Tag Archives: The Roundtable Has Pants

The Roundtable Has Pants: Pantless Pants

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Being a critic is kind of like writing an autobiography.  It’s an arrogant act to say, Listen to meeeee, for what I say is important!

The thing is, what I say isn’t all that important.  I’m not going to be in the majority on this one, and I doubt that many people will care about my opinion one way or the other in the grand scheme of things.  This particular comic has been praised by lots of big names and it’s liked by lots of people, and their voices have more impact than mine, and….I’m fine with that, actually.

I’m explaining that not because it’s suddenly all humility hour here at HU (are you kidding?), but because situating myself in the reality of my impact and the smallness of my perspective’s importance is the first step in analyzing The Years Have Pants. Continue reading →

Isaac Cates on The Playwright

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In sync with our Years Have Pants roundtable, Isaac Cates looks at page rhythms in Daren White and Eddie Campbell’s The Playwright.

Scroll down for some comments there by Mr. White and Mr. Campbell themselves!

As you may have noticed, our roundtable paused today — but we should pick up tomorrow and go through Saturday, with hopefully another bit next week.

The Roundtable Has Pants: Garooga

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Greetings, Hooded Utilitarians. My name is Casey Rae-Hunter, and I’m a so-and-so who lives in Washington, DC. Both personally and professionally, my karma sees to it that I wrangle with issues at the intersection of creativity, policy and technology. I also wear pants, which have been known to have years, and vice versa.

It is my sincere hope that my twaddle in no way corrupts my fellow roundtablers’ insights and illuminations. And if it does, I can only offer a heartfelt GAROOGA!

Continue reading →

The Roundtable Has Pants. And They Are Cranky.

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I’d hoped to put this post later in the week and run more positive assessments first. But bumps occurred, and here we are. For Campbell fans, I’d urge you to read Suat’s preamble for a more loving assessment, or check out Robert Stanley Martin or Charles Hatfield for discussions of the Playwright. And of course the roundtable here runs all week.
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Eddie Campbell’s “How To Be An Artist” ends with Campbell writing an angry letter to the Comics Journal excoriating them for mistaking a Bill Sienkiewicz drawing for a Stan Drake drawing in the latter’s obituary.

Continue reading →

Charles Hatfield on The Playwright

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At The Panelists, Charles Hatfield discusses the Playwright. Here’s an excerpt:

Billed as a comedy about “the sex life of a celibate middle-aged man,” The Playwright is an austere book about an austere life: a life lived at a remove, so to speak, one of productive loneliness, sexlessness, distance, and disconnection. As if to match, the book is narrated in a kind of arid, emotionless third person, and the main characters lack names. There are no balloons, only boxed captions. You can feel the chill.

Go read it! We’ll have more Campbellania here later today….