ComicsGate is a thing?

[ParisDean]

While I knew there was significant portion of comic fans that felt this way, I never knew they were organized behind this name.

https://www.inverse.com/article/4841...one-year-later

[Augen]

I think these two sides are on such different wavelengths they struggle to communicate about characters or stories.

Comic fans have always been protective and passionate bunch. The shift was when so much of the new replacements were part of a "diversity movement" so the resistance was then labeled racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.

White guy replaced by white guy? Fans pay close attention to how it is handled and can freak out. I remember Green Lantern fans of the 90s being pissed about the Paralax story and how Hal was treated. They didn't resist Kyle because of his whiteness, his maleness, or other aspects. They wanted their beloved hero to be given dignity and the new character to earn the mantle.

When this same treatment is applied to 2010s characters then many can only interpret this blow back as racist or sexist or homophobic. This is then magnified by the poor communication via social media and devolves into shouting matches as people become entrenched int heir views as now see this as an attack on their personal character.

I just want to read good comics with my beloved characters and meet new ones. It is really tiring that criticism now forces one to "chose a side" in this whole debate.

[Gothamite]

I'm not typing this just because I'm a fan, but I think the way Bat-family characters are handled is optimal.

In today's environment, people follow brands and don't really give new stories/characters much of a chance. That's why it's so difficult to "break out". For every Harry Potter, there are dozens of commercially unsuccessful attempts to create a new franchise.

With the Bat-family, you can add new characters to the team w/o replacing/changing Batman. The new characters have a fighting chance in a very crowded market because the Bat brand will give them more visibility than they'd get as entirely new entities. DC learned this the hard way when they tried to have new characters use certain secret identities (Augen's Green Lantern example, the two Batgirls after Barbara Gordon, etc.), though DC was lucky to have gone through this phase prior to widespread use of the Internet.

[MrYac]

Augen summed it up pretty well, people just want the characters they love to be treated well but the opening quote from that article says it even better

Originally Posted by Article

But the reality of Comicsgate, a naked pushback against progressivism and diversity in comic books, is infinitely worse.

they've kind of set up this odd "with us or against us" mentality in the industry, and a lot are more in step with "with us or you're a damn Nazi!"

[Mister H]

It’s pretty simple, real comic book fans don’t care about race, gender or whatever. They do however, care about the way that stories are told and how new characters come into play. Most fans are not racist or whatever Tom Brevoort and his ilk like to call us. Taking what a few actual racist and chauvinist fans say and applying that to most fans is very annoying, it’s also an excuse for lazy and/or bad writing. It’s easier to blame someone else for our failure than to just adjust and improve.

[The Dark Knight]

I don't want established characters to change gender or race. It's not like i have black favorite characters. My second favorite Marvel character is Blade. And i would be pissed if they changed his race to white... I don't want my favorite character Batman to be Black, Asian etc... in the same way.

[AlexLothos]

Like with most subjects, there are two strong extremes and lots of shades of gray in the middle. In this situation, most of the middle/gray haven't been exposed to the hate speech and violence thrown towards particular comic creators by certain members in this "movement."

Jim Jefferies did a pretty decent high level breakdown on Comedy Central. For a slightly deeper dive on how it all started, give this article a go.

I totally get loving characters and having opinions of them. I totally get passionate discussions and disagreements. But when attacks get personal and violent towards people because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc... that's a problem.

[Augen]

Originally Posted by Gothamite

I'm not typing this just because I'm a fan, but I think the way Bat-family characters are handled is optimal.

In today's environment, people follow brands and don't really give new stories/characters much of a chance. That's why it's so difficult to "break out". For every Harry Potter, there are dozens of commercially unsuccessful attempts to create a new franchise.

With the Bat-family, you can add new characters to the team w/o replacing/changing Batman. The new characters have a fighting chance in a very crowded market because the Bat brand will give them more visibility than they'd get as entirely new entities. DC learned this the hard way when they tried to have new characters use certain secret identities (Augen's Green Lantern example, the two Batgirls after Barbara Gordon, etc.), though DC was lucky to have gone through this phase prior to widespread use of the Internet.

I agree that for most new characters it is a long tough slog. I really admire DC for "New Age of Heroes" but it looks like none of them caught the imagination of people like they hoped. Some of the characters (Timber, Silencer, Viking Judge) I learned about from these books interest me and I would like more comics and even statues of them. Maybe in time they will find their audience.

[MrYac]

Originally Posted by AlexLothos

Jim Jefferies did a pretty decent high level breakdown on Comedy Central. For a slightly deeper dive on how it all started, give this article a go.

the fact that you consider the Jefferies hit piece "level" in any way shape or form is pretty interesting.

Originally Posted by AlexLothos

In this situation, most of the middle/gray haven't been exposed to the hate speech and violence thrown towards particular comic creators by certain members in this "movement."

same can be said on the other side, like how Mags here in his oh so tolerant nature wanted to beat the majority of the planet with a baseball bat


or how Robbi Rodrigues just sent Ethan Van Sciver a picture of his butthole via twitter because he doesn't agree with him politically. (i'll spare you that screencap, but you can find it if you really are curious)

the only real difference that I see is the "Hate" from one side is fully sanctioned by their respective companies and the other is most certainly not.

[AlexLothos]

Originally Posted by MrYac

the fact that you consider the Jefferies hit piece "level" in any way shape or form is pretty interesting.

same can be said on the other side, like how Mags here in his oh so tolerant nature wanted to beat the majority of the planet with a baseball bat


or how Robbi Rodrigues just sent Ethan Van Sciver a picture of his butthole via twitter because he doesn't agree with him politically. (i'll spare you that screencap, but you can find it if you really are curious)

the only real difference that I see is the "Hate" from one side is fully sanctioned by their respective companies and the other is most certainly not.

How much abuse, trolling, and frustration can you take before you lash out in retaliation? Some folks can keep it together and ignore it... other people explode at their breaking point, giving back what they gave.