How many writers actually read/participate message boards?

[nightforce]

I was just thinking this,

I know Phil Kurt and GAil does, but are they in the minority or do more read and participate message board discussions on their work?

[Free-Man]

I was just thinking this,

I know Phil Kurt and GAil does, but are they in the minority or do more read and participate message board discussions on their work?

Geof Johns never posts but is clearly aware of the DC Message Boards, as he parodied them in his Final Crisis tie-in.

Christos Gage and Peter David both post in the Marvel section of CBR.

Dwayne Mcduffie posts here and on the DCMB.

[nightforce]

That is interesting. I also wanted to know if it affects their work when they do participate/read what fans have to say. And if that is a good thing or not

[Peter Svensson]

Geof Johns never posts but is clearly aware of the DC Message Boards, as he parodied them in his Final Crisis tie-in.

Geoff has his own boards, where he posts occasionally.

Fabian Niceza posts wherever is appropriate to his current work.

Dan Slott has his own board, and is a really cool guy as well. (Anyone who posts pictures of my cosplay is made of win!)

Jamal Igle posts everywhere. He's really approachable online.

[Karl O'Neill]

I think Comic bloc(Geoff Johns) might have the most .

Geoff Johns.
Kurt Busiek.
Gail Simone.
Jamal Igle.
Eric Trautman.
Greg Rucka.
Matt Sturges.
Giffen (For a while)

and many many more.

[dupersuper]

I know I've seen Gail Simone, Kurt Busiek. Roger Stern, Phil Jimenez, Mark Manhunter-writer-whose-last-name-I-can-never-spell, and 1 or 2 others here...

[Tyr]

Dan Slott has his own board, and is a really cool guy as well. (Anyone who posts pictures of my cosplay is made of win!)



Brian Bendis also has a board at the same domain where her interacts on a occasional basis.

[Gail Simone]

I hear a lot of writers who say they "can't take" reading internet message boards.

I've also heard a lot of them say they don't read them when I know for a fact they do.

It's a risk. There's negative stuff and a lot of people who want to micro-manage and get frustrated when you don't change your style, plotting, scripts and character work IMMEDIATELY to suit their own tastes, and there is never a shortage of people who love to be personally insulting.

But to be honest, I find that easy to ignore most of the time. You do learn that there's no reason to engage those people.

And the rewards of talking with readers are many because the VAST majority are great. I've made a lot of good friends from message boards, people I really cherish. It'd be silly to avoid them all because of a few bad apples. This board is a great example...most everyone here is polite even if they don't like my work, and there's some new amazing thread every time I come in here.

It'd be silly to miss all of that!

[Tyr]

And the rewards of talking with readers are many because the VAST majority are great. I've made a lot of good friends from message boards, people I really cherish. It'd be silly to avoid them all because of a few bad apples. This board is a great example...most everyone here is polite even if they don't like my work, and there's some new amazing thread every time I come in here.

It'd be silly to miss all of that!

I'm polite? Guess I'm going to have to work on that, can't keep doing that, its a bad habit. :tongue:

[PROMOGUY MIKE]

I love that PJ is on here!!! he hadn't posted on DC's boards in YEARS. I love that man and think his take on the Wondie Universe is invaluable.

And it does have to be said... Gail is the main "sticky" reason I stay on the boards. Her commentary, her insight, her TEASES to story lines are a fan boy's dream in my opinion. (Can I still be a fan BOY at 37????)

I hope Bernard Chang and Aaron Lopresit come on the boards!

[Personamanx]

Mandy McMurray post's Fairly often over at the Message Boards on Marvel.Com.
We joke that she's Marvel.Com's Gail Simone.

[nightforce]

I hear a lot of writers who say they "can't take" reading internet message boards.

I've also heard a lot of them say they don't read them when I know for a fact they do.

It's a risk. There's negative stuff and a lot of people who want to micro-manage and get frustrated when you don't change your style, plotting, scripts and character work IMMEDIATELY to suit their own tastes, and there is never a shortage of people who love to be personally insulting.

But to be honest, I find that easy to ignore most of the time. You do learn that there's no reason to engage those people.

And the rewards of talking with readers are many because the VAST majority are great. I've made a lot of good friends from message boards, people I really cherish. It'd be silly to avoid them all because of a few bad apples. This board is a great example...most everyone here is polite even if they don't like my work, and there's some new amazing thread every time I come in here.

