Does a creator's behavior affect your enjoyment of their work?

[Dan Apodaca]

If there's something about a comics creator that turns you off, will that influence whether you buy their work or not? Does it matter if it was something in the past or present?

I mainly ask because, after Tom Beland threw a tantrum on the blog, I'm pretty disinclined to ever pick up "True Story, Swear to God". Granted, I was sort of apathetic to it anyway, but now I'm sure I won't bother.

Of course, I've always said that you shouldn't hold the art responsible for the artist. Should Wagner's anti-semitism prohibit us from appreciating his music? Or is it different because he's dead?

What are your thoughts?

And how long before Tom Beland shows up to tear me a new asshole?

[Carlton Donaghe]

After your crass reaction to Lea Hernandez' misfortune, I can honestly say I will never even look at any work that has your name on it. How's that?

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

After being quite depressed and very dissapointed at Mr. Beland's comments yesterday, I waited until today to post a comment on the blog, which sums up my views.

Basically in some cases I can ignore an author and enjoy the work, heck in a lot of cases, but in the case of Tom Beland, as his work is about his life, I don't think I can.
I quite enjoyed TSSTG's first two trades, but after reading his childish comments, I no longer wish to purchase anymore, or even re-read the trades I do have.

[Sanagi]

I do try to keep some distance for appreciation of the art alone, but sometimes it's hard... Seeing someone act like a troll is certainly a turn-off, especially when it's an insulting response to a mildly bad review.

[Paperghost]

every time i hear about frank miller recently, he's always in the news for making some latest crazy comment about batman and terrorists. can't wait for his latest book...

/ rolls eyes

....god, it has the potential to be shudderingly awful.

that convention where he hurled some random insult at the crowd (can't remember what he said exactly) sealed the deal for me.

[K'Nort]

I think that's one reason I've always avoided articles about writers, artists, musicians, actors, etc. It's distracting. I don't want to know about them as people. My interest is in the work, not the creator.

It seems too nosy too. Enjoying their work doesn't give me some sort of right to their personal life. And if I can't "truly" understand their work (like a musician's songs, say) without knowing their life story, then they're not very good at their job.

I can easily understand being turned off of someone's work because you come across something distasteful about them. But if you're not personally bothered, even though other people are, I don't see a moral obligation to reject the stuff.

[brundlefly]

I think it can reinforce my opinion if I already don't like their work, as I'm less likely to be open-minded or give their writing a second chance if I've formed some kind of negative personal opinion about them from their interviews or online comments (for example, Reggie Hudlin & Brian Michael Bendis). But the reverse (dropping a book that I like because of an interview with the writer in which he or she came off poorly) is less likely. For instance, I won't be picking up any Batman/Osama series from Miller, but it's because I have no interest in that concept, not because of any interviews that he gave or presumably offensive comments him he may have made. Moore can come off a little prickly in his interviews as well, but it doesn't really lessen my enjoyment of his or Miller's works.

[howyadoin]

After your crass reaction to Lea Hernandez' misfortune, I can honestly say I will never even look at any work that has your name on it. How's that?

So basically you came into this thread to say "neener, neener, neener, I'm not listening"?

[howyadoin]

I mainly ask because, after Tom Beland threw a tantrum on the blog...

In all fairness, the review he responded to was more than a little bitchy. Greg's passive-aggressive writing style really grates on my nerves, and not just because it's terrible writing or because of the gook joke.

[Dan Apodaca]

After your crass reaction to Lea Hernandez' misfortune, I can honestly say I will never even look at any work that has your name on it. How's that?

Childish, petty, and misinformed.

[Dan Apodaca]

In all fairness, the review he responded to was more than a little bitchy. Greg's passive-aggressive writing style really grates on my nerves, and not just because it's terrible writing or because of the gook joke.

Fair enough. If you think that the review warranted the kind of response it got, this probably wouldn't have any effct on your opinion of the book.

I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the review, though, and Beland's comments seemed to come out of nowhere.

[Reptisaurus!]

Nah. I don't care. Unless I personally KNOW the artist.

Most of my artistic hereos are kind of assholes. Mingus punched his trombone player so hard that he was sidelined for months.

Related note: Dan: Read Killer Princesses. Both Simone and Hernandez are capable of really great work. But their company owned work.... isn't it.

[Dan Apodaca]

Related note: Dan: Read Killer Princesses. Both Simone and Hernandez are capable of really great work. But their company owned work.... isn't it.

I've checked it out. I'm not a fan of Hernandez's art style, and I still didn't like Gail's writing.

[Gingold]

Not usually. I'll read a comic by just about anyone if I think it's good. But as TSSTG is apparently an autobiographical comic, the fact that Beland came off as a whiney child makes me pretty sure I wouldn't want to read a comic about him.

[Shadow ES]

I'm more inclined to try a new book if I've heard good things about the creator than I am to drop a good book because I've heard bad things about the creator. But I have done both.