Even though I've been blogging for 5 years now, I still maintain a love/hate relationship with the Internet. At this point, I guess the world wide web isn't going away. It's an important part of our everyday life, a source for news, information and entertainment. But there are days when I just want to go hole up in a cabin in the woods, one without Internet access. Because some days I'm just convinced the Internet ruins everything.
Let's take the world of comics as an example. I've been reading--and loving--comic books all my life. My love of those simple four color pamphlets and the heroes who occupy them grew and matured into something much more, an appreciation and deep respect for the entire medium of comic art, including syndicated newspaper strips. Through comics I was exposed to many different artists and storytellers, from Jack Kirby to Carl Barks, from Will Eisner to Roy Crane, from Chester Gould to Bil Keane...and I love them all.
And I, of course, am not the only one. There are endless websites that celebrate comics with wonderful essays and posts about the medium. I can shop 24/7 for new--and old--books, original art, and other comics-related items. I try and do my small bit here, alerting you to and reviewing new books that I encounter and enjoy. I try never to post a negative review of anything, concentrating instead on the great stuff I come across and hope to share with my small audience.
I think a lot of comics bloggers feel that way. They want to promote the world of comics, and extend it to new audience members. But there are the "news bloggers," who tell me far, far more than I ever need to know about upcoming comics, artists, their foibles and their failures. And I know what you're about to say: If they bug you, stop reading them. And that's exactly what I'm doing.
When I was growing up with comics, the closest we came to information on the next issue of a series was the box in the last panel of the current story we were reading, or--better yet--a house ad extolling the virtues of a new book. As I became a more "sophisticated" reader and embraced the world of fanzines, I discovered The Comic Reader, which--at its time--was the equivalent of a comics-oriented TV Guide. The info contained therein was often out of date by the time I got hold of it, but it was thrilling to read nonetheless.
Nowadays, there's any number of news sites that conduct interviews with creators, offer previews of upcoming comics, and report news on new titles, creative talent signing on with different companies, etc. There's even one of two sites that "report" comic book industry gossip. You have to make a moral decision there whether gossip of any kind is news. The jury is still out for me, but I know how I'm leaning.
For the last 4-5 years, I've frequented a number of comics news sites, and quite frankly, I'm pretty much done with them all. There's only so much info my aging brain can hold these days, and knowing what happens in Green Lantern #50, 4 months before it comes out isn't one of them. And while an important part of my daily job is to be aware of what's happening in the comics industry, I find myself most of the time disgusted with what I read to such a level that it makes me just want to turn off the computer and walk away.
My solution? Well, remove all their bookmarks from my list. Get back to basics and read sites and blogs which CELEBRATE comic art, not tell me who's feuding with who or which artist is late--again--on his 6-issue mini-series which is in its eighth month of publication. I want to bring back the surprise in comics, the joy of going to the comic book store and saying to yourself, "I didn't know this was coming out!" and buying it and taking it home. That would add to my reading pleasure I think. And probably keep my blood pressure down, too...because if you really want to know what's bad about the Internet, just read ANY of the comments left on any site, but especially on a comic book site. The idiots are not only running the asylum, they're tearing it down and using the rubble to kill each other.
