I'm not entirely sure what my relationship with other writers is. I know where Tim and I stand along with a few others. Actually, in getting people to participate in the Blogathon, I learned a little where I stand with others, positively or negatively, I guess. But, I don't think that's exactly what David was asking about.
Let me say a few words about David first: David is one of my favourite writers online. He's damn good. He inspires jealousy with almost every post -- thankfully, the kind that makes me want to simply be better. He's got such a strong voice and perspective and is unapologetic for it. He's one of the people I try to be like -- one of the standards I hold myself up to.
He and I are of the same generation of online critics. There's a group of us. What I found interesting when I quit CBR and announced that I was ending this blog was that, in speaking to a few of them, they understood and were in a similar place. We all began writing online around eight years ago -- a little more for some, a little less than others -- and all seemed to 'reach out peak' at the same time. It was fascinating to me to see how many of us were at similar places with our writing. We'd all written for a 'major' site or two, all had our blogs, all written pieces that got linked by everyone, all written pieces that were ignored, all had little dust-ups with creators... and we were all tired in our own ways. Is there something inherent in what we're doing that caused this or is it just that subtle peer pressure infecting each other? I don't know...
The worst time, for me, to deal with the influence of others is when it comes to my top ten comics of the year. Putting those books in order, leaving off certain critical darlings, putting on other books that no one else seems to like... you worry what that will do for your reputation. It's all ego and petty bullshit, but you don't want to post a list that turns you from someone other people like and respect into someone whose opinions are so out of vogue that you're a joke. I don't know if that happens with just one post, but it happens and it's something I'm always afraid of. And that's a little sad.
As David says, when you read about something someone else likes, you don't just want to check it out, you want to like it too. And you don't always. There's a lot of doubt that comes with that. Like what am I not seeing that they are? Am I wrong? Are they? Of course, no one is wrong. It's all opinions and reactions. No one is right, no one wins. But, try getting yourself to believe that.
It's easier when it's something you love and others don't, I find. I'm more secure in what I like than what I don't. I hate the term 'guilty pleasure,' because it's so stupid. This idea that you shouldn't like certain things -- or that liking them is something you need to justify... it's so wrong in its approach. My attitude is, if I like it, it's great. I wouldn't like it if it wasn't. Fuck everyone else.
I don't have that confidence in things I don't like, though. That's where the doubt creeps in. That question of what am I missing? I've yet to find a way around that...
And I'll deal with that in 30 minutes as I begin discussing West Coast Blues by Jacques Tardi with Ales Kot.
By the way, we're up to $600.95 for the Hero Initiative. Keep those donations coming! Even $5.00 can add up quickly if a lot of people give that much.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Showing posts with label keeping up with the critics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keeping up with the critics. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Blogathon 06: Keeping Up With the Critics (David Brothers Guest Post)
We both have a lot of friends who write about comics, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk about the subtle peer pressure that comes along with that. Do you ever feel like there are books that you should like, and that liking them somehow makes you feel more informed to be a critic?
I feel like that a lot. It's dumb, and I recognize that, but there's a certain level of wanting to keep up that I just can't shake. It's not quite competitiveness -- I don't care about whether or not I can go toe-to-toe with someone over Los Bros deep cuts -- but it's like... I learn by seeing and doing, right? I see that other people can do something, so I try it myself. So when I see people writing about something I'm not particularly into, be it highbrow comics or minicomics, my first thought is either "Why don't I do that?" or "Why can't I do that?"
This is an almost entirely internal struggle, one that I could solve as easily as just deciding not to care any more, but that's hard to do. When you see critics, and especially friends, championing a book, you want to not just check that book out for yourself, but to like it, yeah? You have good taste, so you have good taste in friends, and it therefore follows that your friends should have good taste. But sometimes your friends are really into it and you check it out and whoof... nothing doing. Which makes me wonder if I don't get it, instead of just accepting that different people have different tastes.
I don't know about you, but this definitely has an effect on what I write and how. I go harder and write more when I'm feeling bad about my tastes, almost as an attempt to justify the trash I like in the face of the stuff my friends like. It's not a conscious decision. It's only something I can see when I look back and try to figure out why I spent a week writing about the secret genius behind fart jokes or something.
