Comments on: Kuwata controversy roundup

by: mesothelioma

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:18:27 +0000

Great Blog!

by: Smartcard Manager

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:25:27 +0000

Thanks for helping us out!

by: not Mike Carlin

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:25:10 +0000

Oh, god. Did Spurgeon come by to pee in the cornflakes again?

by: Steve

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:22:06 +0000

I’m a Superman collector with a bit of interest in obscure Japanese Superman items like Menko cards, so I was excited to see Bat-manga on the shelf at my local comic shop. However, I thought the book was really, really disappointing; too many manga and not enough pictures of toys and oddities, in my opinion. Maybe he couldn’t find enough to fill a book, but it just seemed wrong. I’m not all worked up about the lack of a cover credit, but it just seemed to me that the book was a reprint of Japanese Batman comics with some cool pictures interspersed, not the Batman Collected: Japan that I was expecting.

Kidd’s design style really appeals to me, but I like pop art, too. There are times I wish, though, that he did something different; maybe he is, but I’m not exposed to it, but all I seem to see in his work, over and over are big close-up pictures of comics and toys and ephemera, showing the Ben Day dots and printing flaws and aging and visually conveying the sense of history and time and nostalgia and wonder. I get it. It’s a really good note he’s playing, but it’s still just one note. Kind of like Chris Ware.

by: rev-d

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:23:44 +0000

All I know is that Jiro’s credited on the belly band of the HC back cover, which (for American readers unaccustomed to Flipping) is the first thing they’ll see when searching for credits: Batman shouting about how awesome Kuwata is.

Not that I’m buying the HC, esp. not at $60. But it looks nice and does seem to give credit where credit’s due. Sure, the principle artist’s not the headliner, but damn… This has been something of an overreaction on almost all sides.

Makes me wonder what Kuwata’s opinion is. And whether we’ll hear about it before the outrage fizzles.

by: Jesse Post

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:10:45 +0000

Actually, this book reminds me of Chip Kidd’s and Art Spiegelman’s amazing book on Jack Cole and Plastic Man. Though it has a lot of comic pages it’s a book about the art and the artist and Chip Kidd’s contribution was intrinsic to its value. The interior page design directly complements Spiegelman’s words and it adds emotional weight to what you’re reading, to the point where the words and comics are both abandoned for Kidd’s trippy design work that makes your head spin. I love that book. What were we talking about again?

Oh yeah. Chip Kidd made this book so he’s the author of the book, not the comics the book is about. Sorry. Everyone should go read that Jack Cole book, man-oh-man.

by: Ben May

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:19:06 +0000

Yawn.

by: Fred

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:04:42 +0000

Actually, I think I agree that Chip Kidd and the other 2 names on the cover shouldn’t be there or it should be prefaced with an appropriate credit line. He didn’t write it; He probably did more than just collect whats in it; He probably did more than just edit it. Maybe it should say “A Chip Kidd Project” like “A Spike Lee Joint”. This way he gets credit for being the one who gave a shit to make the book in the first place, and he isn’t supposedly taking credit where credit isn’t due and can avoid being crucified for it.

Either way it makes no difference to me. I’m not interested in the book or even Chip Kidd in general.

by: Tom Spurgeon

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:12:51 +0000

I hate that Zeitgeist guy!

by: Mark Engblom

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:59:08 +0000

I think the catnip of “The Afflicted Cog vs. The Corporate Machine” meme is so irresistable to some that the familiar “X screws over Y” template is applied in increasingly random and reckless ways.

If the name of Chip Kidd can expose more people to the work of Kuwata, while at the same time making it perfectly clear whose work the book reprints, what the hell is the harm?

Honestly, toss the template and get some perspective. Surely there’s another Cog waiting for justice from the Pundit Posse.

by: Adam Farrar

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:52:30 +0000

Kuwata only drew/wrote most of the material in the book, so the book isn’t really BY him.
Anne Ishii only translated it, so the book isn’t not really BY her.
The toy makers only made the toys, so the book isn’t really BY them.
The photographers of the toys only took photos of the toys, so the book isn’t really BY them.
Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear, and Saul Ferris only collected the material and editted the book, so the book isn’t not really BY them.

Pantheon printed the book, so the book is BY Pantheon.

No one else should have their names on the cover. Or inside the cover.

All Hail Pantheon! Who produces books from aether!

by: rich

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:48:17 +0000

“The only thing “cookie-cutter” here is the trumped-up drama and manufactured controversies of the usual pracing peacocks of punditry.”

Nahh … it’s the design that’s cookie cutter.

Let’s magnify a comic panel 1000% so you can see all the printer’s dots. Ugh.

by: Tommy

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:22:08 +0000

Kuwata created the stories for a Japanese Magazine. Chip Kidd created the book using those stories. The forward to the book gives praise & full credit to Kuwata. They even printed a full-page interview of him! The fact that some fanboys are crying over Kuwata not getting cover credit is kinda stupid. Yes, he drew/wrote the artwork/stories…but is it a book BY Chip kidd.

On a side note I gotta say that the book is simply amazing! It’s extremely well-designed & a total pleasure to read. The fact that it also has many color photos of vintage Japanese toys is just a bonus. Overall, it’s a GREAT book!

