Letter Pages in the DoX era

[spirit2011]

Thanks. On the one hand, I can see something like that being fine as a joke. On the other, Marvel doesn't have a very good track record in how they treat female characters. I know dedicated fans speak highly of a few highlight moments or a few PR pushes, but how Marvel does things in the everyday and with more obscure characters tells a very different story.

I also wonder if Hickman had a similar poll about male characters. I'm not saying he didn't. I'm saying I wonder. Cause if he never had a similar poll, it would raise a lot of questions as to why this but not that.

No, he didn't made a similar poll with male characters

[salarta]

no his last tweet was his kid saying he wanted a social media account, hickman showing through studies how social media is linked to anxiety and depression, his kid asking why he has one then, hickman saying well played, and then he actually deleted the account to escape the pinch

that's literally it

Oh, well okay then. I have thoughts but no real way to say them that isn't repeating myself, so that's that then.

Honestly, any time somebody decides to delete their twitter account my response is always “good for them.” It’s a hellish site where the idiots greatly outnumber the reasonable people, especially when it comes to fandoms. It’s a wonder why anybody bothers with that sort of stuff. It can be fun for a little while to troll those type of obsessive fans that take everything too seriously, but even that gets tiring.

You can learn a lot from Twitter and other social media that you won't get otherwise. Sometimes news won't address an issue if they consider it too obscure, or a perspective on a topic isn't mainstream but it's an important perspective. I learned about the Tulsa race riot because of Twitter, years before it started getting used in media like Watchmen or talked about in news reports.

Of course there are toxic elements online, but usually it's a matter of perspective, not their content. I've been harassed by people who either are Polaris fans or only claim they are, but I know they don't represent the majority of Lorna fans. There's also a video game site I frequent that regularly speaks out against sexism and racism, and every time, they get brigaded with hundreds of comments from people who don't want those posts made. Doesn't stop the site from making those posts, and sensible people know those hundreds of comments don't represent a majority of people who play games. Context is key.

That said, I know a creator is likely to get more junk thrown at them, and they're not obligated to maintain social media channels (I mean, unless it's in some contract they signed, I guess). Many people also need to take a break from social media. Anxiety due to social media discourse is a real thing, but it's largely an extension of how news itself tends to emphasize things that are bad and scary. At least on social media you occasionally get a cute kitten or a turtle eating an apple if you're following some good people.

No, he didn't made a similar poll with male characters

I would normally try to confirm, but I can't really do that in this case. So my response to this is a two-fer.

One, maybe he would've made a similar poll but then he decided to shut down his account before he got to it.

Two, if he had no plans, then I hope he's at least considered why he never thought to do the same with male characters. And if the reason is "cause fans of female characters are worse about it," then the question is a mix of why that perception exists, and if they really are "worse," then why are they worse? What factors are involved. Any answer that stops at "cuz fanz r teh sux" avoids necessary reflection on how the company operates which could contribute.

[spirit2011]

I would normally try to confirm, but I can't really do that in this case. So my response to this is a two-fer.

One, maybe he would've made a similar poll but then he decided to shut down his account before he got to it.

Two, if he had no plans, then I hope he's at least considered why he never thought to do the same with male characters. And if the reason is "cause fans of female characters are worse about it," then the question is a mix of why that perception exists, and if they really are "worse," then why are they worse? What factors are involved. Any answer that stops at "cuz fanz r teh sux" avoids necessary reflection on how the company operates which could contribute.

The Karen poll was almost 1 month ago, he had enough time to do one if he wanted. I think he just tried to do a joke and since his fave character was the most voted he shut the poll down.

I don't think Hickman is having really deep thought about the poll haha

[franckd]

Hickman always delete his interventions, polls... When he asked for fans to vote for Thor on the popularity poll, Thor won. Yet, he deleted it too.
When he put an image of his favorites (Solar & Cannonball), he deleted it later too.

On the long term, he was only leaving black @ white photos of movies.

So unless you followed him on twitter, you can't know what he did or did not.

Anyway, it's not a topic anymore, as he has closed his twitter account.