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New Grant Morrison interviews!

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06:26 / 08.09.05

It's CatGlassGate all over again...

I think that while George might have found talk of glassing his cats mildly amusing, Ganesh, if you start talking about glassing his bird, that might be a step too far.

And whatever you do, don't glass his fucking metaphors.

06:45 / 08.09.05

Oh, and I love how that Silver Bullet interviewer soldiers on with the questions while Grant is rolling around on the alpaca rug of his own cleverness.

ONLY NICE THINGS

06:53 / 08.09.05

I think we all want comics as a medium to be more successful, to be in par with video games, kino, music, but it's strange not to want what makes these medium THAT successful. And it's gossip.

Actually, I'd like comics as a medium to be more successful, like, say, books. And I don't have any particular need to find out whether my favourite authors are planning a baby. All I know about them as people is generally what I read on the back covers of their books. You can have a successful medium - financially and artistically - without an inane fixation on the creators' ability to get REAL GIRLS WITH BREASTS. I don't see a lot of gossip about who Warren Spector's stepping out with, either.

This kind of uncritical hero-worship and fixation on REAL BREASTY LADIES will continue to make comics look weird, autistic and stinky to the outside world, thus impeding its success. You're part of the problem, louisemichel.

07:32 / 08.09.05

Actually, I'd like comics as a medium to be more successful, like, say, books.

This is sort of a tricky bit here. Books, I think, are the exception here, and not the rule, and even then not as much as you seem to be arguing. Many authors are fairly anonymous, but many are not, and there are clearly authors whose success is built in no small part on their public persona and colorful anecdotes about their personal lives. For a few wildly different and wildly successful examples, consider Ernest Hemingway, William Burroughs, and Salman Rushdie.

Overall, I really don't know that the literary world plays on celebrity any less than the worlds of music, film, visual arts, etc. In comics, "celebrity" (and I'm using the term generously, I think) does take on a weird, sickly antisocial vibe, and that could certainly stand to get cleaned up, but I don't know that celebrity gossip itself is the problem.

You can have a successful medium - financially and artistically - without an inane fixation on the creators' ability to get REAL GIRLS WITH BREASTS. I don't see a lot of gossip about who Warren Spector's stepping out with, either.

John Carmack's whole "I met my h0tt girlfriend playing in a Quake tournament" story is probably the only analogue I can find from the world of videogames, I will concede, but there does seem to be a growing crop of celebrity game designers and I would expect that this sort of story will become more common in the future.

08:25 / 08.09.05

In comics, "celebrity" (and I'm using the term generously, I think) does take on a weird, sickly antisocial vibe

I think that's a big part of my 'urgh, creepy' reaction: comics fans - possibly by dint of being largely male - just don't seem to do 'gossip' particularly well; the way they go about it is just so... uncool. Perhaps it's the fact that comics creators are relatively accessible to their fanbases that means any prurient fascination with their private lives is expressed directly to the creators themselves, in interviews, where it comes across more as slightly glazed/twitchy sycophancy - as if, by throwing out slimily vacuous compliments, the interviewer might ingratiate himself into a game of swingball at Morrison Towers.

Then again, as Haus suggests, it might be the prospect of encountering REAL LADIES WITH BREASTS that's leaving the fanboys awestruck...

09:10 / 08.09.05

Ganesh, you're soooo right on this one...
And that's why this medium won't evolve ever...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

09:37 / 08.09.05

Were fanboys ever thus, or is it the interwebnet's fault? Did people used to send messages to each other by carrier pigeon, or smoke signals or whatever they used back in the day, about how Kirby must be all hopped up on goofballs and beating off the ladies with a shitty stick? (Not too sure on the period slang, but, y'know...)

09:57 / 08.09.05

For fuck sake, can't you bastards let the poor man enjoy his blowjob in peace? G'wan, git.

10:58 / 08.09.05

Ganesh, you're soooo right on this one...
And that's why this medium won't evolve ever...

If 'evolving' = 'gradually dissolving into breathlessly gushycreepy froth', then count me a happy throwback. I think Haus is onto something with the books comparison: if I were reading an interview with J K Rowling, say, one of the biggest 'celebrity' novelists in the current literary scene, and the interviewer made ingratiating comments to the effect that she were married to a wunnerful man, etc., I think I'd experience the same moment of gastric retchiness. I suspect she would too - or at least wonder what makes her interviewer qualified to comment...

11:02 / 08.09.05

Heh, if only they knew that "Kristan" was me in a blonde wig.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

11:07 / 08.09.05

Jesus, everything's you in a blonde wig...

ONLY NICE THINGS

11:16 / 08.09.05

Sometimes, George wears the wig for me.

There's the Millwall thing, as well, to an extent. JK Rowling sells millions of books and tens, possibly hundreds of millions of people have some experience of her work, either the books or the film adaptations. Part of that is that she will attract interviewers who are not actually that into her work, but are employed to interview writers. Another is that of all those millions of readers some will both be in a position to interview her and be competent and distanced interviewers. Whereas if Rowling was being interviewed by the President of her fan club, you might possibly expect both the "what do you think is the secret of your wonderfulness" angle and the "let's talk about your family as if we were friends" angle.

