A couple items caught my attention today and made me roll my eyes so hard I got whiplash:
First up, the Globe and Mail’s review of Persepolis. It’s a nice review, and quite glowing – the Globe doesn’t hand out ratings that high very often. Score one for the conservative art-snob establishment.
No, the silliness comes in a sidebar titled From storyboard to screen, a short list of recent graphic novel adaptations. It leaves out A History of Violence, but never mind that; what stands out is the description of 300: “Another Frank Miller adaptation gets bloodied by dull direction and plenty of fake gore. Like a comic book, and not in a good way.” (emphasis mine)
I’m sorry, what? This is a list of adaptations that were surprisingly faithful, following the review of a film based on a comic book made by the creator of that book. A creator who is openly critical of the term “graphic novel”, and prefers “comic book.” It’s a medium that has been used for stories crappy and quality, mature and juvenile, intellectual and escapist. We’d never see “like a play, in a good way”, or “like a novel, in a bad way”. Get the fuck over it.
Next up, we have this week’s installment of The Buy Pile, a weekly review roundup at CBR – though it’s far less “review” than “things I like.” It’s not very stimulating reading, but it hits a new low for cluelessness this week with a comment about the latest issue of Scalped:
Okay, the first thing you need to know is that R.M. Guera’s art — while very good at layout and visual storytelling — is still sinfully ugly. Giulia Brusco’s muddy, moody coloring doesn’t help. Oh well. … Maybe the ugliness of the art is intentional, because the ugliness of the conditions depicted in the story seem all the more horrible when looking at them this way, instead of with the crisp lines of an Edvin Biukovic or a James Calafiore.
Maybe it’s intentional? Maybe a story about crime, corruption, poverty, and greed is meant to have a particular visual aesthetic that’s a little different from Countdown? It doesn’t match up with the guy who draws Exiles? That there’s any question about Guera’s intent betrays some considerable ignorance about the medium and art in general. In the author’s defence, he does recommend the issue, and he’s right – it’s fucking awesome.
The fact people are so clueless kind of annoys me, but the fact they have such great comics to do it about cheers me up more than a little.
Comments
One response to “You’ve gotta be kidding me”
One quibble: the criticism of a movie being too much “like a play, in a bad way” actually shows up a lot, particularly in discussing films adapted from plays. Critics will malign the dialogue as “too stagey,” or the director for failing to open up the settings at all. David Mamet is a frequent target of such observations. I still understand your gripe, but I think it’s a little off-base.