I don't think I've mentioned it here lately but among the many courses offered at the University of Southern California is one called "Writing Humor: Literary and Dramatic," and I'm afraid it's taught by me. To switch an old joke from Tom Lehrer, those who can't do, teach...and those who can't teach, teach comedy writing. Anyway, I thought it might interest someone that starting with the Spring 2009 semester, I will probably be also teaching a course that they'll call something loftier but I'll call "How to Write Comic Books." And this was the school's idea, not mine.
I'm not soliciting students here since you have to be a U.S.C. grad student to take classes in the department that employs me. Just thought I'd mention this development...and my astonishment that comics (or as the U.S.C. brochures will probably call them, graphic novels) have come this far. I can remember back when I went to U.C.L.A., I used to sit in the back of my Economics and Anthropology lecture classes and write Daffy Duck stories for Gold Key Comics. It will amuse me no end if when I'm teaching students whatever I know about how to write comic books, one of them is sitting there working on Economics and Anthropology stuff.
This is going to sound paranoid, conspiracy-laden, whatever. But I would like to see, in every one-on-one interview with a journalist and every debate, candidates be asked the question up front, "Are you wearing any sort of device that might enable someone to prompt you with answers or notes?" It would only take ten seconds if the answer is no, and that would presumably be the answer, no matter what. One of these days, it's going to come out that some politician was secretly prompted in a debate or interview and the politician will say, "Well, no one said it would be wrong to do that." Maybe not...but it would certainly be wrong to deny it if true.
September 12, 2008
