I know, I know— Everyone seems to be complaining about the fandom these days. Admittedly, I have taken a few shots at the fans on the extremes. But that doesn’t mean the fandom isn’t great because it is. It’s time for a more positive list about why working in comics is great and The 20 Best Reasons to Love the Fandom.
20. Fans support our work.
Duh. They’re the people that buy our stuff. Without them, you’ll just be carting around a lot of boxes for no reason. I get a nice boost when I make a sale, and I thank my customers every single time.
19. The emotional reaction of the fandom shows that they have a true love for creators.
Yes, it can get out of hand, but it usually doesn’t. It’s important to keep that in perspective. The more fans you have, the more emotional some fans become about your comic. That emotional wave can be ridden for a long, long time if you ride it right. It’s often a positive experience, and you should never take it for granted. It can stop at any time, especially if you become arrogant. Be grateful, creators!
18. Fans and creators share the same love of the characters.
This is the reason why you and the fans can get emotional about your comic. The emotion, however, is different. Remember, the fans cannot see what you see, but it is important to nurture that love and guide it in positive ways.
So a while back, I did a video on my YouTube channel that blew up and gave me thousands of hits. Unfortunately, it turned out the news story I talked about was wrong, and it was about a subject I didn’t know much about. I didn’t want my channel to be known for that, so I deleted the video and explained to my subscribers why. I feel like my channel has gone in a better direction since.
17. Fandom puts creators on a pedestal.
Don’t let it go to your heads, creators, but it is nice when a fan adores you. Since publishing and selling The Pineys, I’ve had people refer to me as a “historian” and that they “thank me for my work.” It’s nice! It makes you feel important.
16. Sometimes, fandom is a great gauge of where you’re going with your comic.
As I’ve often said, it’s important to listen to fans, but don’t obey the fans. They’re generally a good gauge that your comic is fun, exciting, etc. You don’t want to get lost in the weeds picking their brains for feedback, but if they’re having a good time— You’re good.
Knowing that they’re paying for your comic and enjoying it is a top priority. They may be worried about the condition of this character or that, and that’s fine. Your actual story needs to follow the path of your vision, not the direction of what fans want in the moment. However, if you’re burnout, stressed out, or lost in a creative quagmire— Sometimes fans can show you the general direction you should be heading. So if a fan says something like, “I loved the early funny issues.” Maybe your story is getting too dark.
When the Simpsons began, I read that Bart was the character the showrunners thought would always be the standout. However, Homer quickly became the character everyone wanted to see get in trouble. Over time, the show started to focus more on his antics. One could argue it changed the show, but not in such a major way that it wasn’t still The Simpsons.
15. Fans sometimes become creators.
The fandom produces creators, so it’s another reason why you should always be nice to them. You never know who you’ll inspire, but you might be lucky enough to run into a few of them. There’s no satisfaction quite like a fan saying something like, “I started a comic too! You inspired me!” If you don’t get a warm and fuzzy from that, you’re just dead inside.
Many of those new creators won’t know what the Hell they’re doing, and they’re going to make a whole lot of mistakes (just like you did). Do your best to be encouraging; if they are outstanding, don’t feel threatened. Hell, without you, that new talent might not even be making a comic!
14. The fandom wants you to succeed.
These people genuinely want you to succeed and thrive. Do you think they’d be your fans if they didn’t? I’ve had fans tell me that I should run Marvel or DC comics over the years. More recently, they keep hoping I get a Netflix deal for The Pineys. Hey, I nearly had a movie deal with Super Frat. It could happen.
So what could be better than a group of people that actively want to cheer you on? For some, that’s a lot of pressure, but don’t worry— Again, they want you to succeed, and that includes getting over whatever anxiety you might have in total strangers shaking your hand and saying, “I’m such a fan!”
13. Most fans don’t abuse their power.
As a creator, you are vulnerable when you put your project out there. There is a tiny, tiny minority of fans that can trash you publicly (especially on the Internet), but these people are far outnumbered by the typical fan.
A typical fan is just a normal person that likes your comic and would never think to say something untoward. Hell, most people won’t even talk to you at all. They just want the comic. I sometimes think it’s a subconscious desire not to meet your hero and see you in the light, thereby diminishing the elevated status in their heads. (As they say, “Never meet your heroes.”) Yes, there are Internet trolls, but 99.9% of fans are in that category.
