Why Postmodern Barney hates comic books

[rivkat]

Bookslut blog had this link and I --

Well. Apparently all comic book fans think alike (also, I appear to have misplaced my penis, which PMB assumes is a necessary attribute of comic fannishness), and that makes them racist, homophobic, and intolerant of change. But it's really not our fault, because we probably have Asperger's or some mild-spectrum autistic attributes. Which is "not to say I’m trying to pathologize super-hero fans and their behavior." Really, PMB? Because I'm sort of interested in what trying on your part would look like.

Comments

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

If you read his blog as a whole, you'll see that he also includes articles on Why I Hate Indie Comics and Why I Hate Manga. They're deliberately exaggerated for comic effect.

Honestly, as he's a store owner, I can believe he's seen the worst behavior out of every type of comics-buyer. (It's pretty clear from the rest of his blog that he knows perfectly well that women as well as men buy comics, too, and the proportion is changing, and his store caters to that.)

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I went and read a bunch of the columns, and I now see this post in context as standard expression of the truism that all people hate their customers -- I truly believe that there is no hatred so pure, so righteous, as that of the person who is (or hopes to be) paid for the people who (may) pay him. I believe that he's seen all this stuff, including people who dislike the Authority because of the gay characters. Nonetheless, I still object to the overgeneralization -- when he talks about annoying parents, for example, he at least classifies and singles out certain types -- and to the Asperger's stuff.

What was weird to me about his discussion of women was that the ones who buy superhero stuff seem to be invisible -- he'll talk about women and manga, and women and indies, and then occasionally there are some women who buy X-titles. Because ... ? Well, he seems to think it has something to do with bondage and rape fantasies. I'm not quite sure what makes X-titles uniquely suited to those kinks, as I've only read Whedon's and Morrison's runs and didn't think too much of either.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

What was weird to me about his discussion of women was that the ones who buy superhero stuff seem to be invisible

I wouldn't find it all that very shocking if they were invisible because they don't exist, at least not in the numbers that would be noticeable in a crowd. God knows there are never many women in Midtown Comics when I go in, and if they do disproportionately favor manga or indies, then it wouldn't surprise me if me clutching my Ultimate Fantastic Four as well as my indie P.S. 238 is the only superhero comic they sell to a chick all day.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

buh...I only bought superhero titles as a kid. Even now - as an adult - the comics that I like are still fricking superhero books. I'm trying to read "Preacher" but sometimes I just need a guy in blue spandex who is trying to do the right thing.

And also do Batman, but I did not consciously get that when I was 12.

And I am most definitely female. And I've never felt invisible in my comic book store - if anything I've spent quality time in conversation with other customers or the owners and all have been really smart, funny, charming and open-minded. But I'm going to a shop off-campus so maybe this is a locational thing? Although Lexington Ky is not known for being a bastion of liberality. Maybe everyone is just making nice for me while I am there and as soon as I leave they are pulling out the KKK gear and calling me names and plotting the downfall of Batman?

Now my happy little shop seems sordid...

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

Sure, and I was a little Chris Claremont fangirl during *my* formative years. But every set of statistics I've seen indicates that comics overall still have a substantial male majority customer base, and that women who buy comics buy manga especially over superhero comics. It's pure numbers. Women in fandom are a minority. Women in fandom into comics are a minority within a minority.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Are there specific fandom numbers that include media-based fandoms (not just Sci-Fi)? Because I am always shocked to find that women are percieved to be a small percentage of fandom, when my experiences in fandom itself have been overwhelmingly involving other women.

Of course this could be a small little corner and I do see that we are a small percentage of the comic buying public - maybe. I have to wonder though *how* small we really are and how accurate the measures - because I don't *feel* invisible. But hell - comic readership is down across the boards. They should only hope to recruit more obsessive single women with jobs to the ranks.

And I don't know that women are a minority overall in fandom so much as we are *told* we are a minority and if the people telling us that are basing it on a Gaming/SciFi/Comic model and other forms of media fandom is just not considered. Or my blood sugar could be low and it is 6pm and I am still at work and need to shut-up now. It is any woman's guess, really.

::just finished conversation with cubicle-mate - a member of the Scott Peterson Trial Fandom who just doesn't know it::

[(Anonymous)]

I know Dorian personally -- those posts aren't exagerated for comic effect. He's a hateful bastard.

[(Anonymous)]

I know Dorian personally -- those posts aren't exagerated for comic effect. He's a hateful bastard.