But at the same time, while the whole insecurity that comes from this is dumb, it does make me a better writer, I think. If I was inclined to be charitable to myself, I would say that being driven to do that work, to dig deeper to cover up what I view as failings, makes me a better writer. I want to do more to keep up, so I figure out how to do just that, without reading a bunch of stinky classics or whatever.
Do you struggle with this at all? It's not a huge burden, and I can obviously recognize it for what it is, but it's a hard habit or insecurity to shake, even with that knowledge. We want to fit in, and I think more than that, we want to be considered good or informed or however you measure criticism.
Where do you stand on this? What's your relationship with the work of other critics like?
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
I feel like that a lot. It's dumb, and I recognize that, but there's a certain level of wanting to keep up that I just can't shake. It's not quite competitiveness -- I don't care about whether or not I can go toe-to-toe with someone over Los Bros deep cuts -- but it's like... I learn by seeing and doing, right? I see that other people can do something, so I try it myself. So when I see people writing about something I'm not particularly into, be it highbrow comics or minicomics, my first thought is either "Why don't I do that?" or "Why can't I do that?"
This is an almost entirely internal struggle, one that I could solve as easily as just deciding not to care any more, but that's hard to do. When you see critics, and especially friends, championing a book, you want to not just check that book out for yourself, but to like it, yeah? You have good taste, so you have good taste in friends, and it therefore follows that your friends should have good taste. But sometimes your friends are really into it and you check it out and whoof... nothing doing. Which makes me wonder if I don't get it, instead of just accepting that different people have different tastes.
I don't know about you, but this definitely has an effect on what I write and how. I go harder and write more when I'm feeling bad about my tastes, almost as an attempt to justify the trash I like in the face of the stuff my friends like. It's not a conscious decision. It's only something I can see when I look back and try to figure out why I spent a week writing about the secret genius behind fart jokes or something.
But at the same time, while the whole insecurity that comes from this is dumb, it does make me a better writer, I think. If I was inclined to be charitable to myself, I would say that being driven to do that work, to dig deeper to cover up what I view as failings, makes me a better writer. I want to do more to keep up, so I figure out how to do just that, without reading a bunch of stinky classics or whatever.
Do you struggle with this at all? It's not a huge burden, and I can obviously recognize it for what it is, but it's a hard habit or insecurity to shake, even with that knowledge. We want to fit in, and I think more than that, we want to be considered good or informed or however you measure criticism.
Where do you stand on this? What's your relationship with the work of other critics like?
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 05: Keeping Up With the Critics (Part 1)
The topics that I received from my guest posters for this were fantastic. So fantastic that I don't have any favourites. If I did, this one would definitely be in contention for the top spot. The idea of having to 'keep up' with other critics is something that's always there, but not many people seem to talk about. Instead, we get a mix of support, hatred, jealousy, backstabbing, and pressure. I know I've felt or experienced all of those things at some time or another, and tried my best to focus more on the 'support' side of things than anything else.
A big part of that is because of Tim Callahan. Tim is the only comic critic who I can say I've only been jealous of once. By my nature, I'm a jealous sort of person. Not outwardly; I keep it to myself. My first reaction is often a jealous, awful one. I'm aware of that and do my best to press it down, not let it come out, and remind myself that there's no reason for it. But, yeah, Tim writing his piece for that second Gødland hardcover? That's going to make me jealous. And I've felt bad about that ever since.
Otherwise, Tim has been one of the most positive influences in my comics criticism world. He... didn't mentor me. But, grabbed me and stuck me by his side and said "This guy, he's all right." He'd written a book on Grant Morrison that everyone knew about and I was the guy he wanted to talk comics with. He got me the gig with Comic Book Resources (or, got me the opportunity to get the gig). He put me on Sequart's radar and I've written three essays for them along with edited a book that will see publication in 2013. Some of the stuff I am best known for is stuff I have done with Tim.
Tim Callahan is the example of how we should act towards our fellow writers. And it's an example I have tried to follow when I could. Write well, do your thing, and, when possible, use your name to shine a light on others. Very rarely have I seen Tim exert ego and I admire that a lot.
