For Fans, By Fans
If there’s one entertainment industry that listens to its fans, it’s comics. From the vote that killed Jason Todd to panels at comic-cons, comic creators and publishers have looked to their readers for inspiration and guidance, as well as approval and criticism.
In the past, reader-creator interaction was limited to letter columns in the backs of issues, and the occasional signing at whichever convention or collectibles show was going on in the neighborhood. Today, however, the back and forth between fans and their favorite writers and artists is like nothing else in pop culture.
Just take a look at sites like ComicBloc. Fans twenty years ago would have died for the opportunity to rant about what they loved or hated about an issue and actually get a response from the person who wrote it. Even in the Twitter age, the level of interaction between big names and regular fans is unlike anything else in mainstream media.
It’s not hard to figure out why that is. Comic fans are passionate about what they read and loyal to their favorites, and when it comes down to it, creators are the biggest fans in the world. They get where the fans are coming from because they come from the same place. An actor who stars in a film may have zero in common with an audience member, but a comic artist is essentially no different from the fan who loves their work.
Even publishers are in tune with their fan base. In most industries, when a company isn’t selling to the number of people it would like, they think of how they can better get the word out about their product, instead of changing the actual product.
When Hal Jordan as Green Lantern wasn’t selling, DC turned him bad, eliminated the entire Green Lantern Corps, and made a completely new character the only Green Lantern in the universe. It was incredibly drastic, but it worked. Kyle Rayner became a fan favorite who carried the book for over a hundred issues. Over a decade later, when fans were still clamoring for Hal’s return, DC listened, and both Hal and Kyle have remained featured players in the DC Universe.
A lot of artists ignore fans concerns and demands in favor of their own visions, but comic creators are known to listen.
At the DC panel at New York Comic-Con, a fan criticized the company’s current direction as far as its portrayal of female lead characters, lamenting the overt sexuality that has been used as of late. While they defended the direction as being consistent with certain characters, Jim Lee and Dan DiDio encouraged the fan’s criticism, saying that constructive comments like hers indeed influence them and are taken into account for the future.
Can you imagine George Lucas saying something like that?
I didn’t think so.