, and they like monsters—so that’s what we read.
The biggest problem with comix readership remains the fact that most people haven’t read comics, or found a comic that fit their interests. The other big issue is access.
5
Its also interesting to note that while I've introduced my students to a few webcomics like Girls with Slingshots and A Softer World, they've introduced me to Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly and White Ninja Comics. One student talked about the webcomic her older brother is doing, but the name of it escapes me.
There is no stigma about webcomics, and for most of them no stigma about comics.
6
When a student returned my copy of Jane’s World to me and said she wanted to know where to buy it, I had to answer that no one nearby sold it. I have to go into the city to buy Jane’s World—a slight annoyance for me, but an impossible chasm between my student and the story she enjoyed. I’ve tried ordering it out of Previews from two local shops—I still don’t have an explanation from either as to why they haven’t ordered it.
Ditto Action Philosophers.
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is part of a common language for many students. Why? Because its readily available at Hot Topic. While most of my students outgrew their goth phase in middle school, they will still slip in for a comic or two. The comic shop closest to the school—it’s in walking distance for many students—is unwelcoming to anyone who is not already a comic fan.
A few students asked me, after I showed them a preview, where they could buy The Book of Bunny Suicides. The answer, oddly enough, was Tower Records, where I also discovered Found Magazine.
I still wonder why books like Jim Mahfood’s funk and jazz filled Stupid Comics or Grrl Scouts isn’t available at Tower Records. Ditto Emo Boy. Why can’t you walk into a Starbucks and find a stack of Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man or Al Burian’s coffee-fueled Things Are Meaning Less. (For some reason, I can picture Paul Chadwick’s Concrete in a coffee shop.) Considering the number of areas that can’t support a comic shop, and the number of comic shops that refuse to order beyond the big two... let's just say the lack of a large, diverse readership is at least partially self-imposed.
7
In fact, I would go so far as to say: there’s nothing stopping comics readership from expanding except the lack of an active readership trying to draw in new readers, the lack of an industry trying to reach new readers and new markets. That's not to say that there have not been attempts, but too much energy is internalized. Comics advertise in other comics and comics magazines. Commercials starring superheroes show off the franchise, but not the work itself. And, as always, word of mouth remains the most important tool we have.
It’s a slow process, and there are things that have to change. Stores may have to stock and order differently; publishers may have to find new, unconventional stores to carry their books. But the process starts simply by making people aware. I didn’t have to do anything to get my students into comics except hand them the comic that best fit them. People who are curious and passionate will do the rest.
Give it a try. Let me know how it goes.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Alex groff writes this column. He realizes that he has said nothing new, but argues that, sometimes, obvious truths need to be repeated for those who missed them the first time.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
Earlier this week, a student told me that she didn’t know what to do this summer. I knew she was an artist, so I suggested she keep a comic journal about her summer-- a page each day or so. I loaned her Craig Thompson’s Carnet du Voyage as an example. She jumped at the idea.
There are so many examples of comic journals—Robert Ullman’s Lunch Comix and Signifying Nothing, James Kochalka’s Sketchbook Diaries and Clutch’s minicomics all came immediately to mind—but Thompson’s rises to the top of the list, because my student is also big into the fine arts. Comics are often looked at as the bastard child of the arts world because of the “simplicity” of their work—an attitude that even separates independent comics from mainstream comics. (I avoided Jeffrey Brown’s work because the art looked childish; today, Jeffrey Brown is probably my favorite comics creator.
Sadly, a book subtitled “How I Lost My Virginity” is not something you loan to students. Instead, I loan out other, more appropriate comics, like Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan.)
2
The older you are, the easier it is to forget how creative children—even teenagers— can be. Spontaneity is certainly not encouraged by schools, nor by most places of employment. If you disagree, call your boss at 7am on Monday and tell him you won’t be in at all this week because you had an urge to paint or because you decided to go on a road trip to upstate New York. Our very American obsession with hierarchy, structure and minutiae works very hard at trying to crush the creative spirit. A co-worker is now fighting for her salary over the summer because she filed paperwork before the appropriate date.
In spite of this, many people remain innovative and interested in the arts, in comics. I had a second student who created a comic book where I was the hero. During the day, I was a mild-mannered teacher, but after the students left I became a superhero named Action Groff and traveled through time to ruin European history. Google it if you don’t believe me. I have no idea why he chose to write said comic, or the various sequels, but it still amuses me.
