A Frank approach

Stuart Immonen posted a few Frank Miller quotes on his LJ. Here's the one I'd never read, but heard much about:

"And keep this in mind, if you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. If you lie down with tapeworms, you get [holds up a copy of Wizard] tapeworms [laughter]... Even though this monthly vulgarity [rips off front cover] reinforces all the prejudice people hold about comics [rips out pages] they cry to all the world that we’re as cheap and stupid and trashy as they think we are, we sponsor this assault. We pay for the goddamn privilege. But really, when will we finally get around to flushing this thing, this load of crap, once and for all [tosses torn magazine into a trash can onstage. Applause]."

--- Frank Miller, 2002 Harvey Awards keynote speech.

I'm not sure how to respond to this. The quote's become industry legend since, but I'd never read the actual words. Very strong. Very focused. Is he right? Not totally. He's not totally wrong, either. Wizard sells like gangbusters. A lot of people gripe about it, but a lot of those same people vie for a spot inside. And it's pretty clear that a book with Wizard's backing (I'm looking at you, Identity Crisis) will gain in sales and momentum, whereas the same can't be said for the other big comic pubs, Comic Buyer's Guide and TCJ. That doesn't mean it's BETTER. But it does have more sway.

Someone like Miller can take a stand like this and risk never being in Wizard again (he's barely been mentioned in the mag since, as most of you have probably noticed). He'll still be rich. He'll still have companies chasing him for his mysterious "mainstream appeal" and press. But for Joe Average, who's just trying to get a gig on a title with the Big 2 (let's not even pretend indies factor into Wizard coverage), running afoul of the only tool that can save it from the land of cancelled titles (unless s/he writes a franchise title, like Supes, Bats, Spidey or something with the core X-Men), is commercial suicide.

So, does Miller's rip seem less ballsy in light of this? Not really. I can't fault him for speaking his mind when he finally found himself able to risk it.