Word has come down from the Twitter links that www.comicsbeat.com has named Kate Beaton “Person of The Year”. Normally, I would shrug my Internet shoulders and continue on with bitching about how unfair my own life is, but one little thing in the column caught my angry eyebrow… They list Kate as a “Webcartoonist, author, historian, performance artist”. 

Now, I’ve met Kate. She’s a funny gal. She certainly knows how to draw, write and market herself to the very top of her field – For this, she should be commended. I find her comics are often funny and she seems like an intelligent and well-spoken person. All that said, she is not a performance artist. She, on occasion, reads her comics on stage. While, again, the comics are often very funny, her reading them from an overhead projector puts her firmly in the “presenter” category. 

Before the nerds of the world start pelting me with craft brewed-snark, let me say that I like the idea of Kate and Michael (Kupperman)’s show. They have a very supportive fan base, Michael is a great host and they book some fine talent to round out the performance. My issue is with the afore-mentioned Comics Beat article throwing around titles and praise without merit.

I have been working, attending and at times, performing on stage in NYC for the better part of the last three years. I have my own monthly show. If someone gave ME the title of “performance artist” I’d have them delete it. I am a cartoonist who occasionally has some ideas for stage work. I often make that clear while I’m on stage. The people who work the stages in comedy in this city do it tirelessly and with a sense of blind perseverance rarely scene in the human race. It is a constant grind of writing and perfecting not only the jokes, but a stage presence. It takes a lot of failure and many, many hours performing to empty rooms to find success. These are the “Performance Artists” the column in question has so lazily coupled to Ms. Beaton.

I know so many funny and talented cartoonists. And I know so many funny and talented people in comedy. Sometimes, they intersect and a talented person succeeds at both. But a cartoonist on stage once a month is not a “perfromance artist” any more than a comedian or stage actor posting a comic once a month online is a “cartoonist”.

I just felt this needed clarification. Thanks for listening. I’m sure I’ll hear from you all shortly.