This is an interesting Johnny Carson biography that was released recently. It gives a good overview of both Carson's personal and professional life. And the book itself has an interesting backstory. It was started by one author through the early 2000s, who passed away, then completed by a protege. My only (minor) complaint, is that it has a lot of episode minutiae that I wasn't interested in.. verbatim documenting of specific interviews and bits from over the years.
All that said, there was a great Carson insight in this bio.. Carson was definitely a talented man, but he recognized that talent & hard work are still not guarantees for professional and artistic success. On page 82, Carson's quoted: "I don't believe the old showbiz cliche' that your talent will be discovered if you only keep at it. I don't think there's much truth to that at all, because you see too many people grinding away year after year."
Bringing me to a broader point, about the state of underground comics. I've seen firsthand (talented and talentless) artists grinding in this genre for many years. And part of the demand is that small press & underground artists have to double as both creators and salesmen/hype men. And it's a multitask that usually doesn't come naturally. These are fields that usually have differing personality types. In high level sports, you typically have a talented athlete, paired with talented agents who market & solicit on behalf of the athlete.. same concept with acting, and a lot of other entertainment fields. But in the world of underground art & music.. the creators are typically having to do both, and it usually does not end (financially or logistically) well.
Here's Carson, an authoritative source on creative success stating a blunt truth.. you can work hard in entertainment, for years, and never make it anywhere financially. And I think this is difficult for some people outside of creative endeavors to understand.. because they only view artistic value & success by financial results. Y'know, the old cliche' where people are asking, "when are you gonna give up the band, and get a real job?"
Carson did have a practical plan to that attitude, he told himself if he couldn't progress within a year's time, he would head back to Nebraska. But who knows if that's true. His love of entertaining may have keep him aspiring around LA for years. And Carson did appreciate & understand the opportunities he received. The book documents them, and I think that realization is implied in Carson's quote I referenced.
Another trend I see in the small press game.. is there is a heavy criticism of DC & Marvel. Not just for their business practices (which I don't really have an opinion on..), but on their content and ideology. And I'm with these critics, when they say it is dumb to have ten different Spidermen. But there are a lot of small press creators who hate DC & Marvel now, but then release their own (almost) identical content of superheroes, vampires, vigilantes, etc.. but just of lower quality. And that's no insult against 'em, they don't have the benefit of an assembly line of inkers, writers, etc. I'm rooting for the independent comic books. But if you're going to go it alone, why replicate art that you believe sucks?
contact- nat.rain@gmail.com
