Bill Lentz has two questions for me. Let's see if I can come up with two answers…
I subscribe to both of the (mainstream?) comics pages and enjoy daily doses of some classic comic strips, in addition to current strips, as part of my morning coffee routine. Feels like when I used to read the paper over breakfast. Dawned on me the other day that Pogo is not an option and figured you might be the guy to ask why.
No one has asked. It may have something to do with the fact that Pogo is not affiliated with any current syndicate, whereas a lot of old strips are still offered about by King Features or one of the others. It also might have something to do with the fact that Pogo was sometimes very much of its time period. But the simple answer is that no one has asked.
I don't think this is a "political" question, but ignore it if you do. Your opinions on societal matters generally mirror mine, but you're much better at providing a reasoned basis for your opinion than I am. How do you deal with the issue of "love the art, hate the artist" and the related issue of racist or non-PC tropes in entertainment? Cosby immediately comes to mind, but as an amateur musician, there are plenty that I run into — Richard Wagner, Frank Rosolino, Phil Spector, just to name a few.
Well, to begin with, it's different when the artist is alive and maybe, like Cosby, still trying to rehabilitate his image. Wagner is not going to profit if I buy a CD of his work. There was much to admire about Bill Cosby as a performer but it's not so much that I have tried to cancel out his career as that his actions have canceled out any chance of my enjoying it. But I was never such a huge fan of his that it's a struggle for me to not buy any work he may ever put out or attend any appearances he may ever make. And it's even easier since it seems unlikely he's ever going to try to do those things again.
You kind of have to deal with these issues on a case-by-case basis. If I believed the accusation (there's only really one) against Woody Allen, I might not feel like watching any of his movies. Since I don't believe the accusation, I don't have a problem here and don't know how I'd feel if there was convincing proof out there. Some things you can overlook and some things you can't.
I know some unflattering things about some folks in the comic book and entertainment industries. Once in a while, the negative things I know interfere with my ability to enjoy their work. Sometimes, they don't. But often we walk a fine line — I do, anyway — between thinking someone is the Antichrist and feeling sorry for them. And sometimes, I see some contrition and sometimes, that affects how I feel about the person.
If they're deceased or alive and no longer in any position to do the bad things they did, I'm more open to viewing their good work as good work. But like I said, it works on a case-by-case basis. I don't have any blanket policy and sometimes, I'm surprised at what still bothers me and what doesn't. I guess I'm not of much help on this matter.
