Fun_GildaFinal_Dvp

These are development sketches for Gilda.

So I picked up an issue of the Rumpus Monday night and flipped to its only section worth reading: Remedial Media. I was flattered to see our humble comics section mentioned, leading off with praise for jack kelly's comic, "ydn". But the segment attempted to mock Herald Comics as being just as ugly and unfunny as YDN comics. I intend on sending the editor a letter, and this is me collecting my thoughts.

The Rumpus can criticize the Record for being unfunny because the Rumpus is funny/er and the Record is basically not funny; no one's going to dispute that. The Rumpus can criticize the YDN and the Herald's writing because it is objectively bad at times--misinformation, misquotes and other measurable flaws running counter to the publications' very purpose for existing. No one can deny these shortcomings and thus the Rumpus is indisputably justified in calling them out.

However in this issue, although they concede jack's "unfunny" comic is actually, in fact funny (take that, Herald EIC!), they chastise me, Herald Comics Editor, for not putting the same disclaimer on all Herald Comics. That means the anonymous Wizard(s) of Odd behind Remedial Media find Herald Comics neither beautiful nor funny. This is where the Rumpus loses its footing: they can't just say that and expect anyone with eyes and the ability to read to simply accept that judgment because--guess what?--Herald Comics are beautiful and funny reliably. This is not just my opinion; unrelated Yalies also believe this. IvyGate brought out passionate Yalies to despise YDN comics and their unfunny ugliness while some valiantly, independently lauded the Herald's superior comics in the bottom comments section of this IvyGate article, which has nothing to do with the Herald at all.

In addition, I get positive feedback in person from people I don't even know just while walking around. They approach me just to let me know they enjoy my stuff. Other Herald artists have similar experiences. Clearly Herald Comics can't be blanketly dismissed by some Remedial writer pathetically trying to make fun of something clearly not nigh unanimously disliked like Record/YDN/Herald writing.

The segment came across as desperate because it tried (and failed) to mock Herald Comics. It would be like me trying to tell Michael Jordan he can't play basketball for beans. Who am I to speak? I can't even play--and even after Michael invited me to play, I refused (still waiting for Rumpus comics). But I have the gall to criticize and even attempt to mock Jordan by lumping him in the same class as some C-string Ivy League basketballer? It's quite sad that the Rumpus would fail so outrageously at what they normally excell at--they even included a four-letter word, which is guaranteed comedy gold, you know. If you're doing insult comedy, you ought to do it well or you defeat the purpose.


So I renew my challenge to the Rumpus: if you think you know comics, I dare you to demonstrate what a good comic would look like under Herald conditions--meaning no blue Rumpus humor, and if you want to be truly authentic, you'd have at most 12 hours to create it in. So be funny, be beautiful, and be tactful, or kindly be quiet.

And to close, me and the rest of the Herald Comics staff have certainly earned the right to mock YDN comics because every single week we prove that we know what we're doing, while every single day the YDN proves it does not. Rumpus, you have no credibility in our world, so put up or shut up (please).

Best wishes otherwise,

Reuxben