Bill Watterson on 'The Cheapening of Comics'

Wow, you have got to read this speech given by Calvin and Hobbes cartooninst, Bill Watterson in 1989 about the state of newspaper comics and cartooning. He reveals the sad realities of the world of comics and how the industry is shaped by business interests who care little about the artistic integrity of the work and are only concerned with making money at any price. I don’t know how much has changed since 1989, but I have a feeling little has. This is the age of the corporations, after all. And in many industries, like book publishing, movies, TV, and cartoons, it is the corporations who act as gatekeepers (or sometimes pimps) and who dictate who gets a shot and who doesn’t. Things seem especially bad for cartoonists because the syndicates make them give up ownership of their creations, and they are seen as replaceable and interchangeable instead of being treated as artists who deserve respect and creative freedom.