Byran Talbot wrote:

"I happen to like Dave"

Jeez, I'm glad he doesn't "like" me.

I've said everything I have to say about Talbot's work, and it's unfair to take continued shots against a guy who's said he's not going to defend himself. But nothing BT has said here alters my beliefs about what was done, as exemplified in this early statement of mine from 10-3:

"Dave Sim certainly did himself no favors in hurling two or three unfounded accusations at Gary Groth, but why are his unfounded accusations the only thing at which fandom takes umbrage?

Talbot (maybe relaying stories told him by Smith, who the fuck knows) put a story into print that accuses Sim of being a pissy little coward. Maybe he is and maybe he isn't, but the accusation's no less unfounded than anything Sim said to Groth."

Did you need to say this? We know.

I said it for those who are slow of mind.

Even without the quotes on 'like', there's little chance that you'd have to worry about that. From Talbot or anyone else.

Let's face it, you're just not very likable.

I like Gene, sort of. But I don't really know why.

K

:rolleyes:

Just for the record, this is from Dave's new letter to Gary Groth:



K

It really was very nice of Bryan Talbot to visit us here; hope you enjoyed it, Mr. Talbot!

So, the central point he seems to be making is that THE NAKED ARTIST is "a book of intentionally silly anecdotes which I take many pains at pointing out aren't necessarily TRUE."

Not having read the book, I can't judge just how explicitly Talbot took those pains, but it's hard to argue with the premise when stated that baldly. Basically, none of it is true, so it's irrelevant whether it is well-researched, or takes both sides, or follows any journalistic or historical ethical guidelines. It's all in fun.

Apparently Dave Sim still doesn't see it that way, so I can't tell whether Sim has read the whole Talbot book or just the part about him, missing the "all in fun" caveats. So it's hard to tell whether Sim is offended based on a simple easily-corrected misunderstanding, or whether he is offended based on a more intractable Sim-ian misreading of reality itself.

Or maybe Talbot is misrepresenting his own book, and Sim is right to be offended? But what are the chances of that?

I finally heard this album. It's not great, but I like the song White Chalk itself a lot, and the general style is solid. Better than "Stories" for sure.

Oh, wait ... what? Where am I?

K

I laughed all over again. Did Talbot actually read the entire thread? Chee chee, squeaky.

Completely forgot about White Chalk.