The smaller the number of readers, the less likely this is, because the outlets are fewer and the likelihood of a reader also being in a position to interview and able to interview in a detached fashion smaller. The thing with comics is that it's comparatively rare for anyone to be interviewed by somebody who _isn't_ basically the Fan Club president...

11:17 / 08.09.05

Heh, if only they knew that "Kristan" was me in a blonde wig.

I've always suspected that Kristan was a tranny, something around the eyes. I mean it'd be in keeping with the whole GM open minded policy 'n stuff.

Will I be chucked off here now? Is this anything like the John Byrne forum? :-)

Z

11:20 / 08.09.05

Actually, I'd like comics as a medium to be more successful, like, say, books.

Umm. The book industry is possibly the most gossipy in the universe (unchecked fact) and pretty famously so. I am in fact mopping up the soft, salty tears I am crying at your notion with excess copies of interviews with Nick Laird which mention Zadie Smith. I know far, far more about Smith, or the fact that Salman Rushide squires a hot breasty lady, or Ian McEwan divorce's from Penny Allen or JK Rowling's new boyf or any a hundred authors than I do about, say, Neil Gaiman's missus [excluding whatever issue of Cerebus (#189?) outed him as having an affair]. And, I hasten to add, this is not because I actually give a single hoot, but because it's every sodding interview with them ever.

You also don't have to stick a pin too often into any book magazine to find its gossip column and you don't have to throw that many stones to hit someone who'll sidle up to you and tell you why William Sutcliffe will never receive a truly bad review for one his books and precisely why Matt Thorne made it onto the Booker Longlist with one of the worst novels published in Britain last year.

Just saying.

15:44 / 08.09.05

yep, and how come I know everything about JK Rowling's life, even if I'm not in her fan-club ?
Because NOWADAYS (to answer the nice bloke who spoke of Kirby) fame is that. It's juste fame for fame. No need to have talent, if you can do Big Brother,then you're famous. The Spectacle. And those with real talent, selling hundred copies or million copies just have to compte with those flavour-of-the-day famous people.
In comics like everywhere else. Sorry to break your dreams... But as a writer, I prefer to have an interview, my pic in a magazine and a stoopid question about my GF (as she's wonderful too), than nothing.

15:49 / 08.09.05

compete, not compte. Those with a brain understood.

19:14 / 08.09.05

That would be the medium evolving, then, eh?

ONLY NICE THINGS

19:47 / 08.09.05

To be more like Big Brother? Cool.

19:50 / 08.09.05

No, Ganesh... because fanboys don't want their medium to evolve. They're working against the natural evolution of the medium (doesn't mean this evolution is good, though)
And when there is an interview that talks about the wife of a writer, whoever he is, it looks like a bunch of 12 years old again.
And when I say fanboys, I say it in the most respectful of ways, of course. We're all fanboys here, one way or another...

ONLY NICE THINGS

19:58 / 08.09.05

So, it's immature not to want to hear more about what a wunerful woman Kristan is, and to ask if there will be kiddies soon?

LRB: immature.
Now: mature.

I have a feeling I'm not following this.

Haus of Mystery

20:08 / 08.09.05

Will I be chucked off here now? Is this anything like the John Byrne forum? :-)

Z

just don't be signing your posts and you'll be OK.

ONLY NICE THINGS

20:17 / 08.09.05

As a matter of purely personal interest, who would you have to call a tranny to get kicked off the John Byrne forum? Jessica Alba?

21:42 / 08.09.05

No, Ganesh... because fanboys don't want their medium to evolve. They're working against the natural evolution of the medium (doesn't mean this evolution is good, though)
And when there is an interview that talks about the wife of a writer, whoever he is, it looks like a bunch of 12 years old again.
And when I say fanboys, I say it in the most respectful of ways, of course. We're all fanboys here, one way or another...

I fear I may be misunderstanding you here. You seem to be saying that the "natural evolution of the medium" = in-no-way-creepy-fanboys rubbing their thighs while gushing about the wunnerfulness of the interviewee's laydee in the most wincingly embarrassing we're-the-bestest-of-friends manner imaginable. While those who wince at the daytime TV faux-mateyness are regressive pre-teens intent on spoiling comics' ascendence into the Heat-styled Supercontext.

I'm trying to think of other predominantly-male ladeez-lite media in which the Cult of Celebrity might be viewed as desirable "natural evolution" without appearing sickly and antisocial (as a previous poster put it). Sport, obviously...

21:46 / 08.09.05

Lois Lane.

Haus of Mystery

21:55 / 08.09.05

Beautifully timed.

22:28 / 08.09.05

Oh, and it's really not like the more you talk about it the more cringeworthy it gets.

