Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This week, Bennett looks at whether new comics customers are one of us or one of them.At work someone nearby noticed me unashamedly reading an issue of Fantastic Four while sitting in my pod and asked if I "cared about the death of Wolverine." Surprisingly this wasn't all that unexpected a work experience. I try hard not to let my freak flag* fly during business hours but I've seen desks decorated with Daleks, graphic novels on open display and even overheard a discussion concerning the consequences of Marvel's latest event. All of which just goes to show you just how much the world has changed over the last couple of decades.
When Smallville premiered in 2001 it had a strict "No flights, no tights" policy due to the belief a large mainstream audience would only accept Superman on a weekly basis if it was divested of all that silly superhero stuff and reformulated as a teen drama version of The X-Files. And seeing as how the series ran for ten seasons it's hard to say they were wrong exactly. But that was then; and now? This year not only will the CW'’s new version of The Flash actually feature super villains in full costume, it's considered one of the most anticipated shows of the year. And last week when Saturday Night Live was hosted by Chris Pratt, naturally there was a Guardians of the Galaxy sketch. But instead of spoofing the movie, the premise was how Marvel Studios was now such an infallible force they could make a summer movie blockbuster about shopping carts.
However the really interesting thing about this brief conversation was that the guy gave no outer indication of being "one of us." We know all too well the stereotypes (sometimes some of us even fit the profile), but this guy? Nothing about his appearance or manner suggested that he was, as they used to say on Law & Order, "good for it." He was just an ordinary looking guy in his early 20's dressed business casual--who wasn't white. One of us who could pass for "one of them;" maybe I'm wrong (as you all know I frequently am), but I think I may have had a close encounter with a "new comic customer."
You know, the ones you've been hearing so much about (see "What Do We Know about the New Comics Customer?"). I wish I could attend The ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer but since I can't I’ll just tell you all what I think, which I'll admit isn't all that astonishing. The New Comics Customer is generally (a) younger and (b) somehow other than the "Usual Suspect" comic book fan, and there are more of them now for two very good reasons. There are more places where they can get comics and more comics that they might want to get. And because there are more comic readers there's an ever increasing number of comic book conventions (see "Why Is the Con Scene Exploding?").
And as the readers are changing, those conventions are changing, which doesn't sit well with some people, like Denise Dorman, wife of artist Dave Dorman. As Rob Salkowitz put it in his piece for ICv2 (see "Winners and Losers in the New Convention"), Dorman "posted a frank assessment of the economics of conventions from the perspective of the artist/ exhibitor, on her blog Comic Book Wife." At first she seemed to be blaming cosplayers but later qualified that it wasn't them but rather today’s "selfie-obsessed" fans and that the new focus of conventions is "seeing and being seen, like some giant masquerade party."
Though a "giant masquerade party" does sound like a pretty good idea. Speaking of MST3K, cosplay was a very big deal among MST-ies (as we called ourselves back then) and back in 1994 at their first convention, a.k.a. the ConventioConExpoFest-A-Rama, on the final night there was a "Glittering Costume Ball." You know, an actual boy/girl dance. I recall it being a lot of fun even for those of us who aren't much for dancing. Doing something like that at comic cons would provide cosplayers an added venue where they could shine. And now that the male to female ratio of attendees is getting close to 50/50 it would give a lot of us a chance to have (as the convention booklet put it) "real social interaction." You know, talk to girls.
As well as a chance to talk to each other as people instead of talking past and over each other. Because the new reality is there is no longer an "us" and a "them" and it's long past time we retired that clubhouse mentality. Everyone is welcome because anyone who reads comic books is a comic book reader which also makes them a potential customer, provided we care enough to learn how to cater to them.
To answer that initial question though, as to whether I care about the death of Wolverine? Oh, I don't. I don't care so hard it hurts. But that's another story.
* Except for that one time when without thinking I brought my VIZ tote bag to work. The woman ringing up my lunch in the cafeteria told me she had the same one at home.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
