willow

27, female

Location: Seattle, WA

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  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Nov 24, 2009 at 11:38am)

    I don't think it got less marketing than any other book...I remember a big push at SDCC right before it came out. The $1 first issue is a recent phenomenon and I'm very glad it's working. It could be that people assumed a series like this from a writer like Dave would sell itself (I mean, that's what I thought), which is why it's so peculiar that it didn't. Really, any post mortem on any series is pure speculation. The market is unbelievably weird. I find myself crossing my fingers every month, because there ain't much else I can do that I haven't already done.

  • 4 months ago

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Oct 27, 2009 at 1:28am)

    I haven't criticized Crumb's depiction of violence in the Bible--in that respect I think he's done a public service.

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Oct 27, 2009 at 1:22am)

    I don't think it's possible to depict God at all, hence the title of the piece.

  • 5 months ago

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Oct 14, 2009 at 1:19am)

    Dude Randyhate I read Shade ALL THE TIME and I had to restrain myself from including it because I feel like I talk about it nonstop. I'm glad they're finally releasing more trades. I might buy them just to support the book, even though I have all 70 monthlies. Plus, Peter is one of the most awesome people I've ever had the pleasure to hang out with. Kris good call on Doug TenNapel; should have included something of his. What are Tim Tams?

  • 6 months ago

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Sep 9, 2009 at 6:24pm)

    I agree with you that the line between opinion and fact has been dangerously blurred, and I am certainly not arguing to blur it further. I'm arguing for more accountability, not more biased commentary. I think people need to feel they can hold journalists personally accountable to a rigorous standard of fact-checking and thorough analysis--this is where accessibility comes in in a positive way. Sadly it seems that after the advent of the war in Iraq, when many prestigious newspapers simply ran digested versions of White House press releases instead of doing their own investigative journalism, people grew distrustful of the fourth estate in general. Its credibility, along with the whole premise of journalistic objectivity, was badly damaged. I feel that the rise of the so-called 'citizen journalist' is an attempt to rebalance the scales using the more democratic platforms of blogging, listservs etc. So to sum: I am not, nor was I ever, suggesting we needed more empty, biased commentary out there. I'm suggesting that if print media wants to survive the transition to the internet, it has to adopt a culture of greater transparency. These days, people will only pay for information if they feel invested in it.

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Sep 9, 2009 at 12:56pm)

    I disagree. News media shouldn't be a monolith, staffed by people that consumers of news can neither question nor keep honest. In the old news model, you picked up your newspaper every morning, and what was on the front page was what you knew. There was no alternative source of news that provided a different perspective. There was no way to question what you were being told. Today, with torrents of information (and, yes, propaganda) available, people are getting smarter about news consumption. Even on blogs you see people pressing amateur authors for their sources, their information, questioning their train of logic. Is it chaotic? Yes, but chaotic is better than asleep. Even if it gives rise to greater partisanship, I'd rather see millions of people holding news media accountable for what it prints and states than dumbly consuming their daily dose of information from a single (or a few) unquestionable source(s). And accessibility is a huge part of that. "Rome is the mob" as Senator Graccus says in Gladiator. :) And he's right. This is the nature of democracy, and thus the nature of a more democratic production and consumption of information. Keep in mind, if print news was flourishing, we wouldn't need to have this conversation. Clearly people want something they're not getting.

  • 6 months ago

  • willow

    willow has commented on a column. (Sep 7, 2009 at 8:33pm)

    Thanks for the welcome Fletch! Mike, I think you're right that there are other facets of the comics business that help determine the health of the industry...good point about collectibility. David Lapham (author of Young Liars and Silverfish) had some really good thoughts in response to this...he posted them in Twitter so they read kind of like a sonnet: DavidALapham@g_willow YES! People WANT to support stuff they like. For example, the availability of "free music" online. Is this stealing? Hmm... DavidALapham@g_willow Sharing music with others and...um...sampling an album or two now and again has increased my SPENDING at least 10x. DavidALapham@g_willow Letting people read comics for free say, interacting with people is essential. FAns/people understand that this is how we-- DavidALapham@g_willow --make our living. They will eventually buy IF they like. I think these people see that a thousand looked at this thing-- DavidALapham@g_willow --for freea dn we lost a thousand sales. Well no, you got a thousand people to try something if a few like and buy the next-- DavidALapham@g_willow --thing then you're building a following, AND you didn't piss off the other 998 people because you made them spend $5. DavidALapham@g_willow God, 140 characters is not a lot, is it? DavidALapham@g_willow I didn't realize how desperate the newspaper dinosaurs are. Wanting to charge for news people can get elsewhere-- DavidALapham@g_willow --is like charging for air. They lash out like feeble old men, even blaming Craigslist for Crikey's sake. DavidALapham@g_willow It would be sad to see newspapers go, but guess what something else would take their place so fast i doubt anyone would notice.

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