Darwyn Cooke is Elijah Craig

So Silver Bullet Comics has a new interview with Darwyn Cooke up. It's good stuff, and hats off to those guys. But I want to talk about it now so here goes. See, Mr. Cooke is like Elijah Craig to me. Who's that? Christ, Google it. OK, fine. He was an early bourbon maker in my old Kentucky home. But I'm not talking about the man. I'm talking about his fine, aged single-batch bourbon. It's just like Darwyn Cooke: intoxicating, rare, and better than you can imagine. His work is just fantastic squared, from his fun Spidey one-shots to the masterful New Frontier. And his interviews are always interesting, as he never holds back or chases his comments with apologies. When he sees something that isn't good, he calls it. I love it.

On comics and the mass market:

Comic creators, editors and publishers would actually have to do their jobs — sell populist fare by the truckload that appealed to the mass market. They would have to give up this tight little circle where people care more about Bruce's feelings than they do whether there's a Batman story actually taking place. They'd have to work all ages with public light cast on the book's actual content, they'd have to compete with better written and produced entertainment from other media. Books that didn't sell would die. "Creators" who couldn't meet a monthly schedule would be restricted to specials and one-shots. Public taste and trends would have to be embraced. The precious superhero would have to share the stage with other more relevant genres like Romance, Crime, Horror, Humour and the like. Dicks like Kevin Smith would have to save their juvenile, oral-sex innuendo for something other than a mainstream DC comic.

The comic book industry in America is a cottage industry aimed at a very exclusive audience. That's why they don't sell. For 20 years, Hollywood has been making millions off comic properties and the zombies chant about how it will translate in sales... and it never does. Because the comics are cryptic, inaccessible, overpriced and aimed at anything other than a mass market.

If I could, I'd change the subtitle of our blog to that. Perfect.

This may as well have been in my cynicism post:

NASO: Why do you think deconstruction is so popular right now?

COOKE: Because its much easier to write, and it is servicing an aging, bored market that wants it.

And here's the kicker, emphasis mine:

When NF was wrapping up, my editor, Mark Chiarello, suggested that I consider a monthly. I pitched DC two ideas for a monthly I would write and draw; one involving a Spy/Espionage unit that was on the periphery of the DCU and the other was a real hard assed, straight, no chaser Batman arc where I had about six original villains I would roll out. My caveats where that I wouldn't have to contend with "event" crossovers, and that it be an A-list book. With DC's plans for the next while, there wasn't room for either of these things to happen. My plate is very full with a few other things right now, so it's all good, and Dan and I will probably talk more in the future as areas open up.

Words can't express. Darwyn Cooke pitches two ongoings and fucking Identity Countdown Crapshitty takes precedence? Oh, Didiotic DC. When will you learn? My little brain may never read these fine works now, because they didn't "fit in" with the DCU. They didn't fit in with rape and graphic babymurder. In other words, they were good. Nice going, DC Editorial. I can't wait for the wonderful things that will be there instead of these books. Let's see what secret government plant is watching superheroes, cause that's really interesting. How about all the villains get together (again)? Or maybe the Spectre will do something no one gives a shit about! MY GLEE IS OVERWHELMING!