Where does he get off trashing comic books?
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MrBook_ — 13 years ago(February 28, 2013 10:51 AM)
What the beep are you talking about? Comic Books are a medium, not an individual piece of work.
There's nothing in my post to indicate I think otherwise, and in fact it should be pretty clear that I
don't
think otherwise from my comment about good, non-superhero comics.
Anyway, Cronenberg was clearly talking about corporate superhero comics and other crappy, commercial geek-consumer swill, as are all the people going into conniptions over him said something vaguely critical about their awful taste in art and entertainment.
HAIL SAGAN -
rupertpupkin702 — 13 years ago(March 02, 2013 03:27 PM)
I would disagree with you completely. The super hero genre has produced some of the best work that has been done in the comic book industry, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis, etc. are all powerful works of art.
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LifeVsArt — 11 years ago(January 10, 2015 10:48 AM)
It's always funny watching comic book nerds get worked up over anyone saying anything remotely critical of comic books. (Ditto with vid5b4eo game nerds, etc.) Listen, if you have that bad an inferiority complex about what you read, maybe you should read better stuff.
I don't have any problem with comic book/superhero/video game stuff either, except when it's marketed as being something that it isn't, as what Cronenberg calls "elevated art". It's similar to all the young adult novels that have increasingly been marketed to a non-juvenile audience by being presented as something more than they actually are, as something that's now "cool" for adults to read. IMO it's "cool" to read anything that brings you pleasure, whether it's "Madame Bovary" or "Hunger Games" or "Twilight", but let's not pretend that they're artistically equals. In other words, let's not diminish the great accomplishments of brilliant artists throughout history by putting everything on the same level - sure, the juvenile stuff is easier to digest by more people so it makes more money, but that's big money and business setting the standards.
I think the incredibly over-sensitive reaction by the "comic book nerds" (as you call them) is based on brand identification. These franchises, and companies like Marvel, have marketed successfully to a large number of people who get a personal sense of identity from the brand itself (reinforced by a group of others who also identify with the brand) - they feel a connection to this group and a sense of power - they ARE powerful when 2000moved as a mass to produce large box office returns, sell video games, etc. This goes way back in the history of comic books, when one was an E.C. Fan-Addict, for example, and loyalty to that company was cleverly marketed and reinforced to sell a lot of different products. Anyway, I think it's wonderful that people get pleasure from entertainment (that's what it's for), but it's also important that some people have the guts to say out loud what a lot of other artists, and lovers of the arts, say to each other - that everything is NOT equal.