Spiegelman resigns from the New Yorker in protest
Art Spiegelman, probably the most lionized "alternative" comics artist ever, has resigned from the New Yorker in protest of self-censorship.
"The editor of the The New Yorker, David Remnick, was shocked when I announced my resignation. He attempted to dissuade me. But I told him that the kind of work that I'm now interested in doing is not suited to the present tone of The New Yorker. And seeing that we are living in extremely dangerous times, I don't feel like stooping to compromise."Spiegelman goes on to describe the New Yorker as "a wonderful magazine, mind you, with delightful and refined covers, but also incredibly deferential to the present administration."
This is certainly a wake-up call to New Yorker readers like me who loved Spiegelman's work for the magazine (unlike some -- "the great majority of the readers who adore the warm and relaxing bath of their accustomed New Yorker were very upset by the `shock treatment' of my covers", says Spiegelman). I suppose I'd started to see the New Yorker as a voice of reason -- critical of Bush and skeptical about the wars, while carefully avoiding the knee-jerk stridency of peacenik/lefty sources whose over-the-top rhetoric and openness to conspiracy theories undermine their credibility. Spiegelman's protest should remind us to look for places where the New Yorker is soft on Bush and where harsher voices might be right, despite their excesses of tone.
If the New Yorker has any 'nads it will give Spiegelman a page or two for a resignation note in comics format. He's been an important enough figure there to deserve it, and heaven knows the New Yorker writes about itself often enough in happier moments.
Meanwhile, Spiegelman's next project is called "In the Shadow of No Towers" and its only online presence is this short excerpt at The Forward. (Or is it online in Europe somewhere?)
