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I talked a little bit about MOME last week, and mentioned that I’d finished reading VOLUME 7 and enjoyed it, and I just finished volume 8 the other day. All of the real reviews have been done and everyone’s already remarked at what a treasure Eleanor Davis is (all deserved) and debated over whether or not old cartoonists really do start to lose it as per Lewis Trondheim’s assertion in “At Loose Ends.” In fact, over at his blog, Jog has done a bang-up job disassembling MOME VOLUME 8 already, and has also done a lengthy review of MOME VOLUME 7.

But before this came out a few months back, I questioned here on my blog, in reference to Trondheim and previously serialised artist David B: “I’m not sure how promoting the book on the strength of established talent fits their mission statement, other than maybe goosing the sales a little (a noble pursuit).” Eric Reynolds e-mailed me afterwards to thank me for paying attention and ask me my further thoughts, and here they are:

MOME is a complete connundrum to me because, despite thoroughly enjoying it, I feel like it’s supposed to be something else. I keep comparing it to DRAWN + QUARTERLY SHOWCASE (which was originally going to be called the “New Talent Showcase,” actually) because both books have a similar format of 120-200 pages, both have(had?) a mission statment of bringing work to market from new and emerging cartoonists, and both are giving a high-profile venue to these works with great production values that place the work right alongside other great graphic novels and anthologies. But I think that on the whole the D+Q SHOWCASE has been more successful in its stated aims, by consistantly delivering excellent, genuinely different and self-contained work. I also think that, with a quarterly schedule to start and a mandate of serialising work (with many serials dropping out of the anthology or going on hiatus every volume) each issue of MOME, despite a square binding and lush production values just feels like a more ephemeral thing… I can happily recommend one of the showcase books due to the inclusion of a complete narrative by Sammy Harkham, or Genevieve Castree, or Kevin H. or Martin Cendreda or whomever. I find that with MOME, no one (or even two or three stories) is strong enough for someone to purchase volume 7 (if they haven’t picked up the first 6) (though many will happily stand and read the story I tell them is good for the 3 or 4 minutes it takes). Even getting behind things like AT LOOSE ENDS by Trondheim, or the serialised DAVID B stuff… I’d much, much rather each volume of MOME included the whole story from beginning to end to complete the… wholeness… of each volume on the shelf.

(Maybe there are plans at some distant point in the future to collect these stories though, and running the whole story as opposed to serialising it would clearly harm the eventual sales of such a project…? But then I feel like ANY appearance of a Euopean work in English would likely harm its further English-language sales in a different format… I dunno.)

But next month begins the serialisation of a short Jim Woodring story, for example, that certainly feels to me like it oughtta be read in a single sitting (and that kind of was the intended format for it…).

Which isn’t to say that the anthology isn’t successful, or that it isn’t selling well for us, or that I don’t enjoy it: It is, It does, I do. I even like anthologies conceptually, and want to see more of them. But if the book isn’t going to just be a new talent showcase anymore, if it’s going to have a lead feature, a cover feature to really hook us, then do it! Run with it and hook us! MOME 9: INCLUDES A COMPLETE GRAPHIC NOVELLA BY JIM (FRANK) WOODRING, plus 3 short stories and your 4 favourite continuing serials! But if this is serialisation before collection, a SHONEN JUMP for the art-school set (oh man, that’s gonna get me in trouble) then scale it back, include all the serials, the short stories, and maybe even beef up the interview and editorial content and really take advantage of the ‘periodicalness’ of the format (but maybe work far enough ahead so that no one has to miss a volume (or two or three)). I just feel like its got its feet in two worlds right now, and despite a spectacular recent issue and ’shake-up’ of the book, it just doesn’t feel ‘there’ yet.

Anyway, there’s my two cents on MOME. I hope this does not cause an internet riot.

Best,

– Christopher

…my brother called to tell me that he understood what I was getting at, but that I didn’t express myself clearly enough. Alright.

The thing about commenting on much beloved popular culture is that it opens you up for all sorts of personal attacks, people trying to ascribe nefarious motives to your actions, all that shit. I knew that going in, but man, did that fucking cover really strike me the wrong way when I saw it. So, I posted it. That’s about 90% of how the blog works, and I tend to worry about the consequences later.

I could probably spend another full day responding to the various message boards, blogs, livejournals, etc., that all proclaimed to have some insight into my mind’s inner workings, but instead I’ll just leave you with this:

Mary Jane isn’t Storm or Invisible Girl, she isn’t a superhero being zombified on a classic cover. She’s a civilian, Spider-Man’s wife. She doesn’t appear anywhere in the book that she’s on the cover of, looking sexy and dismembered. This isn’t about the worry that 12 year olds will buy copies of a $25 hard cover, this is more a worry that Marvel thinks that a physically injured woman making a come-hither glance at the reader of a book that she isn’t even in, is the best way to sell their comic books. And the fact that, judging by the reaction yesterday, they’re right.

Brian Wood called it about half-way through the day yesterday; “This cover is actually a real boon for the basement dwelling set. This Mary Jane has so many more holes they can fantasize about fucking her in!” …and, yeah. It’s just a sad state of affairs and I probably should have just mocked it, rather than actually trying to engage it. Don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson.

So, since I’ve got a comics festival to run, a few articles to write, and a few thousand other things to do, this is pretty much all I’ve got left to say on this particular issue.

Thanks for reading,

– Christopher