12. The mainstream entertainment media has little control over the fandom.
That stark contrast has never been more true today on YouTube with shows like Nerdrotic, Bounding Into Comics, Yellow Flash, etc. Most entertainment media was shill media, to begin with, but now they actively defend the very people that attack the fandom. Fortunately, despite the vicious attacks online, the fans continue to stand up.
Fans are gonna like good things and dislike bad things. The mainstream entertainment giants not only fail because they are woke, bloated, and out-of-touch, but they also have a high bar to achieve, as they must live up to their past victories. New creators, you don’t have that problem, and fans are infinitely more forgiving of a local creator that just put out a book than they are of a corporate comic they paid $4.99 that promised them the moon and the stars.
Lie all you want, shill media; the fans will ultimately drift away from crap and elevate the righteous and good stuff.
11. Most new fans don’t have a stake in anything but their own entertainment.
Again, a tiny portion of the fandom has some axe to grind or some agenda to prove, but most fans want to be entertained. That makes their reactions almost pure in a way. It’s not biased like yours or your friends and associates— You’re getting an honest response from a total stranger, and that’s valuable even if it isn’t the reaction you want.
Sometimes these reactions can be very telling about your project. Again, don’t hang everything on just a few replies, but use them to gauge how your project is being received, and from that, you can tweak future installments. But most people are genuine, and even when they don’t totally like your work, they may say something nice about it to indicate you’re at least moving in the right direction. And if you really struggle to find someone to criticize, you probably did a good job! Who wouldn’t want to hear that?
10. Fandom tends to gather around projects with great potential.
The fans don’t build online wikis with just any project. They don’t have fan clubs and panel discussions for something that nobody knows or cares about. The fandom tends to build up around things with great potential.
Unfortunately, for most creators, it usually requires a great deal of popularity, just so enough of the fanbase even knows about you. But still, just the idea that total strangers would gather together to talk and theorize about your comic world— That’s an exciting thought for any creator.
9. Fandom doesn’t forget.
This one’s a bit of a double-edged sword. Long before the Internet, fans would gather and write letters to fanzines to express their confusion over details in a comic book world. This was especially evident in 1985 during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Fans were pointing out the mistakes before the mini-series even finished!
Yes, sometimes it gets annoying when fans point out mistakes or typos, but it’s also useful. You can now make those corrections very easy in digital publishing. Additionally, if you’re always nice to fans, they will remember and appreciate you. (And they will definitely remember if you’re not!)
What’s happening now in the fandom is an emerging new paradigm. Corporate comics, movies, games, and TV shows have destroyed most, if not all, of their credibility. In some eras, it was possible to go back and apologize. These days, the crimes against fandom are too numerous to list here. Fans that stay in the medium are looking for creators and projects that haven’t betrayed, and that’s you, creator!
8. Fandom creates the conventions we need as creators.
The original Star Trek Conventions and comic-cons that spawned a thousand other ones over the many decades— Give thanks to the fandom for creating them. Without these industrious nerds, I couldn’t fly to San Diego and complain about the restaurants charging me for electricity. I also wouldn’t have a massive comic book convention to promote my comics and books.
Dragon Con is still privately run and chock full of some of the friendliest volunteers I’ve ever met. What they pull off year after year is quite impressive, and if I had the money or lived closer— I promise you I’d go every year.
From the tiniest fan get-together, the largest con— You can’t have them without the fandom. And since that will probably be most of your sales until your comic takes off, you should thank the fans profusely when invited.
7. Fans recruit new fans.
One of the absolute best things that fans do is talk about your comic and bring other fans into your fold. Word of mouth is one of the strongest endorsements. Just look at your own personal experience. When a fellow fan tells you a comic book is awesome, aren’t you usually curious about it?
Eventually, these fans may go the extra mile and start those wikis, comic-cons, and fan sites. Until then, the best they can do is tell the world about your comic book’s greatness. You can tell people all day how awesome your comic is until you’re blue in the face, but when a random stranger does it— It holds a lot more weight.
