In 2004, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Michael Chabon gave the keynote speech at the Eisner Awards. Speaking about the maturation of the industry, he referred to some of the excesses of the 1990s as comics "adolescence": "An excess of desire to appear grown up is one of the defining characteristics of adolescence. But these follies were the inevitable missteps and overreachings in the course of a campaign that was, in the end, successful."
I was a little skeptical at the time. Had comics really matured as a medium—both in substance and reality? Five years later, I am more hopeful. As I wrote in September, since mainstream publishers have begun publishing graphic novels, sophisticated works get mainstream exposure to a much greater degree than any work did in 2004.
The medium has matured, surely. But what about the comic book industry? I worry that the mainstream comic book industry still as adolescent as ever while the book industry is taking over and making strides by acting like professional adults.
Some of the behavior that leads me to this worry is a holdover from comics' adolescent days, such as this "everyone uses sex appeal to sell goods" apologia from Top Cow's Filip Sablik. I could sigh and call it a remnant, something on the wane—if women's bodies weren't still one of the top commodities being peddled in the comics that appear at the front of Previews. Despite the headway the medium has made in recent years, I still think this lingering image of the industry eclipses that of the award-nominated literary graphic novel in the minds of many people.
And then, out of the sight of most of the outside world, is the drama that has been dubbed "Con Wars." Next year's Big Apple Con in New York City, which is run by Wizard (infamous for such features as a "name those buttocks" quiz in their magazine), has been scheduled the same weekend as New York Comic-Con, which is run by Reed Exhibition (a sister company of which owns the website this column is published on). Reed employees were escorted from this year's Big Apple Con. A Reed vice president, Lance Fensterman, alluded to practices that are not "'above board'" on the part of Wizard. Vulgar ad hominem attacks have been treated as notable commentary.
The view from the outside of the comics industry may view the medium as increasingly worthy of serious attention. However, the view from the inside still reveals a lot of adolescent stagnation—in comics' content, professionals' behavior, and fans' attitudes. This is something present in all entertainment industries, and people always love drama. However, for those of us working in the industry it's a good reminder that in order to concentrate on what is truly important—creating and publishing graphic novels that are a credit to the medium—we need to keep working and stay outside of the fray.