I was put in charge of the literary magazine for 2005-2006. The previous sponsor said that they didn’t accept anime-styled art as submissions because manga was looked down upon in regional reviews of high school literary magazines. As such, our anime club remains at about three times the size of our literary magazine. When I talked with students, the first thing suggested was that we do a comix-style magazine. Suggested, I might add, by someone who wasn’t a fan of anime.
3
Books I’ve loaned to students this year:
Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s Fury
Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s Transmetropolitan
Paige Braddock’s Jane’s World
Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s Seaguy
Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s Action Philosophers
Steve Emond’s Emo Boy
Art Speigelman’s Maus I
Patrick Atangan’s The Yellow Jar
Daniel Clowes’ Ghost World
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Mr. Punch
Jim Mahfood’s Stupid Comics
The list of what I’ve loaned to my younger cousins (both in elementary school) is a bit longer and more superhero oriented. Right now, they’re reading Hellboy and Astonishing X-Men. I just got JLA: Earth 2 back from them, and they wanted to know when we could hang out at the comic shop again. The owner and manager of the local comic shop are both great with kids, which makes it all the cooler.
4
I’ve heard the argument that not enough people read comics, that comics are inherently a niche market, and that massive change is needed to bring in new readers. I don't believe a word of it.
The largest single problem with the comics market is exposure. Watching a superhero movie is still watching a movie; it is not reading a comic book. I wonder if the academic set throws their hands up in despair when the recent remake of Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, didn’t translate to increased sales of Shakespeare.
People need comics in their hands to understand what comics are about. And they need a wide variety of comics. The student who read Jane’s World wouldn’t have liked Action Philosophers; the student who liked Fury wouldn’t have liked Ghost World. My younger cousins like superheroes in costume, and they like monsters—so that’s what we read.
The biggest problem with comix readership remains the fact that most people haven’t read comics, or found a comic that fit their interests. The other big issue is access.
5
Its also interesting to note that while I've introduced my students to a few webcomics like Girls with Slingshots and A Softer World, they've introduced me to Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly and White Ninja Comics. One student talked about the webcomic her older brother is doing, but the name of it escapes me.
There is no stigma about webcomics, and for most of them no stigma about comics.
6
When a student returned my copy of Jane’s World to me and said she wanted to know where to buy it, I had to answer that no one nearby sold it. I have to go into the city to buy Jane’s World—a slight annoyance for me, but an impossible chasm between my student and the story she enjoyed. I’ve tried ordering it out of Previews from two local shops—I still don’t have an explanation from either as to why they haven’t ordered it.
Ditto Action Philosophers.
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is part of a common language for many students. Why? Because its readily available at Hot Topic. While most of my students outgrew their goth phase in middle school, they will still slip in for a comic or two. The comic shop closest to the school—it’s in walking distance for many students—is unwelcoming to anyone who is not already a comic fan.
A few students asked me, after I showed them a preview, where they could buy The Book of Bunny Suicides. The answer, oddly enough, was Tower Records, where I also discovered Found Magazine.
I still wonder why books like Jim Mahfood’s funk and jazz filled Stupid Comics or Grrl Scouts isn’t available at Tower Records. Ditto Emo Boy. Why can’t you walk into a Starbucks and find a stack of Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man or Al Burian’s coffee-fueled Things Are Meaning Less. (For some reason, I can picture Paul Chadwick’s Concrete in a coffee shop.) Considering the number of areas that can’t support a comic shop, and the number of comic shops that refuse to order beyond the big two... let's just say the lack of a large, diverse readership is at least partially self-imposed.
7
In fact, I would go so far as to say: there’s nothing stopping comics readership from expanding except the lack of an active readership trying to draw in new readers, the lack of an industry trying to reach new readers and new markets. That's not to say that there have not been attempts, but too much energy is internalized. Comics advertise in other comics and comics magazines. Commercials starring superheroes show off the franchise, but not the work itself. And, as always, word of mouth remains the most important tool we have.
It’s a slow process, and there are things that have to change. Stores may have to stock and order differently; publishers may have to find new, unconventional stores to carry their books. But the process starts simply by making people aware. I didn’t have to do anything to get my students into comics except hand them the comic that best fit them. People who are curious and passionate will do the rest.
Give it a try. Let me know how it goes.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Alex groff writes this column. He realizes that he has said nothing new, but argues that, sometimes, obvious truths need to be repeated for those who missed them the first time.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.