Comics' Greatest Genius

I'm a bit behind in reading, well, everything, these days, so it took me until this past weekend to finally settle down with The Comics Journal #260 and give it a read. As usual, I was glad I did.

Plenty of folks out there like to tar and feather The Journal with particular brushes, and not all of them are the wrong color paint. That said, it is still the best place to go for quality writing, criticism, and interviews about the comics medium and its community. There are excellent works in this issue such as a detailed examiniation of Dave Cockrum's illness and settlement with Marvel and Clifford Meth's work on his behalf, as well as a side look at Meth's axe grinding against Barry Windsor-Smith while putting a Cockrum tribute book together. Michael Dean also contributes an informative look behind the scenes at Drawn And Quarterly, giving the reader a much better picture of who they are as a publisher and why they make the choices they do. But the real standout in the issue is Tom Spurgeon's incredible look at the entire AiT-Planetlar publishing line.

Spurgeon starts at the beginning with Larry Young's first publishing forays with the original Astronauts In Trouble series and winds his way through what has become a very large small-press empire. And it is one of the most magnificent things I have read on the subject of comics in many a moon.

What Spurgeon does is almost beyond belief. As he gave critical weight to book after book after book, I found myself simply in awe of the time and effort he put forth into writing the piece, and that wasn't even taking into consideration the actual depth and content of his words. Spurgeon is quite likely the sharpest intellect writing about the subject of comics today. His grasp of story, genre, art, place, history, and dialogue are monstrous. You get the sense from Tom that he's thinking three steps ahead of you at almost every turn, and there's almost an intimidation to even sitting and reading his work. It forces you to really realize and examine your place as a writer.

I've been reading comics for about 29 years now, and writing about them for about ten, and reading work by a guy as gifted and intelligent as Tom Spurgeon is something I treasure. It also gives me something to aspire to, though I don't think I could ever come close to doing work of his quality. But it makes you want to try, you know? At the very least, it makes you think that much harder when you're sitting at the keyboard working up a column, realizing that yes, you may pale in comparison, but if you work that much harder, that paleness might gain just the smallest bit of color.

I had the pleasure of seeing Spurgeon in San Diego again this year, and as always, he was a whirlwind. Rightfully nominated for an Eisner for his excellent Stan Lee biography, he was everywhere, soaking in the atmosphere, finding great books, and locating new talents. Not to mention, he was looking at back issues and finding affordable treasures to add to what I am sure is a stunning collection of work. And you know what? That told me something very important. It told me to keep reading The Journal... because soon enough, we're going to be lucky enough to read all about those discoveries.

/Mason