What are things you dislike about the comic book fandom?

[DrNewGod]

If you grew up on Claremont or Lobdell X-Men (or both) it makes sense. Storm was a very strong and developed character, the heart of the team really. It was only when Morrison decided to ignore her during his run to focus on Scott/Jean/Emma/Logan (and really only Logan because they had to), then every half-assed writer the next decade after that doing their best Morrison imitation, that she faded into the background.

Probably not my favorite X-man, but a top 10 for sure.

I re-read Claremont's X-run not long ago, and one thing that struck me was how well he developed all the characters, up until the Mutant Massacre story. After that, it seemed to me like he tried with the new cast, but somehow, their cleats just never quite caught in the turf, and they just paled standing next to the established Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine.

[dancj]

You have no idea how many times I've been called racist/sexist or told to check my privilege, because I criticized certain characters and how they're handled. Didn't happen here, but there are strawmen out there.

"check your privilege" is a terrible expression at the best of times.

Regardless though, that doesn't mean that there isn't an "undercurrent of sexism and racism and any attempts to change that get brushed aside as "political correctness" or something being "forced down their throats""

[ed2962]

I really don't like when someone thinks that everything is a PC stunt, it really grinds my gears. Why can't I have Cyborg, Vixen, John Stewart, Katana, Black Lightning & Vibe as the Justice League without it being questioned? No one questioned Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers.

Oh, people questioned it alright. And when the All New Avengers line up with the minority replacement heroes was announced multiple threads were created so fans could complain about how terrible it was

[caramon]

I have a few things that really annoy me about the comic book fandom.

1.Fans that think their ideas and opinions are the only ones that have merit and everyone who has an opposing viewpoint to theirs is wrong or misguided.

2. Fans who forget that everyone who posts here are pretty much just offering their personal opinions or speculations on things and not statements of fact.

3. Fans who for whatever reason think that if you dislike a particular book or a particular creative's work that they happen to think are the bee's knees then you are wrong.

4. Fans that continually come into a topic regarding some character, creative or title and comment on how much they hate whichever it is. I especially get annoyed by the people that have long ago dropped a title and yet show up in every post regarding it for the specific purpose of complaining about it.

5. I also find it annoying when fans want change only to turn around and complain when they get it.

All this.
Plus no one forces you to buy anything. If your favourite character/publisher/writer etc head off in a direction you don't like buy something else - there's enough comics being released eache week :-)

[tombo]

People who never hung out at comic stores or with other fans before 1999 and thus believe that comic and sci fi fans only started nit-picking and critiquing movies due to a "culture of hate and entitlement" caused by internet hive mind thinking.

People who say anything along the lines of "stop overthinking things", stop over analysing, "its just a movie turn your brain off and enjoy" etc. I believe any movie can be analysed to tell you interesting things about the culture of who made it, from Citizen Kane to a kid's youtube video. And I only nitpick movies I love, anyway. That's how you can tell I cared about a movie.


Anyone who rebuts requests for more character moments and conversation in films like man of steel with "it's a superhero film, you're supposed to be enjoying them bashing each other, go watch oscar bait films if you want characters" ( and I loved the fights in man of steel btw).


And in general just..debate rebuttals that depend on invalidating the sincerity of the opinion or the person themselves, like, you can think I'm an idiot for not liking the latest Superman movie, but at least accept it's my genuine opinion, even if you find it a dumb opinion, not all this "you went in unable to let go of the past" stuff.

[CliffHanger2]

People who never hung out at comic stores or with other fans before 1999 and thus believe that comic and sci fi fans only started nit-picking and critiquing movies due to a "culture of hate and entitlement" caused by internet hive mind thinking.

People who say anything along the lines of "stop overthinking things", stop over analysing, "its just a movie turn your brain off and enjoy" etc. I believe any movie can be analysed to tell you interesting things about the culture of who made it, from Citizen Kane to a kid's youtube video. And I only nitpick movies I love, anyway. That's how you can tell I cared about a movie.


Anyone who rebuts requests for more character moments and conversation in films like man of steel with "it's a superhero film, you're supposed to be enjoying them bashing each other, go watch oscar bait films if you want characters" ( and I loved the fights in man of steel btw).


And in general just..debate rebuttals that depend on invalidating the sincerity of the opinion or the person themselves, like, you can think I'm an idiot for not liking the latest Superman movie, but at least accept it's my genuine opinion, even if you find it a dumb opinion, not all this "you went in unable to let go of the past" stuff.

To your 2nd and 3rd complaints I would say those ppl have a point. I think geeks do tend to over analyze most times losing the forest for the trees ya know. I think MOS had a lot of character moments. The thing is I think a lot ppl use the word "character development" without really knowing what it means. It's like they think ppl standing around talking all the time is character development and it's not since ppl are mostly defined by their actions especially in an action genre. So yeah it gets annoying to hear ppl constantly keep asking for that. It's like they're trying to turn the genre which is action/adventure based into something else.