No, no.

Look: dude was evidently firly far up Grant's bum-bum, said his wife was 'lovely', some quarters'd just go 'oh, a compliment', got a not bad interview, leave it.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:36 / 08.09.05

who would you have to call a tranny to get kicked off the John Byrne forum?

The Chief, of course.

22:47 / 08.09.05

Oh, and it's really not like the more you talk about it the more cringeworthy it gets.

No, no.

Cringeworthy is as cringeworthy does. Not being in the business of damage limitation, I'm not about to ignore something bilious on the grounds that discussing it draws it to people's attention. Awareness is goooood.

Look: dude was evidently firly far up Grant's bum-bum, said his wife was 'lovely', some quarters'd just go 'oh, a compliment', got a not bad interview, leave it.

"Wonderful", wasn't it? Of course it's a compliment. A cringeworthy one with an edge of creepiness (unless, of course, the interviewer is personally acquainted with the laydee in question - which may be the case).

It's a good thing you're not talking about it, eh?

10:33 / 09.09.05

Must-not-link-to-Zodiac's-She-Hulk-site...

Heh, the whole "Lit-scene-as-Big-Brother" thing puts me in mind of a short story I read called "Prose Bowl", where writing is a spectator sport, two men on typewriters in an amphitheatre full of screaming fans hanging on every plot twist typed on the Jumbotron, one guy choking on the utter bilge pulp he's churning out, until his opponent blocks hard and goes down typing "GARBAGEGARBAGEGARBAGE"...
(Google) Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini, now it's a novel, apparently! Oh, this I just gots to get.

13:30 / 09.09.05

It's a good thing you're not talking about it, eh?

Aye, well, I was hoping to have the last word.

16:35 / 09.09.05

ok, Ganesh, I'll try to make myself more clear... remember, it's not my prime langage...
The comics medium will evolve naturally as any other medium, towards more visibility, toward a starization (?) of the people who're doing it, then towards more fame for fame, which is where we are now for TV and Kino, or it will die.
For an exemple of that, look at the FF movie : utterly shit, and then it's the movie that did best this summer. But it was hyped and had Jessica Alba in. Not a good actress at all, but ultra hyped. It was not Spider-man in any sense, but it didn't tanked as it should have.
Fame for fame is already there for some comics writers, the ones coming from novels/tv and so on... Kevin Smith anyone ? his movies are good, but god, his comics suck and are not even delivered. But he's hyped.
So, in the way of this NATURAL evolution, will stand the fan boys who don't like change. that's a fact. Look when there's a penciler change on a title, it's a bloody revolution. Even the change of a corporate logo causes turmoil...
But some early movies fanboys didn't like the sound in the movies or the addition of color, and were very vocal about it... see what I mean ? ultimately, I think they were wrong... The medium evolved and history forgot them.
Now, people are vocal because in an interview, somebody asks a stupid question about Grant's wife. I think history will forget them too.

Because nobody talked about the second part of this stupid question. The nice interviewer made comparison to Alan Moore's daughter which is writing comics now. That is fame for fame. Is Leah Moore talented ? ahahah.
But she's her father's daughter, so, she can be published a lot more easily than any other writer... And don't tell me her name is not seen as a sell incentive, just look at the ads.
Hope you understood me a little better.

Regrettable Juvenilia

21:10 / 09.09.05

Coherence is clearly not required for commentators on the new evolution of comics.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

21:53 / 09.09.05

From the Newsarama article:

"By the time he appeared in Young Justice, he was a troublesome imp from another reality called Witchworld, who dressed like Eddie Munster and announced himself as 'Klarion, Bum Bum Bum the Witch Boy!' I don't know about you but 'Bum Bum Bum the Witch Boy!' sounds to me like an invitation to a gang bang on D Block"

00:58 / 10.09.05

/Is Leah Moore talented ? ahahah.
But she's her father's daughter, so, she can be published a lot more easily than any other writer... And don't tell me her name is not seen as a sell incentive, just look at the ads./

I haven't read Leah Moore's comics but I'm not sure if she's in the same league of terrible as the fatbeards who are writing most of the mainstream superhero books these days.

I think anyone who buys her comics buys them to see if she's any good just like you buy any comic that has any writer's name on it. Those who like them intend to buy more of her comics because they like her comics, I'm not sure her audience consists of people who think Alan Moore ghostwriters her books. That's an unnecessary low blow. And I don't mean to offend you but like many posters have demonstrated you're an easier target than her.

01:11 / 10.09.05

The Silverbulletsinterview is great.

/I’ve also been talking to both J.H. Williams and Paul Pope about collaborating on a couple of new series for Vertigo, and I'm still itching to finish the Seaguy 2 - 'Slaves of Mickey Eye' scripts when Cameron's ready for them./

SEAGUY 2? Morrison and Paul Pope working together?

Woo-motherfuckin-hoo!

Was he confirmed on Detective with Adam Kubert or was that a rumour?

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