Comic Commentary Week Deux: 5

click to enlarge - copyright 2012 John Kovalic

This was just posted the other day.  I wondered if Dork Tower was going to comment on the  Mars landing  this week.*

I like  Dork Tower  for much the same reason that I like the show Big Bang Theory - not necessarily because I espouse everything in the show, but because, by and large, these are "my people".  I'm not the guy who dresses up and goes to Comic Con, though I AM the guy who knows what Comic Con is, has a small collection of vintage comic books, likes other nerdy stuff like Star Wars AND Star Trek** and computers (PC, none of this Mac nonsense - that's for non-nerds, or nerd wannabes...heh) and gaming and epic fantasy Lord of the Rings kind of stuff and, well, if you're much of a reader of this blog, well, you know...  The stuff of Dork Tower - and BBT...

So, having said all that, let me comment on this particular comic.  I get it.  I FEEL this way sometimes.  The "news" these days is either all about entertainment (I'm talking to you morning shows), opinion (Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Anderson Cooper, whoever...I don't watch 'em), or the sensational.  So, when something absolutely tragic happens like the shootings in Aurora, Colorado we get minute by minute updates, live interviews with people who were miles away - but willing to be interviewed... ANYTHING to keep the tragedy current.  And, apparently, nothing else happens in the world during these crises.  At the top of the hour they might break in with something minor (like landing on freaking Mars) but, otherwise, it's all about the most salacious, most sensational and gripping images (and, if necessary, audio) they can fill the screen with.  And if nothing tragic happens, then invite a celebrity to talk politics or some kid who had a YouTube video go viral to talk about...well...how it has "changed his life" or get a band to play or (argh, Fox News does this, it seems like all the time) have some cheerleaders on just to be, you know, in skimpy outfits but that's okay, 'cause this is the NEWS...

Sigh...

The cool thing about the Mars landing was you could  watch it live (if you wanted to get up at 1:30 AM) if you wanted to online.  And you can get actual news online if you really want.  The thing is... Mostly what we want is, well, salacious, sensational, celebrity, opinion, entertainment... or the news shows wouldn't show that stuff...

So, who is really at fault here?
















*This comic was posted the morning of the landing.
**This is supposed to be impossible, I know, I can't help it - I'm a walking contradiction...  Check out the 224 comments to just this one article/


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