KielPhegley

February 11, 2013 2:03 pm The other day, we had a guy submit a question for the "B&B" column that was literally "Why does Teen Titans suck?" and then he added "I hope this question isn't considered rude."

February 4, 2013 10:14 pm Hey, this post compelled me to create an account! Great points here. Speaking from personal experience, I do think there's an echo chamber that exists for the most tapped in parts of comics fandom or whatever you want to call it. I mean, I used to work at Wizard where people online would call my friends and I all kinds of names on the sexist frat boy spectrum on a daily basis, and that stuff could be UPSETTING. But then I'd go to one of the cons the company put on (when they were still comic shows, mind you) and meets tons of guys who read the magazine religiously and were so incredibly complimentary to us. The kinds of people you'd never in a thousand years see online. Since then, I've really struggled a lot with figuring out not just who the real audience for comics is but who the real audience for writing about comics is. I DO think a majority of people who read comics on that regular Wednesday schedule get some kind of news online, but not all of that majority are folks who are following creators on Twitter and forming their buying opinions based on behind the scenes drama at the expense of what they naturally react to. The other day, I met a guy who was up enough on his comics to have very specific opinions on the New 52, but he never really read CBR. All his news he got from people posting random links to stories on Reddit. To me, that's more likely the average comics reader – someone who follows general geek culture blogs and podcasts and forums and has their range of favorite characters/creators they love. That said, having a rigorous discussion online amongst the diehards is a great part of comics too – both for what it gives us in terms of community and for what we're able to draw attention to in the culture at large.