6. Fans buoy our creator spirits.
What is nicer to hear than a fan loves your work? Anything? It’s just so nice to know that someone, somewhere, is not only buying your comic but enjoying it. Don’t let that praise go to your head, but remember the fans who praised you when you thought about quitting. You can’t let them down.
I remember my first line of fans at the table, which was exciting. There’s an energy to it that’s hard to describe. For me, I was mostly panicking that someone was going to walk away before they bought something. Later, when you look back— It’s a good feeling to know that people stand in line for your work.
5. Fans are like friends.
They are like friends. Don’t immediately assume they are because I think that’s a little presumptuous. The stuff you say to your friends, you probably should not say to fans because they probably don’t know the real you.
However, some fans will genuinely go the extra mile. I knew a comic creator who told me he was living with a woman, and their relationship deteriorated. He decided to move out but was worried he couldn’t evacuate his art quickly enough before something terrible happened. He mentioned this online, and one of his fans owned a moving company. He arrived within hours, ultimately moving him out of a bad living space! Now that’s a fan!
I ended up dating a fan for over a year. That probably wasn’t the best idea, but maybe others have had better luck. My point is fans are like your buddies. I’ve had fans tip me extra cash because they liked my books.
4. Fans are generous.
Not only with their money, not only with the tips but with their time. Time is valuable to people. And the fact that fans will come out to see you, talk to you, and talk about your comic— That’s someone being generous toward you, the creator.
Fans sometimes offer to help load my car, buy me food and drinks, and invite me to parties— It can be a bit overwhelming at times, and I think you have to be mildly wary of people’s expectations. However, it is just so nice.
3. Fans will help you network.
Just the other day, I was doing an event at a Dragon Boat race when some nice woman invited me to another Dragon Boat race event on a different weekend. Indeed, many creators experience getting invites to other comic-cons when they’re at a comic-con. I’ve had fans put me in touch with all sorts of people that have helped me book events, get a new printer, get free advertising, and get connected to podcasts, radio, and TV— Once, it even led to a publishing deal.
I’ve met other talent through fans: artists, writers, and publishers. I’m not a very good networker, so this has been invaluable in getting the word out about my comics. Praise be to the fans!
2. Reviews from fans are the absolute best advertising.
Whether it’s a review on Amazon or some tiny review website on the Internet, you can never have enough positive fan reviews. Even if the review is barely seen, you can use it for a blurb because it’s real. This is often how fans recruit other fans for you.
Accumulating a dozen or so fan reviews and quoting them on a sign at your table is a powerful motivator for a sale. It’s like showing proof that people like your comic, and it’s unbiased (assuming you’re not quoting your friends).
And sometimes, even bad reviews can help you. A big emotional reaction can signal to other fans that there’s something there. I had a fan have a complete meltdown over my webcomic, Super Frat. I posted the link for years, and it was a hilariously disastrous review. But it was so over-the-top that it was obvious to anyone who read it that some other issues were at play, not the comic. And since Super Frat is about a crazy bunch of frat bros, the outrage played into getting people to read it. (Your mileage may vary on a different kind of comic.)
God bless the fan reviews.
1. The fandom will remember you after you’re gone.
The fandom never forgets, even after you’re dead. Your comics will outlive you, which is a special kind of beauty all its own. Without trying to get too morbid here, what will you leave behind on this Earth? Well, creator, hopefully, it’s a lot of cool comics you made. This is part of why you must make them cool and awesome and not just follow the trends to line your pocket. The latter comics will be forgotten.
But long after you’re gone, fans will speak your name and possibly romanticize your existence. So the legends may not only exist in the pages of your book but also the minds of your fans concerning you. Even if you leave the medium one day, it can’t hurt to have a bunch of comics floating around the fandom with your name on it. What do you think is inside all those white boxes? It’s not just Marvel and DC and 90’s Image.
As creators, we may not live to see our comics become massive commercial successes. Most of Phillip K. Dick’s stories were adapted into movies after he died, but he’s a legend in the sci-fi community. And I think we all know as creators; we didn’t just do it for the money. We did it for this very reason: our stories would be remembered and repeated years after we were gone.
Thank you, fans!
That’s all for this week, fanboys. See you at the con!
