Sure, I like The Comics Journal, but do I like like it? Okay, yes, I do, and for a variety of reasons.
First of all, it’s a leisurely reading experience. It’s nothing to be consumed in a single sitting, and that’s all to the good. Full of chunky, thoughtful articles on a range of topics, I certainly get my ten bucks back. TCJ 266 arrived (Fantagraphics Books) last week, and it inches me ever closer to just subscribing already. (At the same time, it’s something I really want to see carried regularly in the local shop, so I should just put it on the pull list.)
While the prospect of a really long interview with Brian Michael Bendis made me kind of tired, I thought Michael Dean did a nice job keeping things moving. It was nice to see Bendis in a more contemplative mode, unlike his Internet persona. It doesn’t change my opinion of his current output, but it’s nice to see him talk about his work and the industry at length and with depth. (Quick question: how did Dean and Bendis manage to go through 40 pages of interview without actually calling The Pulse by its actual name? I miss Alias as much as anyone, but that seemed kind of odd, given that Alias hasn’t been in publication for over a year.)
Dean’s continuing look at online comics journalism is solid reading, even if Dean does seem to be fairly certain of the answer to the question he poses (“Does It Exist?” “Not Really.”) It’s timely, too, given the drubbing Rich Johnston took from Bendis and Joe de Quesada during their occupation of Newsarama not too long ago. The look at Scheherazade’s printing woes (Dean again) was fascinating to me, in part because I know so little about the actual process.
Now we come to the central value judgment I make over just about every periodical: does it make me want to buy something? (“Buy something” in this case is a catch-all phrase that stands for “read something,” “travel somewhere,” “try a recipe,” etc.) And, yes, unfortunately, it does. And I have. (Curse the hypnotic power of Tom Spurgeon with his review of the Bone: One Volume Edition.) With a somewhat limited selection of comics to choose from locally, TCJ provides an enticing look at titles that aren’t likely to show up on my shop’s shelves. (Note to self: order The Walking Man and Carnet de Voyage at earliest financial convenience.)
I do have a quibble (maybe it’s more than a quibble) with TCJ’s critical approach to manga. There seems to be a tendency to isolate the manga titles they like from the herd by characterizing the remainder in some fairly stereotypical ways (“big eyes and manic speedlines” get name-checked in one review). It would be nice if a book could be praised entirely on its own merits without the implicit criticism of so much of its kin. (And, honestly, big eyes and speedlines aren’t an automatic indicator that a manga title is without merit.)
But overall, TCJ is a wonderful resource and, more often than not, illuminating, satisfying reading. I like like it.