Legendary Woodsman

An opinion article about sexism in comics was brought to my attention through the social media circles and it inspired some really passionate responses from my fellow cartoonists. When I read the article, it triggered my analytical side and it reminded me of a story I read in junior high.

The story is basically about:

A Wife, who was murdered by an Assassin, hired by her Husband, because she was having an affair with her Lover, and she would have lived if the Boatman had taken her across the river for free.

Each character shares some responsibility in the death; however, who the reader chooses as most responsible depends on his/her ranking of ideals.

Which brings me back to comics: If comics are in dire straits, who is responsible?

• Is it the publishers or syndicates for failing to market the comic or dropping a high-quality comic because the sales are low?
• Is it the distributors for setting a sales minimum or refusing to carry certain comics?
• Is it the retail stores for not having enough variety, display space, knowledge of the product, or customer service.
• Is it the readers for failing to buy enough comics or comic related merchandise?
• Is it the creators for making a sub-standard product?
• Or, is it the other media competing for people’s attention?

The simple answer is that it’s all of the above and more (because I’m sure I forgot to mention something). So maybe the real question is who is MOST responsible and we’ll come out with one clear answer that everyone will agree with. Yes. Once we affix the blame, all our problems will be solved.

-tony