Whither David? The New Cool

Hey... who photoshopped David Beckham's face on my body?

Los Angeles > Paris

Last month I told mes amis on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean about my feelings on David Beckham contemplating a move from the Los Angeles Galaxy to play soccer for Paris Saint Germain -- that Becks was using the $18 million offer from Paris to get leverage on a better deal in LA.

I was right.

Why would anyone take a lower paying job when there is another job offer promising higher pay? There are many factors, but one thing that’s been heavily reported is that Beckham didn’t want to move his family to Paris… because the Southern California area is just too cool!

Beckham’s star power helps legitimize the sport in this country. In the past, kids would play soccer and move on to other “cooler” sports, like American Football, Baseball (which even I still play) and Basketball when they got older, because of a combination of entitlement and dates with cheerleaders. Now kids may see Beckham and fellow Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan with their high salaries, beautiful women and recognition that they have and may be more likely to play soccer professionally.

I see comics the same way.

Twenty years ago, kids would read comic books and move on to “cooler” media, like television, movies and novels that included vampires. Now they see the recognition and pretty ladies coupled with high wages in top comic book creators. Comics can’t compete with other media in terms of exposure or spending, but comic books have an undeniable influence on their counterparts (San Diego’s Comic-Con for example), leaving kids more willing to create the comics of the future!

Page 10 pencils for the upcoming PV: FR Part II

I will grant that other places may have more history (Paris), hipness (London) or sights (New Zealand), but one will be hard-pressed to find a cooler place than SoCal, a hotbed for comics…

… which by the way are cool!

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