BATMAN FAN? Visit The Bat-Blog!
http://www.bat-blog.com

Thanks, Tommy

by: Jepsen

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:12:00 +0000

I have a feeling the Manga-ka doesn’t really care.

by: Joe S. Walker

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:06:56 +0000

This is simply a matter of figures: what proportion of the book consists of pages by Kuwata? Above a quite low figure he’s a co-author: at approx 80% he’s the primary author - whether he’s credited as such or not.

by: snoid

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:59:23 +0000

“Your outrage is meaningless, your arguments are worthless, your complaints invalid.”-Chris Butcher

Ha that’s GREAT! I wanna t-shirt with that on it.

by: James Van Hise

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:45:30 +0000

The problem is that Chip Kidd and the others apparently thought their contribution was MORE important that the person who occupies 80% of the book. This is vanity. I’ve seen people before who believed that anything they did on a project was the most important part because they’re the ones who did it.

by: James

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:30:15 +0000

blog-comment renegade ephraim doesn’t think a writer being unable to “write for shit” is “inherently a bad thing”? Merciless Pylons!

by: Mark Engblom

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:03:17 +0000

“Actually, he’s not a great designer. Place all of his books on your coffee-table, side-by-side, and you’re see the cookie-cutter front cover designs. That’s just the beginning, and from there it goes downhill.”

I completely disagree. Kidd is a fantastic designer and has done some great things for comics and their rich history.

The only thing “cookie-cutter” here is the trumped-up drama and manufactured controversies of the usual pracing peacocks of punditry.

by: Steve Taylor

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:02:30 +0000

My comments about Kuwata’s contribution to his own work were meant as a bit of a joke. Although, it is my impression that manga can be as assembly line as American comics are/were/have been, with a number of folks doing a number of things. (One artist for backgrounds,..one artist for figures,…that sort of thing.)
Chipp’s name on the cover is one of the main reasons I’m interested in this book.
It is my impression that aside from being a fairly interesting book cover designer-type-guy, that he is also a Batman-related collector. No?

by: gene phillips

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:52:48 +0000

BobH: If DC was willing to fire Mike Barr way back when for having stated, as a DC employee, that Finger co-created Batman, then DC’s not likely to change that policy today for a reprint that, as others pointed out, isn’t even strictly a DC publication.

Evan: I think Kidd’s name might have some cachet for some buyers, though yes, the Caped Crusader’s the major attraction.

Ephraim: If you’re making money at it, you’re not just a fan anymore.

by: ephraim

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:45:32 +0000

Let’s make one thing clear: you and your merry band of bloggers might be “critics, journalists and publishing professionals”—but you are still FANBOYS.

you obsess about details, you can’t write for shit, you pile on mercilessly—you are fucking FANBOYS.

not that this is inherently a bad thing—but please don’t pretend otherwise.

by: Evan

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:34:40 +0000

If nothing else I still chuckle over how Kidd thinks its HIS name that’s the selling point for the book.

I bought the book purely because “Its Batman stories never collected before!” and as a Batman comics collector/reader, that’s my (and I’m sure many others who do find the book) reason.

Next thing you know he’ll be taking credit for Final Crisis cause he designed the covers!

The subject matter is the important factor here!

And another response to Butcher:

Considering DC has had NOTHING to do with this proejct (Kidd even stated when he talked to Levitz about it Mr. Levitz had no idea that not only did these comics exist, but DC gave licensing out to make them in the 60’s) using them as the legal author is BS.

DC’s completely out of the loop in this one instance.

by: Jepsen

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:05:20 +0000

This is all really quibbling about cover credit. The manga-ka does get credit inside, as does the translator. Yeah, they could have put him on the cover, in fact they should have. But its not a big deal. This is a book that complements Kidd’s other Batman books, so he’s credited on the cover. The design of the book is half of the book’s joy and Kidd did resurrect them. The manga-ka gets an interview and is celebrated within the pages of the book. He’s not dishonored, he’s not forgotten, but he is not credited. The crime is a quibble which can be fixed in the sequel. But I don’t think its anything too terrible. This isn’t like what happened to Jack Kirby, Bill Finger or Steve Ditko, the credits are inside the book.

by: Simon Jones

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:35:47 +0000

Holy smokes. People are now questioning Kuwata’s level of contribution to his own work?

Suddenly, I’m starting to see Laura Hudson’s point about proper attribution.

by: Steve Taylor

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:19:14 +0000

I’m wondering if Bob Kane got cover credit on BATMAN COLLECTED? Because even though eighty percent of the books contents weren’t Kane’s graphics a lot of the material represented was based on his graphics. That is,…taking into account that eighty percent of Kane’s graphics were done by other artists.
Work for hire is work for hire. I wonder how much of the work reprinted in Kidd’s current book was actually done by Kuwata?

by: Dave Knott

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:39:59 +0000

Scratch the above. I was totally wrong about that.

by: Dave Knott

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:36:36 +0000

Bob and Peter,
For many of the reprint projects by the companies that you mention, the content is licensed material. Royalties are the responsibility of whoever owns the copyright, which in such cases is the licensor. The company issuing the reprints pays licensing fees with the expectation that some of portion of those fees will find its way to the hands of the creator (or their families).

by: Peter Krause

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:30:45 +0000

Very true, BobH. IDW won’t be paying me for a Star Trek reprint they will be publishing this year–even though I did the original pencils.

by: BobH

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:26:13 +0000

Is Bill Finger credited anywhere in the book for co-creating Batman? If not, that seems kind of wrong…

Anyway, it’s good to hear that at least they sent some of the money from the book to the artist. That’s a lot better than many publishers reprinting comics in recent years (Checker, Dark Horse, IDW, Fantagraphics, Marvel to name a few I’ve heard of).