The bulk of the criticism directed at my “comics needs Tim Russert” piece is that, well, yeah, it does, but it needs a boatload of other things before such a figure would be of any use at all. A readership that’s aware of and interested in the issues, for example. For that matter, a consensus on what the important issues are. A level of parity between publishers, distributors, retailers, and readers, through which an interchange of ideas might actually have an effect on the implementation of policy. In other words, for there to even be the possibility of a Tim Russert type in comics, comics needs the type of civil-society infrastructure you find in the American polity.

Needless to say, we’re pretty far away from that. (Babar at Simply Comics makes these points quite well–thanks to Dirk Deppey for the link.) But I’m aware of all that–the Tim Russert angle was, in its way, a fantasy based on a theoretical comics industry where such a civil infrastructure exists, where such values are shared and agreed upon, where an interview that exposes an influential figure as honest or intelligent or a bunko artist might actually make a difference to the people who consume the art that figure produces.

(It’s also worth noting that many people have responded by saying that Russert really isn’t so great. (Steven Grant, for example, isn’t a Russert fan, but agrees with the basic point I was making, even if he sees (as I do) how difficult it’d be to create such a figure.) And that’s fine–the point was not that we need TIM RUSSERT, but that a dedicated, intelligent, talented, doggedly determined interviewer seen as a necessary destination by the movers and shakers in the business would be good for said business. You’re welcome to substitute Bob Schieffer, or Georges Stephanopolous and Will, or the people on Fox News Sunday, if you’d like; it’s that Sunday-morning talk-show framework that I’m referring to, not one particular journalist.)

(UPDATE: I also want to state for the record that, obviously, there’s a big difference between hard-news journalism and entertainment journalism, as well there should be. There should always be a place, a big place at that, for hyping upcoming projects and having friendly, fannish interviews with creators. But I think even there we folks who write about comics could do better than we sometimes do; and I think at a certain point we do need to do serious reporting and interviewing, even if this is “just” an entertainment industry. Just by way of a for instance, New Line risked its own bankruptcy by financing a three-film Lord of the Rings trilogy, so in addition to reading interviews with Sean Astin and Miranda Otto, I think it’s an objective good to have interviews with the studio heads explaining what they were thinking. (I also think it’s fair to ask creators to justify the work that they’re doing and the way that they’re doing it; though on a much smaller scale, these are important decisions, too, and I’d think that many creators would welcome the opportunity to talk about them.))

(UPDATE 2: It occurs to me that the parody bits in the original post come across as very harsh toward the folks who conducted and/or participated in the interviews they’re based on, and that really wasn’t my intent. I don’t know them from Adam, so it’s certainly nothing personal, and hell, it’s not even meant as being indicative of the average level of their work. It’s just commentary on what I see as some specific weaknesses of the current state of comics journalism, particularly interviews. I thought I should clear that up.)

On the one hand, President Bush is more willing to put American money & might (not to mention his own political future) on the line to fight for human freedom abroad than I could possibly have hoped back when he was running against Al Gore. On the other, he seems just as willing to restrict human freedom at home as I feared, well, back when he was running against Al Gore. Andrew Sullivan puts it thusly:

I was also struck by how hard right the president was on social policy. $23 million for drug-testing children in schools? A tirade against steroids? (I’m sure Tom Brady was thrilled by that camera shot.) More public money for religious groups? Abstinence only for prevention of STDs? Whatever else this president is, he is no believer in individuals’ running their own lives without government regulation, control or aid. If you’re a fiscal conservative or a social liberal, this was a speech that succeeded in making you take a second look at the Democrats. I sure am.

Yep.

And that’s without mentioning his asinine attack on the rights of gay citizens. No, he didn’t come out and explicitly call for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage; as even Pat Buchanan pointed out on MSNBC, said avoidance is shorthand for “shut the fuck up about a constitutional amendment already, you nitwits.” But he clearly felt either obligated or happy (or both) to give a nod and a wink to the anti-gay right, and I simply can’t brook that.

His points on Iraq and terror were razor-sharp and rock-solid. But he spent the rest of the speech coming out swinging on behalf of a reinvigorated, non-reexamined PATRIOT Act, a failed religious-based policy toward sexually transmitted disease,an expanding war on the personal freedom of American citizens and even children in the guise of the “War on Drugs,” and an insult to the decency and moral seriousness of American homosexuals. All this and record deficits, too.

Couple this with the Democrats’ apparent rejection of their own rejectionist extraordinaire in Iowa two nights ago, and the loyal opposition begins to look a lot more appealing.

This oughta be terrific.

Good heavens. What on Earth will dozens of twenty&thirtysomething minicomics artists think of war? Do you think they’ll disagree with the policies of President George W. Bush? Will the topic of oil come up at some point? Is war going to be seen as bad for children and other living things? Perhaps comparisons to Nazi Germany might be made–who knows? The world waits with bated breath.

Prediction: Not since the Comics Journal’s Special Edition on Patriotism will there have been a collection of political cartoons as predictable and inessential as this bad boy.

On both his blog (no permalinks yet; currently the top item) and the Comics Journal message board, Zack Soto weighs in the possibility of altcomix favorites being published in manga-sized digest formats. Like me, Zack thinks it’s a great idea. The big “if” here, of course, aside from whether the creators want to do this, is whether the publishers (like Fantagraphics) can afford it. But I think it’d pay dividends in the long run–this is the format that young readers want their comics in, and I see little reason that these high-quality books wouldn’t appeal to them if presented in that format.

(NB: Blogger Shawn “Silverthorn” Fumo and cartoonists James Kochalka and Colleen Coover offer interesting and enthusiastic responses on that TCJ.com thread. But be warned, the usual signal-to-noise ratio for that board applies here: There are plenty of people yelling, “DON’T SHRINK THE ART JUST TO MAKE SOME MORE OF THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR, YOU FUCKIN PHILISTINE!” (And there’s a drunk Tony Millionaire, but what else did you expect?) In all seriousness, shrinking art is sometimes a very bad idea, and I’m well aware of that, which is why I suggested the comics I did: They’d work at that size, without question. But some of those posters are reflexively rejecting an idea precisely because it might lead to the artist and publisher making more money and expanding their readership. (This despite the fact that the material itself wouldn’t change, aside from getting a little smaller, which as I said wouldn’t matter in these cases.) “Artform vs commodity. No good can come of this.” Yes, folks, welcome to the Comics Journal messageboard.)

(Pic courtesy of Andrew Sullivan.)

by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968. Found at http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html.)

Five score years ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

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.