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Media and Top Rated Comics

By Hervé St-Louis
December 14, 2009 - 06:56

Apparently, the latest crisis / debate / controversy in the comic book world is a reaction to a New York Times column by Mike Williams about comics that were remarkable in the last decade and his emphasis on mainstream comics...

Again the same inferiority complex of a good subsection of the comic book industry rears its head into a weird form of elitism. It's as if the New York Times columnist was dismissed as not being a real comic book connoisseur by the regular comic book pundits that have nothing better to do than complain whenever someone that's not part of their club dares to say something that doesn't pay lip service to their intellectual superiority.

The New York Times columnist can name what he wants as the best book of the decade. It's his column and his opinion. His opinions don't have to be approved by anyone but him and his editors. He does not need to flatter the ego of some comic book pundits to make his case. His job is to inform his public.

Whether I as a "comic book pundit" agree with him or not is irrelevant. If I disagree with him, all I have to do is publish my own list instead of acting like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

Yeah, the Comic Book Guy. Often we comic book pundits, and I include myself, we tend to think we know better than other people. We think that because we interview all these creators and read all these comics and receive all these news in our mail boxes daily, that we are somehow superior to other people who enjoy comics. We're not. When we do, we are nothing but comic book guys in denial.

I welcome the opinions of Mr. Williams about comic books. It doesn't matter that I agree with him or not. At least, he's talking about comics and not perceiving them as something that his readers won't care about. He's trying in his ways with his own opinion to share his likes and dislikes about comics. Why attack him instead of welcoming more related articles from him. Some people even call his blog a nerd's blog. That's cheap, but then what is there to expect from the usual suspects of the comic book industry?

Mr. Williams, please write more about comics. It doesn't matter what you write about them, as long as you do.

Last Updated: January 1, 2026 - 11:07