See You In The Funny Papers

By Mark Bittmann

Well, I guess it had to happen.

I actually ran out of words and am ready to silence my considerable mouth for what may very well be the first time in my life. You see, after much soul-searching, I have decided to call it quits for now and cede my weekly spot on the SBC columnist registry to another.

It was fun while it lasted, but I’m afraid I no longer have the spare time to devote to a weekly deadline, in addition to my no longer feeling the desire to devote my free time to writing about my hobby of comic book collecting, as it is not nearly the only thing that I’m interested in writing about and I find my passions more adequately stirred by the possibility of taking a crack at writing a novel in an unrelated genre. Yes, I’m gonna take a crack at writing the “Great American Novel’ and see if I have what it takes to be published. Who knows? Maybe I’ll come up with something remotely original, or at least inspired by successful novelists and I can then begin stringing together words for a living.

In addition to feeling the urge to expand my literary horizons, I find myself more and more in need of comic books as an escape from current events in American society. The more my government alienates the rest of the planet, the more I feel like relegating comic books to a mere hobby and utilized as an escape from reality instead of playing a larger role in my everyday life. In my estimation there would be nothing worse than bastardizing my love of comic books by making a chore out of my love for them, which is how I’m starting to feel about tossing off several thousand words a month writing about something as relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things as comic books. In other words, the fact that George W. Bush, the neoconservative pea-brains holding his strings and their collective assault on the Bill of Rights, privacy and the environment in their unconscionable zeal to further enrich their already wealthy supporters has made me more concerned with things political than comic of late. Not particularly interested in living in a society ‘of the wealthy, by the wealthy and for the wealthy’, as seems to be their agenda, thanks.

As a result, I need comic books to take me away from it all more than ever. I need them to just be there for me as a way to check out of the lies and obfuscations being perpetuated by the goose-stepping, right-wing, Bush propaganda machine (could FOX “news” and the 1,200 radio stations owned by Clear Channel be any more biased in their piety to the Republican agenda? I don’t think so!) and into a universe of characters I take comfort in following the adventures of for no reason other than it makes me happy to do so. At this point, if I continue to devote precious time to writing about them and the comic book world, I’m afraid I will begin to assess the reality of the industry surrounding them and become a negative voice for comics instead of a positive one. There are enough naysayers in this industry as it is, without me contributing to the already general feeling of negativity in the comic book world. Frankly, the state of the comic book industry and the discouraging politics that permeate it and are made public enough as it is (see Turner vs. Top Cow for the latest discouraging view) and I’d just as soon be blissfully ignorant of the behind-the-scenes gossip and skullduggery for now. The last thing I need is to be further discouraged by the system of politics related to a hobby that’s meant to play a role in helping me to escape from reality and into a place of familiar comfort. That I don’t need.

Thus, to the chagrin of some and probably delight of many, I believe it’s time to hang up my hat and take an extended leave from my byline. Don’t Get Me Started may return in a different form here at SBC some day and in the meantime, I may find the inspiration to crank out a Silver Soapbox opinion here and there (count on it when the surely awful third installment of the Star Wars series is released to predictably bad reviews…unless someone else is responsible for writing and directing it. Also, SBC editorial permitting, I will weigh in on the likely astounding final chapter of the Lord of the Rings as well.

It has been a blast and privilege having the opportunity to (hopefully) entertain and maybe even enlighten the occasional reader, I haven’t a single regret for anything I’ve written, as I’ve only written opinions in which I thoroughly believe. How I got away with it for as long as I did without being pilloried is beyond me. Must not have pressed the right buttons…although the above comments regarding America’s simpleton-in-chief and his endlessly corrupt administration may raise a hackle or two…not that I care.

So, without further ado, I’d like to thank Jason Brice for being patient enough with an enraged fan to realize the potential in letting said fan pony up to the Silver Soapbox column and put his vitriol where his keyboard is, resulting in my being a weekly contributor for lo these last couple of years. Thanks also go to my gracious and attentive editor Craig Lemon, truly a fine chap and interesting human being if there ever was one in addition to being someone I have since come to consider a friend. I must also thank my friends Darrell and Chris, two real life gentlemen, loyal readers and friends whose opinions I considered when evaluating just what kind of person my core audience consists of. The way I always figured it is if these guys and myself like what I’m writing, maybe other SBC readers will too. And talk about loyal; Darrell has a hard copy of everything I’ve ever written (more than I can say) and every week Chris (a co-worker) has been the one to inform me whenever my latest piece was posted. Thanks for the inspiration and support guys. Probably couldn’t have done it for two years without you.

So, until I’m invited to submit a rant for everyone’s perusal and subsequent derision ….see you in the funny papers.



Copyright 2003 Mark A. Bittmann