By Tiffany Bab
Comics Courier Issue 2 Kickstarter is live. To promote it, I’ve been doing rounds on comic podcasts and websites. Unlike many people, I enjoy these conversations. I think it’s fun to chat with colleagues and talk about new works that you’re excited to share. Naturally, these conversations always lead to questions about the state of comics’ criticism, its future, and where comic couriers fit all of them.
I don’t have a rosy view of the future of cartoon criticism as a business, or even as a career, but as always, I stand by the criticism of cartoon as an art form.
It may be because I am a critic, but I believe that criticism is an art form and should not be dismissed as a tool for buttressing industry. Does criticism promote comics and boost sales? I hope so, but that’s not why most of the text about comics exists. With the advent of old social media, sharing ideas has been devalued beyond nothing (and perhaps even transformed into a cause of nuisance), but selling the idea that writing is a craft is hard to do, and yet, it is.
And because crafting creates culture. I think it’s important for people to make art for themselves, but the criticisms written for the audience are not that same. It’s about communication and sharing, explanation, analysis, discussion, and defense. In my opinion, it is an important part of how communities respond to the art of their time and the art that came before. Criticism is part of the contextualization of creating culture, and not only commenting on it, but also creating culture.
We can talk all day long about how some cartoon criticism doesn’t lead to professional snuffs and what we want it to be, but these are all empty conversation pie. They are as useless as artist vs. writer arguments. At the end of the day, if you need better cartoon criticism, you should provide support.
Of course, no one’s pockets are unlimited, and the current economy is rocky, but there are other ways to support criticism. This is where I think Comic Courier fits into the future of comic criticism. Not as a publication alone, but ideally as a publication that is within other networks where you can find ways to pay, platforms, and mentor writers.
For now, the work of comic critics relies primarily on passion, goodwill and unpaid time donations. It will probably be like that forever, but I think we should if there is a way to build a system that will help improve things for critics. Not only do I want to read lots of new, quality comic criticisms, but I also believe in supporting artists, and I believe in supporting critics.
Tiffany Bab writes and edits articles on comics and pop culture. She is the editor of Comic Courier and Fan Files. She previously was an associate editor of Popverse and co-editor of Eisner Award-winning PanelxPanel Magazine. In the past, she wrote for AV Clubs, Paste Magazines, and Comic Journals.
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