Comments on: What would ¡Journalista! do?: Three reasons to rain on Dirk Deppey’s farewell parade

By: HJ

HJ — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:02:04 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, the attitude that soured my interest comics criticism and the personalities behind it.

By: Alex Buchet

Alex Buchet — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:57:33 +0000

Sean, Alan,

I think you’re over-harsh in your estimate of HU. Yes, I’m saying this in part because I’m a contributor there, and you seem to put all HU contributors in the same basket…But my stuff couldn’t be more different from Noah’s. The same can be said about Vom Marlowe, Sean Robinson, Domingos Isabelinho, Kinukkity, James Romberger, etc…not to mention the many guest posters.

I’ve only worked with Noah for half a year, but one thing I’ve picked up is that he genuinely wants to promote a diversity of writings, even if it goes against his personal grain.

There’s no HU cabal.

By: NoahB

NoahB — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 02:40:57 +0000

Ah, you can’t hate it that much; that was totally in the spirit. Made me laugh.

I think you would like the Panelists though. I hope my endorsement doesn’t prevent you from checking them out.

By: Robert Boyd

Robert Boyd — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:46:22 +0000

Interesting post. I suspect that as we talk about this, Dirk becomes a representative of a bunch of changes to the Journal that we all deplore. What is the word for that? Synedoche? Anyway, ways the Journal evolved or failed to evolve are interesting to us that have a long relationship with it. I can’t remember the first issue of the Journal I bought, but I can well remember the first time I didn’t buy an issue–the shock at finding myself indifferent. At a certain point,reading the Journal had become a chore I dreaded. This reflects changes in my life as well as changes in the Journal. But it was a major moment in my life as a comics reader.

So maybe the Journal is an anachronism. I suspect it will evolve. I can’t imagine that Kim and Gary are satisfied with it as it is now.

By: Alan Choate

Alan Choate — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 04:03:17 +0000

I think since I’d just seconded Collins’ criticisms, “whirlpool of narcissism” makes sense without needing to suggest I’m enforcing an American caste system. I don’t like any posts on the Hooded Utilitarian, including mine. I haven’t read the Panelists, the Hooded Utilitarian, or any of this thread. I demand to know exactly how much I must be expected to read before I can get busy people to waste time arguing with me. There have been major critics who never read anything they wrote about. Many were functionally retarded. The point is their discourse relates only to itself, is vital, and you must know the complete works of Kant, Zizek, Frege, and the Pseudo-Dionysius in the original Swedish like the back of your hand or you are a fucking peasant who has no business questioning me. If I ever do read something I’ve been talking about, I’ll bounce back trumpeting that I was more right than I imagined, and if anybody who’s actually read the intellectuals I’m shaking at you shows up and corners me, I will disavow reason itself. How much life would you like to spend talking to me? I’ll just keep bouncing back! [/Cloying emoticon]

By: DerikB

DerikB — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:31:50 +0000

Thanks for the plug, Noah. The check’s in the mail.

By: Tom Spurgeon

Tom Spurgeon — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:34:46 +0000

Oh, for sure. I think there are all sorts of people that come to sites with all sorts of strategies ranging from “you’re my only comics site” to “you’re my only North American comics site” to “you’re my window into the alt-comics world” to “I like your features but the other stuff I just get off my reader” to “I only come look at the videos on Saturday” to “I read an interview you did with Matt Fraction once.” My understanding is that Sean was saying if you eliminate some of your ways people use your site, you might lose readers, too. Makes sense to me. I read Peter King’s big column on the NFL on CNNSI.com every Monday. It’s my only pro-football column. If it went away, I could find most of what I get out of it from other places, I know this, but I probably wouldn’t. But that’s a preference. I’m sure for many people King’s monday column is their third or their fifth or their 20th NFL column. If King went to a single page of scores and commentaries I know I’d still read it but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people bailed. And so on. It’s a very different reading world out there right now.

By: Sean T. Collins

Sean T. Collins — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:09:21 +0000

That seems like a pretty normal way to deal with linkblogging, Alistair. That’s basically how I use Tom’s site, too.

Since apparently this is the thread for the airing of grievances, I’ll take your comment as an opportunity to say that I don’t read Rich, pointedly so, to the level of an ersatz boycott in fact, because I’ve found him to be hugely irresponsible when it comes to posting inference, rumor, or raw blue-sky speculation as fact, in a way that can damage the reputations and careers of the people he’s “reporting” on. Happened to me, happened to other people I know. He’s also a big-time link-swiper who doesn’t credit the sites he gets his stories from but kvetches when he thinks others have done this to him.

By: alistair robb

alistair robb — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:00:50 +0000

Tom, I’ve got to say that I generally read your original posts and flip through the links only clicking if it’s something I really want to look at. My three mainstays for comic news and reviews are:Your site, Heidi’s and Rich’s, going from the sublime to the ridiculous but it stems from the days when I read three newspapers, going from high end newspapers like The Guardian and finishing up with the Sun!

By: NoahB

NoahB — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:31:24 +0000

Hey Alan. Despite your claims of generalized disgust, I’m reasonably sure that there’s at least one post somewhere on HU that you’d like, narcissism notwithstanding. (Is it narcissistic to seek out and publish people who don’t agree with me? Or does the narcissism come from disliking things I’m supposed to like? Or is it just because I disagree with you? Or is it because I use big words that are inappropriate for a working-class comics critic? Or what?)

Anyway — you probably know this, but I’d urge you to check out The Panelists, the new tcj.com blog. They’re great, and may be more aligned with your taste. I think they’re a really positive addition to tcj.com.

The Panelists include Charles Hatfield, Craig Fischer, Jared Gardner, Alex Boney, Derik Badman, and Isaac Cates, smart folks and thoughtful critics all.