I’ve been thinking a lot about interviews lately. Actually, I think most people who read about comics online have been thinking about interviews lately. Can you imagine interviews like the kind we see in comics appearing in any other field of endeavor?
* “You’re watching World News Tonight. Sitting in for Peter Jennings is Ben Stiller, because it’s Ben Stiller Week here at ABC News.” “Good evening. We begin tonight with special guest Owen Wilson. Later in the broadcast, Janeane Garofalo will be stopping by. And be sure to tune into 20/20 later tonight, where myself and co-host Jerry Stiller will interview Ann Meara, Andy Dick, and the cast of Mr. Show with Bob and David.”
* “Hello, I’m Lester Holt, and you’re watching MSNBC. Recently I spoke via email to Democratic presidential contender Dennis Kucinich. I asked him some questions–some about comics, others about, y’know, just some kind of neat things about ideas and stuff–and he responded by talking about buttfucking and midget kangaroo prostitutes or something. I will now read you the complete, unedited transcript.”
* “Today on Good Morning America, my interview with President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. Diane, any thoughts?” “Well, Charlie, my suggestion is that, when they get into their pseudo-Martin & Lewis routine, just let it roll. Or better yet, try to provide set-ups and puns for them to riff off of. The kids’ll love it. Make sure not to challenge any of their assertions on the success or appeal of their major policies. Actually, try not to even specifically ask about their major policies, at least not the ones involving anything more complex than the controversial new outfit Smokey the Bear is wearing these days. Okay, okay, if you must you must, but remember that “follow-up” is just another F-word. Generally speaking, a nice, simple, “rough year, huh?” will say everything that needs to be said, and if they reply “hell no, it was great,” well, you did your job. If you really want to come off like a take-no-shit kinda guy, press them on something inconsequential and stupid, some obvious failure that got a lot of press a long time ago but then disappeared into well-deserved obscurity–that is, until you dedicated about 40% of your interview to questions about it. Now, occasionally, when you ask them about the strength of the U.S., they’ll reflexively talk about how good our movies do overseas. You’re welcome to gently remind them that movies are nice, but we’re talking about politics–but only after they’ve done this four or five times. And remember, it’s only government! Have fun with it!” “Thanks, Diane. Actually, that was pretty much my game plan to begin with.”
I think that what comics needs, and badly, is Tim Russert.
I don’t know how you folks feel about Russert, but I think he’s the gold standard for interviews with politicians and policy makers. I guess he was a Cuomo operative once, but as far as I can tell his agenda, if he has one, is completely invisible. He’s hard, really hard, on everyone. Those “gotchas” he does with old interviews and video clips are just priceless. When people bullshit him, he follows up just long enough to make it clear that that’s what’s going on, but not so long that it becomes an O’Reilly-esque screaming match that enables his subject to claim that he’s being unfairly attacked. He doesn’t interrupt like Chris Matthews does, either–if you’ve got a point, he’ll let you make it, though he’ll challenge you on the specifics. And best of all, if you want to be taken seriously as a politician or policymaker, you have to appear on his show. You know you’ll get hammered, but you have to sit there and take it, or people will see you, and rightly so, as someone who can’t walk the walk.
I don’t think there’s anything even remotely comparable in comics today, and man oh man, does comics ever need there to be one. The PR-type gabfests that comprise 95% of comics-related interviews certainly have their place, but when there’s an issue of importance on the table, we need something better. When the people talking are the people who truly shape the industry, they need to be called to account, asked the important questions, pressed for the real answers. Moreover, there needs to be a sense of obligation on the part of such people to face that kind of forum. Without the sense that “the road to being taken seriously leads through this inteveriew,” needless to say, no one would even go near it.
Can it be done? I don’t know. There certainly are figures in the world of comics that hold positions of preeminence in their respective quasi-journalistic fields: Rich Johnston is the gossip columnist, Dirk Deppey is the blogger, the Comics Journal is the magazine, etc. A person or entity can be built up to the point where their reputation ensures that they are taken seriously by those who wish to be taken seriously themselves. But none of these figures are directly comparable to what I’m talking about: Blogs are still too obscure, the Comics Journal will always be seen as an elitist propaganda wing for Fantagraphics (mainly, of course, by the perpetually benighted, but let’s face it, there are a lot of ’em), and as good as Rich’s columns can be (except the New Year’s ones, for whatever reason), I’m not sure that anyone feels that their credibility is at stake unless they grant an interview to Waiting for Tommy.
The fact is that comics journalism just doesn’t pay enough to create someone with the full-time dedication, talent, and clout of a Tim Russert. (This is simple enough to deduce: Take the average amount that someone who writes comics for a living will make in a lifetime, and then picture what someone who makes a living writing about that writer might make. And then let me know when you’ve stopped shuddering.) The other fact is that so many comics readers don’t give a flying fuck about reprint policies or payments to freelancers or creator-owned opportunities or the strengths and weaknesses of genre or the need for a forward-thinking Direct Market or whatever that folks in this industry will always be able to get away with murder, Tim Russert or no.
But imagine what it would be like if important figures from across the industry had to put the press releases aside, erase the zany responses to the canned questions, swallow their conviction that the art-snob elitist/mouth-breathing pervert-suit part of the biz was out to get them, and talk straight for half an hour with someone who knew what he or she was talking about–and most importanly, why it was worth talking about to begin with.
Meet the Press, comics industry. I insist.
UPDATE: I’ve posted some follow-up thoughts here.