Over at iFanboy, Mike Romo has an unexpected reaction to news of Joe Kubert’s passing – The realization that comics fandom likes to eat its own:
Why is it that comic book fans have one of the worst possible reputations in all of fandom? Why is that? Why is “the comic book guy” both awful and absolutely spot-on? What is it about comics that fills many a comic book fan with such destructive self-righteous indignation and vitriol when it comes to this medium that they supposedly love so much? Why do comic book fans take this stuff so damn seriously? I mean, I have been around some serious nerds, people. I have been to my share of Star Trek conventions. I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons at gaming conventions with guys whose BO was so bad it literally brought tears to your eyes. I’ve waited in line for Star Wars for 8 hours and argued why Macs are better than PCs basically all of my life.
But never, in all my years, which are numerous but not so numerous enough that I don’t get upset about this kind of bullshit from time to time, have I met fans that have had such blatant hatred for fans and creators of the same freaking medium that they have spent their lives obsessing over.
I find myself wanting to respond that comics discussion, as terrible as it can be, isn’t anywhere near the worst on the net (Try reading the comments on any political blog and you’ll quickly realize that), but Romo’s point about the lack of… respect, maybe, afforded creators by fans hits home in a way that I wouldn’t necessarily have expected. After all, celebrities of all stripes are constantly disrespected online, but there’s something about the closeness and availability of comics pros to fans that makes the interaction – more personal, perhaps? More “real”? – than in other media. It’s one thing to bitch about, say, Jeremy Renner on Twitter, but if you complain about Scott Snyder, Steve Wacker or Kevin Huizenga, there’s a more than likely chance that they’ll see it and maybe respond, after all.
August 14th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
For corporate owned properties, a lot of fans just care about their next fix of entertainment. Jack Kirby got screwed, “he had it coming for being dumb where’s my new Avengers movie”. All they care about is themselves, as long as the comics or genre movie have the requisite women in anatomically impossible postures and skimpy outfits or explosions and giant robots they are in heaven. Just more, more, more. No matter how dumbed down, bad art, bad writing, bad plotting etc they just want that product.
August 14th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
No surprise that the first response to an article on fanboy hatred is an irrate diatribe. Go irony!
August 14th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
^Get’s it.
August 14th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
This guy has obviously never listened to sports radio.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Do you mean “irate”
August 14th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
I’m not 100% on this (or even 30%), but my general impression is that the other nerd communities he talks about actually do have more respect for the creators. I THINK that Trek fans worship Roddenberry and even the later writers like Berman over Paramount as a studio. And I THINK that D&D guys have always been very respectful when talking about the legacy of Gary Gygaz, et al. while lobbing complaints against Wizards of the Coast or whomever. I am right in this? Is corporate reverence something unique to comics fandom? Or if not unique – I get the impression that video game fans follow companies more than single creative teams – than at least a defining characteristic?
August 14th, 2012 at 5:06 pm
Shades of 1990s H.E.A.T.-style Green Lantern theatrics. Remember H.E.A.T.? Remember when Ron Marz got a death threat because he wrote a comic book?
August 15th, 2012 at 5:45 am
a lot of fans just care about their next fix of entertainment. Jack Kirby got screwed, “he had it coming for being dumb where’s my new Avengers movie”. All they care about is themselves,
Or maybe whatever the wrongs done to JK et al they have had a far more comfortable life than the majority of the wage-slaves buying comics.
If I boycotted every company who who screwed their workers I would never buy anything.
If those comic creators think they are hard done by they should try getting a job in another industry.
If I create something for my company I get 500 pound flat no matter how many billions it might make. I don’t see many comic creators/readers campaiging for the creator rights of scientists/engineers.
An quite frankly I have more concern for the appalling conditions of wokers in sweatshops of Asia than the fact that comic creator X only earnt hundreds of thousand instead of millions.
August 15th, 2012 at 6:18 am
‘Like what you like’. That’s what I go by when it comes to comics. Ignore anyone who tries to convince you that you are wrong for liking something. Everyone shares at least one comic or creator that they both like. Focus on the positives. Simple as that.
August 15th, 2012 at 6:51 am
Again, I ask, why not just go comment in the article itself? This is the second time you’ve basically just commented on an IFanboy article on your site instead of in their comments. Are you scared of us over there? The IFanboy commenters are awesome. Next time I’m just going to copy and paste your response over in the IFanboy comments where it belongs and let them respond.
August 19th, 2012 at 2:32 am
You get the fandom you deserve. When comics pros reduce the level of discourse to “No, YOU!”, when they repeat the same tired adolescent tropes, when their conduct and output are unprofessional, they get fans who don’t respect them.