It's kinda like reading a romance novel and complaining that there isn't enough shooting and explosions.

[Crazy Diamond]

Fans who defend any action their favorite company takes no matter what. The minute you voice any complaint, they are right there to call you a whiner or bash the very people who work on their comics for daring to want control over the characters they created (for example). They sound like a bunch of PR hacks at their worst.


Fans who look down on any comic that isn't a superhero comic by Marvel and DC. Usually these fans will talk about how comics that aren't from the big two are of low quality. Then they proceed to turn around and complain about the New 52 and the like. They'll say they don't like comics that don't fit their tastes, but if it's not from the big two they won't read it because it doesn't have their favorite characters in it. I never understood that mindset. Why would you keep reading a book which treats what you enjoy badly and yet when there's a book that might be what you're looking for, you won't read it because it doesn't have Superman?

Fans who throw hissy fits the minute a character who isn't a white straight dude gets anything, even if it's just another scene in a panel. It's ridiculous. The worst part is when they try to act like it's a conspiracy against them which is hilarious when you consider how comics developed in the US.

Creepy ass fans. You know who I'm talking about.

[John Ossie]

Fans who act like their opinion is the only opinion that's right. That and fans who, when you say anything REMOTELY critical their only comeback is ''You're just a hater!''

[John Ossie]

When it comes to the sections of comic-book fandom that I have the least amount of regard for, I often compare and contrast it to my own experiences with the band Radiohead.

At the turn of the millennium, after two stellar previous albums, Radiohead took a left turn in their career that I simply couldn't follow them down. It was a more electronic direction, which wasn't the problem in and of itself, it was more the way that it was implemented. I tried to get into them but I ultimately found the 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' albums boring and directionless. That was where Radiohead and I parted ways and I've barely heard a note of their music since. Thing is, it wasn't an acrimonious parting of ways. The band themselves have never heard of me and, even if they had somehow, wouldn't have given a toss. As for me, there are too many classic bands and albums out there to be bitter about something specific like that.

If I'd had the mentality of some 'fans' on here then I'd have spent the next decade online, endlessly harping on about the unfairness of it all. Looking for scapegoats in the band for the change in musical direction, demanding the return of the 'real' Radiohead and picking holes in albums that I've never even listened to. That kind of behaviour.

Obviously there's a big difference between comic-books and a rock band but the sense of entitlement that some people possess is the same.

Yeah, there are music fans who act like they have entitlement just like some comic fans do. I think that's a part of any fandom in my experience, whether it's a fan of a music group - Queen in my case, fan of a sports team - Liverpool in my case or a fan of comics there's always a certain section of the fandom who act like they're ''entitled'' or whatever.

[dancj]

Fans who act like their opinion is the only opinion that's right. That and fans who, when you say anything REMOTELY critical their only comeback is ''You're just a hater!''

"hater" is a crappy insult. I'm sure pretty much everyone hates some things, loves some things, likes some things and is indifferent to some things.

We're all haters - and that's fine

[joybeans]

So this is a panel from the most recent Angela: Queen of Hel comic:

http://i.imgur.com/p00L2gp.jpg

I got a chuckle out of it. I'm not currently reading this, so I can't say if it's severely out-of-character or completely in contradiction to the book's tone, which would be fair criticisms. Maybe it's not the greatest joke in the world, but there are so many comments I've seen that act like as if social justice warriors are ruining comics, with writers inserting their politics into comics at every chance. It's as if bad writing never existed outside of those that "pander" to other demographics.

With that said, it feels like books that feature diversity have to be subject to an additional layer of criticism that judges whether or not they're too "political" or "forced". Should Midnighter not have too much sex? Should Captain America: Sam Wilson not address politics? Does Ms. Marvel include too much Muslim culture? Should female-led comics never poke fun at a sexist attitudes?

[Kees_L]

"hater" is a crappy insult. I'm sure pretty much everyone hates some things, loves some things, likes some things and is indifferent to some things.

We're all haters - and that's fine

An insult? I'd think it's more rather an accusation or 'denunciation' of how it would basically be futile or petty to be (bluntly) negative towards what someone else would evidently be liking.

I'd say you'd be right in how anyone should like or dislike how they'd want, but that wouldn't equate to 'being a hater', as instead it would essentially make it needed that noone would bother or hamper any other folks in their appreciation of things? Just saying.

[jeanvaljean]

You are all my people, and I got nothin' but love for ya.

[JazzyJeffie]

Fans who act like their opinion is the only opinion that's right. That and fans who, when you say anything REMOTELY critical their only comeback is ''You're just a hater!''

Spot on, John!
I get it that every long-time collector/forum member has more credibility over others with "lesser posts" or "a lesser-populated collection" (at least in the forum), but that doesn't mean every other person who is like this compared to him/her, will never make valid points or at times, make more sense.

[Realdealholy]

People who think Storm is the greatest comic character everr.