*Disclaimer*

09Jul07

I hate reviews. I hate how they are almost never constructively written. I hate how they are always snarky and filled with sarcasm and negativity. But mostly, mostly I hate the fact that the people who write them exude the fact that they are some how better, more qualified, more talented, and smarter than those they are reviewing. Reviews in places like this and this quite honestly serve no purpose but to kiss the ass or personally demean the works of those being reviewed. There’s essentially no CONSTRUCTIVE crticism in any reviews written for anything any more, but rather it’s just to proved how much more clever the reviewer is than the work being reviewed.

“Those who can’t, review.”

One of my favorite writers, Harlan Ellison, wrote several books chock full of commentary on things he noticed and observed related to situations and thngs going on in the culture around him. Never once do I remeber reading a smart-assed “review” by Mr. Ellison, but rather well but together commentary of things he noticd at the time. WHile I will never be bale to claim to be the prolific and talent that Mr. Ellison is, I hope i can bypass the need to spoil and crticize and prove how much smarter, more clever and over all better a writer I am than those I am trying to “review”.

The first website I visit every morning upon awakening and getting going on my morning ritual activities is The Beat. Heidi MacDonald not only gives commentary everyday, but keeps me informed on things that, now two or three years after I’ve started reading it, keeps m,e informaed and a the very least THINKING about things that I may not have ever thought about and is really a bastion of good journalism in a land that seems to be filled with self-congratulating press releases and attempts to often times seemingly kowtow to the major publishers and people in the “biz”.

I would hope I can stay as relatively snark-free and constructive in my little corner of the interweb as Ms. MacDonald does in her blog. But I plan to make this not just about comic books, but about politics, pop culture, music, and whatever else I see fit. Because as I stated, this is my corner of the interweb to do with what I see fit. What this will be will evolve with time, but what I forsee this being is a place where I can converse with people about the big passions in my life, writing and reading (specifically comic books), music and movies. Without these things, I am nothing.

(Disclaimer:1-A – I cannot possibly promise to be entirely “snark-free” as some do in other sites out there, as being snarky and sarcastic is part of my engrained personality built from the mothership at a very early age. It is too later at my 30 plus years to be unlearned. However, I can promise, nothing you will see here will be a “Review” with stars or plus markes or snarky comments about why it didn’t come home from the comic book store/music store/video store with me. The main thing here will be to accentuate the positive and try to create a dialogue as to why people make DIFFERENT – *don’t read as wrong*- than something I would have done.)

(Disclosure 1-B: I am a DC comics kid. Sure I read other things and companies, but since I was six and read Wolfman/Perez’s New Teen Titans #1, I have been a loyal DC reader and will probably die as one. So when your asking, what is all he reading DC stuff? No not all, but most.)

(Disclosure 1-C: I am not a big Joe Quesada fan. It really doesn’t have as much to do with him being the E-I-C of the “competition” so much as him not understanidng the differences, especially in subtlety of the competition that has existed with the competition from when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby essentially saved a floundering comic company to being the biggest comic company in the country right now. I will give him his props when deserved, but I’m likely to be more critical of him as well. I mean comparing DC to a pornstar with the biggest dick who doesn’t know what to do with it? Have a little class Joe.

Mostly, ThisIsNotAReview is starting, more than anything, because I’m tired of having arguements with 12 year olds on message boards, especially when the immediately devolve into insults and arguements about whose bigger and better. That’s not what i’m interested in. And quite frankly, if I can find just one or two people with similar tastes to mine, who can introduce me to new things, have intellegent conversations about those interests and give me insight I didn’t have all this is worth it.

Enjoy, particpate, engage, and remember…

this is not a review.

Filed under: comics, why we exist   |  1 Comment