Why add one more voice to the cacophany of comic book reviews? Comic book magazines like Wizard Magazine, Comics International, and others review comics monthly. Independent fanzines give their opinions on a less regular basis. The web is flooded with sites commenting on comics and graphic novels. I link to several of my favorites from Chickity China. Isn’t that enough?
It would be plenty, if reviewers were willing to be critical. I know that I’ve just let loose a pretty big generality, but it mostly holds true. Many reviewers are trying to break into the industry themselves or are dependent in some way upon comic book publishers. Intertwined so closely with writers, artists, and publishers, the reviewers are unable to give an opinion free from limitations. When is the last time you saw a truly thorough and unprejudiced review from Wizard? How about any of the other major comic news sources? Are they telling you a lot of books are dog squeeze, or are they claiming the industry is producing mostly good material? I’m betting on the latter.
The few sites that Chickity China links to all provide critical reviews, and they are worth a good read. They’re worth it because they give honest reviews of books, not hesitating to point out poor storytelling and substandard art. This kind of self-policing is necessary for comic books to survive the many new entertainment mediums competing for our attention. (More on this in a later post.) I want Chickity China to be a valuable part of the community, holding comic creators to crafting quality works. Expect critical reviews of new and slightly older material soon.