I decided, in planning ahead for my columns, that fandom was going to be my next one about a week ago. Little did I know all the fannish things that would happen to me this week.

First, there was the demise of scans_daily.  In the site’s being taken down, DC and Marvel have lost a marketing tool much more valuable than their feeble efforts. Last week, I mentioned that part of my being interested in comics “post Teen Titans Cartoon” was through the aid of scans_daily. I was able to make sense of the muddled continuity and figure out which titles I wanted to buy. This didn’t STOP me from picking up any comics, this MADE me pick up comics. I have  bought comics of which a great majority is available on the site simply because they were good comics. I didn’t care if I’d already seen half of it. That’s how it works when you’re a comic fan. It’s no different that looking at a comic on the rack.

I have no idea how I’m going to keep up with continuity without the site. It may be detrimental to my buying habits.  I can’t count the number of comics I decided to buy because of scans_daily.  Most ironic of these is Young Justice and Peter David’s Supergirl.

Bringing me around to my point is that comics have a shrinking, suffering fanbase. Moves like shutting down s_d don’t help them one bit. Neither does the constant tangle of continuity, random references to ancient stories, contempt for minority and female buyers, heck, outright contempt for the fans in general that they show. Most recently it’s become increasingly obvious that DC in particular is more interested in returning everything to the Silver Age than they are pleasing the modern fans. I’ve got news for them. The guys who grew up reading Barry Allen as Flash and Babs Gordon as Batgirl? They will die someday. Meanwhile, there’s an entire generation with Wally and Cassandra you are alienating and shutting out. They are young. You need more of them if you want the comic industry to survive. I’m one of them, and I feel like I’m not welcome, that DC doesn’t want new customers. They are committing suicide, making comics more and more isolationist and hard to get into.

Currently we have a sea of muddled continuity, characters constantly turning evil, dying, resurrected or getting written badly. We have the industry and creators showing contempt, and being outright insulting to their fans, not listening to their opinions, not respecting their money. The commentary at the New York Comic Con made me depressed when I first heard it, the rude answers to some questions, Cassandra Cain getting into a “catfight for her cowl” …(Classy, DC. Classy.) It made me go, why bother?

However, when I went to the Heroes Comic Convention on my own, I had a very good experience. There were a few awkward moments, but I had to pleasure of meeting Jann Jones, DC’s coordinating editor. She even mentioned me in her DC Nation column later and said all kinds of things like I was “enthusiastic”, “intelligent” and “inspiring”! Li’l ol me! She was an extremely kind person, and clearly very smart herself. In my thank you note for the DC Nation column mention, I mentioned I thought the low sales on the “Batgirl” mini were Adam Beechen’s fault, not the fans. She never wrote me back. I’d written a few letters to DC in the past, and she’d always conscientiously returned them, so I was very worried she might have been offended I’d thrown objections to “Batgirl” into a “thank you letter”.

When I discovered the (veryveryvery strong) possibility of Babs getting cured and becoming Batgirl again, that righteous fan rage kicked in.  So I sent a letter to Dan. But also a note to Jann, telling her I hoped I hadn’t offended her. Jann appears to be Dan’s official letter reader so she probably got the other, full blown letter. Both are available on my venerable livejournal here

Unbelievably fast, I got a card in response. It was first class mail! For me! Either she’s the world’s nicest person or she thinks the customer value of seventeen year old girls is very high.

Did I mention it was a card?

Isn’t that sweet?

So there are people in the industry who care, really care. They may be vague sometimes, but they care. And they have hard jobs. Who knows what it’s like in their shoes?

However, the fans don’t deserve as much flack either. Comic fans are cynical, wanky and assholey at times, yes. But it’s a case of the chicken and the egg. If stories were told with more care, if characters weren’t treated more disposably, if fans weren’t treated with such contempt at times by the very industry they shell out the bucks for, would it seem so hopeless?

Scans_daily has been accused of wankiness. My memories are mostly good times. Yes, there was bitching. But I also remember lots of love and inappropriately hilarious jokes about Robin. I remember throwing my hands up in exasperation. I also remember laughing so hard tears came down, and feeling geeky and accepted. It was a place to go. A good place. Those cheering it’s demise just don’t get it, and need to learn not to be jerks.

Wherever comic fans are, there will be wank. Comic fandom is one of the most frustrating fandoms I’ve ever been in. But a lot of times it seems worth it. Comics are a thorughly unique medium with tons of fun characters and material. And the number of in jokes and good times in fandom are innumerable.

And then there’s letters like Jann’s.

So. Fandom. Is it worth it?

I like to think so.