Fandom can be a fickle thing. Just when think you’ve got a comic story and a character all figured out, a small change seems to send readers into a tailspin, so you as a creator can only conclude that fans hate change.
But is that really what’s happening, or is something else responsible for fan backlash?
Well, this past week saw a whole bunch of online drama when a video snippet of Glenn O’Leary from The Comic Book Palace started making the rounds. In the snippet, Gleen lamented his difficulty with selling comics, specifically superhero comics from Marvel and DC, because the modern crop of writers, as Glenn puts it…
Like clockwork, pundits from both sides of the comic-quality debate came out in full force to either attack Glenn for his regressive views (and appearance) or support Glenn for speaking truth to power.
The argument could be boiled down to multiple points for consideration, but I’m going to look at one that gets taken for granted – Fans hate change.
Is Change Bad?
As with most things, the answer is, “It depends.”
The very nature of the word “fan,” short for “fanatic,” describes an individual who has a passionate liking for a particular person, place, or thing. The operative word here is “passionate,” which means a comic reader has an emotional connection to whatever comic character at the center of the reader’s attention.
Change can be healthy because it introduces variety and surprise into a character’s continuity. New adventures can breathe fresh air into a series where a character is stuck in a rut, reliving the same life struggles or challenges over and over.
From the creator’s point of view, change can be the expression of creative freedom that makes the creative process satisfying.
So, when done correctly, change isn’t a bad thing.
The Exception To The Rule
On the flip side, the linchpin of a fan’s passion is the emotional connection they have to a character. Change can turn things sour when the nature of the creator’s change breaks or damages that emotional connection.
For example, in Nick Spencer’s somewhat infamous run on Captain America, Spencer revealed that Steve Rogers was secretly a Hydra agent for many years. The change Spencer introduced caused an uproar because the comic fans who have a passionate connection to Captain America as the symbol of truth, justice, and all that’s good about America turned out to be a lie.
Needless to say, Spencer’s run is remembered with disdain rather than fondness, and Cap’s days as a secret Hydra agent were quickly retconned away by replacing him with a non-Hydra version of himself from an alternate universe.
In this example, fans hated the change because it “broke” what fans loved about Captain America. You could give Cap a new costume, send him to another planet, or hurl him forward in time, but as long as the story is written well and Cap is still himself, fans will go along with it.
When you break the emotional bond that serves as the foundation for a fan’s passion, the backlash is almost certain.
Do Fans Hate Change?
Not exactly. Fans only hate changes that break the passionate connection they have to a character.
That means a creator can do whatever they want as long as they don’t touch the core of what makes a character who they are. On the plus side, creators have a wide degree of freedom to do whatever they want with a character, as long as it’s written well.
However, a creator that puts their voice into a character to the extent that the character is no longer themselves will not have their changes accepted. Sales will drop, and the creator will get backlash at every turn.
For all you creators out there, be responsible, be respectful, and preserve what fans love about a character. You’ll be glad you did.
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