But, that's not all to this idea. It's not just about 'keeping up' with other critics directly. One of the hardest things to escape is the influence of others. That moment where you feel like you have to like something because everyone else seems to. That fear of not sticking to your guns and being your own person. I've had conversations with people about this and it can be hard to escape. If you look at my writing, you can sometimes see where I'm doing what I want and sometimes where I'm trying to fit in. Sometimes the two are the same thing, but not always. And what's even worse is trying so hard to escape the unsaid 'peer pressure' that you become a simple contrarian. Where you begin taking stances you don't believe in just to be different.
All of this sounds a bit silly, but it's so easy to get lost in this bullshit. How do you draw that line between reading others and listening to them while still being separate? It's very easy to just 'fall in line' with someone who you respect and, honestly, agree with a lot of the time. I mean, if you agree with them 90% of the time, you're inclined to make an effort to see things their way that remaining 10%.
In 2012, I made an effort to really do what I want. I wrote about Avengers vs. X-Men and Before Watchmen. Not because it was the opposite of what everyone was doing. Just because I was reading them both and didn't really foresee anyone else writing about them too much.
What makes it especially hard is that no one talks about it really. You get the odd e-mail conversation, but not much in the open like this.
In 30 minutes, we'll see what David Brothers has to say.
In the last Blogathon, we raised $535 total. As of right now, we're up to $590.95 raised for the Hero Initiative this year. That is so wonderful.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
A big part of that is because of Tim Callahan. Tim is the only comic critic who I can say I've only been jealous of once. By my nature, I'm a jealous sort of person. Not outwardly; I keep it to myself. My first reaction is often a jealous, awful one. I'm aware of that and do my best to press it down, not let it come out, and remind myself that there's no reason for it. But, yeah, Tim writing his piece for that second Gødland hardcover? That's going to make me jealous. And I've felt bad about that ever since.
Otherwise, Tim has been one of the most positive influences in my comics criticism world. He... didn't mentor me. But, grabbed me and stuck me by his side and said "This guy, he's all right." He'd written a book on Grant Morrison that everyone knew about and I was the guy he wanted to talk comics with. He got me the gig with Comic Book Resources (or, got me the opportunity to get the gig). He put me on Sequart's radar and I've written three essays for them along with edited a book that will see publication in 2013. Some of the stuff I am best known for is stuff I have done with Tim.
Tim Callahan is the example of how we should act towards our fellow writers. And it's an example I have tried to follow when I could. Write well, do your thing, and, when possible, use your name to shine a light on others. Very rarely have I seen Tim exert ego and I admire that a lot.
But, that's not all to this idea. It's not just about 'keeping up' with other critics directly. One of the hardest things to escape is the influence of others. That moment where you feel like you have to like something because everyone else seems to. That fear of not sticking to your guns and being your own person. I've had conversations with people about this and it can be hard to escape. If you look at my writing, you can sometimes see where I'm doing what I want and sometimes where I'm trying to fit in. Sometimes the two are the same thing, but not always. And what's even worse is trying so hard to escape the unsaid 'peer pressure' that you become a simple contrarian. Where you begin taking stances you don't believe in just to be different.
All of this sounds a bit silly, but it's so easy to get lost in this bullshit. How do you draw that line between reading others and listening to them while still being separate? It's very easy to just 'fall in line' with someone who you respect and, honestly, agree with a lot of the time. I mean, if you agree with them 90% of the time, you're inclined to make an effort to see things their way that remaining 10%.
In 2012, I made an effort to really do what I want. I wrote about Avengers vs. X-Men and Before Watchmen. Not because it was the opposite of what everyone was doing. Just because I was reading them both and didn't really foresee anyone else writing about them too much.
What makes it especially hard is that no one talks about it really. You get the odd e-mail conversation, but not much in the open like this.
In 30 minutes, we'll see what David Brothers has to say.
In the last Blogathon, we raised $535 total. As of right now, we're up to $590.95 raised for the Hero Initiative this year. That is so wonderful.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
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