The Last Word, by Mike Gold
Norman Mingo’s iconic image of Alfred E. Neuman was first used by Mad Magazine back in 1956 as comment upon the Eisenhower / Stevenson election or, more to the point, in parody of the typical Time magazine cover of its time. Mingo’s Alf is still in use to this day; as is the struggle between the donkey and elephant also depicted on that cover.
We’ve had presidents and presidential elections in comics since the staple was first applied to cheap newsprint. Recently we’ve had Lex Luthor as president in the DC universe, and Stephen Colbert running for the same job in the Marvel universe. The president is one of the most important of the American icons, perhaps even moreso than Alfred E. Neuman.
Tomorrow is Election Day, and you will be asked to pick from at least two clear and distinctive voices. Whichever candidate wins, his impact on our future will be immense. Your voice is needed. As an American citizen, voting is your highest obligation.
I don’t care who you vote for (well, actually, I do, but that’s not the point right now), as long as you make your voice heard. You might think your state is already committed to one candidate or another. History shows us you are wrong. You might think your one vote doesn’t matter. History shows us you are wrong.
Even if your candidate has no chance of winning, make your voice heard. For example, let’s say you are a Libertarian interested in voting for Bob Barr. You probably think he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. You would probably be right. But if the Libertarian Party gets noticeable support at the polls, even 5% of the popular vote in your state, we will have taken a significant step towards freeing ourselves from the two party system that severely limits our choice and our future.
You might think all of the candidates are idiots; that none of them deserves your support. Fine. Make your voice heard. Vote for the person you think best represents your point of view, even if that’s a write-in. You might think Bun E. Carlos would be the best person for the job (he’s my #2 choice); fine. Make your voice heard.
This isn’t a baseball game; you’re not putting your money on a winner. You’re putting your money on your future. You only get this chance once every four years. Don’t blow it.
And, on that note, we end this series of ComicMix editorial columns. It’s been a hell of a great 91 weeks, and I deeply, deeply appreciate the efforts of Denny O’Neil, Elayne Riggs, John Ostrander, Michael Davis, Martha Thomases, Michael H. Price, Ric Meyers . Thank you, one and all. This has been one of the most enjoyable fulfilling tasks of my professional life, and I am honored to have associated with you in this endeavor. Let’s do it again sometime soon.
I also want to thank all of you who have been reading these missives of brainsweat, particularly those who have chosen to comment. Engaging in the back-and-forth of online commenting has been a wonderful experience for me, and I’ll miss it a whole lot. I’ve learned stuff from you folks, we’ve engaged in some very serious conversation, and we’ve had a few laughs. Great stuff.
Thanks for being here for us. I’ll see you next week on the new home of Brainiac On Banjo, michaeldavisworld.com.
Yep. What goes around, comes around.
Best,
Mike Gold
Good thing I'm Canadian, which means I can't vote for the U.S. President.I'd probably vote for Hilary Rodham-Clinton.Ave Atque Vale, Mr. Gold.You're a terrific editor no matter who's the publisher you'd work for at the time.Mr. Grell, Mr. Ostrander, and Mr. Truman's lucky to have had you.
what a way to go!Election week and all.Thanks Mike, see ya!
So, who exactly IS still going to be working here?
And just why did you decide to get rid of all the columns here?
Neil,You're not the first person to ask this question, without an answer. It seems clear to me if Mike and company had wanted to let us know why the columns were ending, they would have told us by now.I just hope this is not the a step toward the end of ComicMix. The articles (with discussions) and comics continue. I hope they will continue for some time. If there's something we can do to help, I hope Mike will let us know.
It's a fair question, and the decision came after months of conversation. Simply put (if that's at all possible), the columns didn't reach as big an audience as some of us had hoped for. Really, it's that simple. We need to put our attention elsewhere.
Mike,Thanks for responding. I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you'd hoped.
It's been an honor to be in such hilarious company.
I was also hoping for an answer to why the columns are departing. Though I would assume the columnists were getting paid something, It's unclear whether it's a matter of rebranding/refocus, or something else.Also, if there's anyone out there who could replace the style sheet or whatever has made the site go from looking like a solidly professional web site to something left over from 7 years ago, that would be a good thing….
And I will keep reading the Banjo over at MDW.com – but no doubt about it, Mike – you top my list of favorite editors (and I have been lucky enough to work with some really great ones) and thankfully, that won't change.Cool photo of you, BTW. When was that taken? I'll guess mid 70s?
About two years ago. And I love working with you, too.
I think Mark mistook Bun E.Carlos for you!
Not that it's relevant to the thrust of the column, but i find it interesting to hear that Mingo "created" Alfie (essentially the same image has been traced back at least as far as 19th Century Kansas City ads for a "painless dentist") – the first i ever heard of Mingo was the "MAD" tenth anniversary issue cover (which was my own foirst anniversary of reading the mag) – for at least the full year previous to that, Kelly Freas had been doing all the covers and the satirical ads on inside front and back cover, too.
The ComicMix columns will be missed. I'm actually very sad to see this phase of the ComicMix saga end. Thank you for your insights, Mike. Thank you for the occasional lively debates. I appreciate that ComicMix is still a grand experiment, still in it's infancy. And I hope that it will somehow be able to continue, grow and flourish, even without the presence of such amazing columnists. And I promise I will vote, even if Bun E. Carlos isn't on the ticket this year.
To all of the columnists at Comic Mix, I thank you for the articles. I've really enjoyed reading them and look forward to your next projects. – David
A great call to arms and votes Mike. As you know in our book (not shilling, just reminding you), The March: Crossing Bridges in America… on very important topic to us has been immigration. I know my vote will be going to those who still believe that this is a country founded by the work of good people from every land… and the day we fight to close the borders to people just looking to make their lot in life better… is the day this country ceases to recognize itself.I'll be at the polls tomorrow, and at michaeldavisworld on friday. Continue on Braniac… continue on. And for creating (or being a force at creating…) this wonderful tool and site where Joe the Plumber and Marc the comic book fan can actually make himself heard by those people he respects, and tries (on occasion) to emulate.
Thanks so much, Mike! Time to delete ComicMix from my Bloglines subs now (I've already added Michael Davis World)…