Critical mass

Courtesy of ADD, here’s a link (click and then scroll down) to a tremendous interview of Ninth Art & X-Axis critic Paul O’Brien by Movie Poop Shoot “Breakdowns” columnist Chris Allen. If you are interested at all in the state of comics criticism–a hot topic ever since Gary Groth’s recent jeremiad in the Comics Journal–this long, essential dialogue between two internet critics is a must read. For though Groth was right in calling for more stringent critical standards, applied frequently and without the interference of misguided team spirit, he was wrong in saying it’s nowhere to be found. It’s here on the Internet.

In a wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussion, Allen and O’Brien tackle a slew of issues facing comics critics, fans, and creators.

* The pros and cons of niche reviewing: O’Brien’s X-Axis site is devoted almost exclusively to reviewing just about every mutant-related title that Marvel puts out. This enables him to compare how different creators explore different themes using the same core concept, and their relative success or failure; it also forces him to review dreck for completeness’ sake and is an essentially procrustean outgrowth of his early years as a fanboy.

* The need to engage the mainstream: Both Ninth Art and X-Axis (obviously, in the latter case) focus primarily on mainstream comics. O’Brien argues that this was, in fact, his deliberate critical intention, because it is vital for any artform for its mainstream entertainment to be engaged and evaluated by critics. I’ve complained long and loud about what I perceive to be the lack of such engagement from print-media’s only “legit” source of comics criticism, the Comics Journal. (Well, “only” is an exaggeration, but not by much.) My conversations with TCJ staff have since led me to the conclusion that they simply do not see the magazines role in the artform or the industry the same way I would were I in charge, and that’s fine; this is why I think online comics criticism, embodied by the comics blogosphere and non-press-release-reliant news-and-reviews sites like Ninth Art are of (pardon the pun) critical importance to the medium.

* The role of “duty”: As I mentioned below, I get some comics out of more or less the perceived obligation to keep up with the really big, popular books. As a kinda sorta critic, this obligation is heightened, in a way; for bona fide critics like Allen and O’Brien, it’s even more of a consideration. It’s fascinating to see issues like this get discussed.

* The weakness of the floppy pamphlet, the switchover to trade-paperback as the dominant American-mainstream format, the coming rule of manga over all of comics, and the effect that all of the above are having on mainstream storytelling: These are all pet topics of mine, and that Allen and O’Brien are tackling them too bodes well for building up some sort of critical mass (again, pardon the pun) toward getting the industry to really pay attention to these issues. It may be a pipe dream, particularly when the folks we might usually count on to publicize voices speaking to these issues, ie. Gary Groth and the Journal, seem to be writing off the one venue of criticism that’s out there promoting these smarter business and artistic decisions because it doesn’t read enough like Pauline Kael. But if comics have taught us anything, it’s to dream big.

There’s more, too: on Grant Morrison’s franchise vs. creator-owned books, on the respective difficulties of writing really negative and really positive reviews, on how the need for topicality leads columnists to focus either on molehill-derived mountains or almost exclusively on industry trends rather than aesthetic or literary concerns, on the strengths and weaknesses of New Marvel’s X-books, on the relative dearth of reviews graphic-novel and alternative comics offered by O’Brien’s sites (his one real weakness, in my book–I don’t think there’s much of an excuse for holding up “new mainstream” books, like Queen & Country (which I’ve never read, admittedly, but somehow I doubt it ranks with Black Hole) or even James Kochalka (who’s good at what he does, but probably not the sign that points the way to where comics should be going), as the books “everybody should be reading)… Fascinating stuff that I’m glad to have read. Good Comix Criticism Ain’t Dead.