It'd be silly to miss all of that!

I hear you loud and clear. God Bless you though. You are Amazing
I just do feel awfully bad for the writers who writes the comics and have to tolerate the stuff from some fans. And as much as some try to sell it as "My opinion and I should be heard" it gets personal forgetting that the writer is is a human being with feelings.

Myself, and again I am speaking for myself, I have never been that hard to please. In life I never really ask for much and I think that goes for my comics too.As long as I am content and like what I am eating, seeing and reading I am one happy camper.

Well unless you are Joss Whedon and decide to have your Heroine enjoying getting beat up while having sex with the villain? Then I will turn into a nasty troll:wink:

[nightforce]

I love that PJ is on here!!! he hadn't posted on DC's boards in YEARS. I love that man and think his take on the Wondie Universe is invaluable.

And it does have to be said... Gail is the main "sticky" reason I stay on the boards. Her commentary, her insight, her TEASES to story lines are a fan boy's dream in my opinion. (Can I still be a fan BOY at 37????)

I hope Bernard Chang and Aaron Lopresit come on the boards!

Hey I am still a boy at 3....umm.....yeah I am a boy at 3:wink:

[aegisbearer]

(Can I still be a fan BOY at 37????)

You can still be a fan BOY at 37 if I can be a fan BOY at 42. :biggrin:

[Mark_S]

I think many more may read than admit reading. And there is a danger. But on the other hand as a writer you want to know what people thought of your story. I've gotten bad responses to my fanfic, I've gotten good ones. When you put the story out there you are putting a small piece of yourself and that leaves you vulnerable.
But what is worse is when it is a bad story that (for one reason or another) got put out. Then you feel double worse. But for a pro comic book writer it is harder because what you write is not always up to you. At marvel Peter David was put in a horrible situation because of the way marvel favored other writers over him and he was pretty much forced to ignore a major plotline for She-Hulk because of it. He had to take the heat from many un-satisfied fans even though his story was a good one. Political infighting and editorial softness can box a writer in but it is only the writers who the fans blame.

That is the joy of fanfic; complete character freedom. I think it is a joy that some pro-writers envy at times.

Mark_S

[MadJohnFinn]

You can still be a fan BOY at 37 if I can be a fan BOY at 42. :biggrin:

Ditto :biggrin:

[Gail Simone]

Mandy McMurray post's Fairly often over at the Message Boards on Marvel.Com.
We joke that she's Marvel.Com's Gail Simone.

Who is Mandy McMurray?

[ScottyQuick]

Who is Mandy McMurray?

New comic writer, did a fantastic Huntress story in last year's Holiday Special, a crappy Wonder Woman story in this year's Halloween Special, and an 18-page Oracle story that ran in this year's 'Tec and Batman annuals that I didn't read.

[Mars Getsoian]

and an 18-page Oracle story that ran in this year's 'Tec and Batman annuals that I didn't read.

Good Babs, mediocre and awkward plot. Which makes her a hero in my book, since there can't be enough good Babs, especially now.

[Flying Saucers Over Oz]

I hear a lot of writers who say they "can't take" reading internet message boards.

I've also heard a lot of them say they don't read them when I know for a fact they do.

It's a risk. There's negative stuff and a lot of people who want to micro-manage and get frustrated when you don't change your style, plotting, scripts and character work IMMEDIATELY to suit their own tastes, and there is never a shortage of people who love to be personally insulting.

But to be honest, I find that easy to ignore most of the time. You do learn that there's no reason to engage those people.

And the rewards of talking with readers are many because the VAST majority are great. I've made a lot of good friends from message boards, people I really cherish. It'd be silly to avoid them all because of a few bad apples. This board is a great example...most everyone here is polite even if they don't like my work, and there's some new amazing thread every time I come in here.

It'd be silly to miss all of that!


Which means sooner or later I'm gonna annoy her again...

But really, I realize, as should most fans, the writer has her own ideas and agenda. What really annoys me from the fans is when some yutz gets fixated on something and won't let go of it or, worse, has decided he HATES the way the book is but rather than just dropping it and finding something more to his tastes he opts to hang around and try to make everyone ELSE miserable as well. I mean, really, not only is that a surefire way to make yourself unpopular, you're also spending a great deal of time concentrating on something you don't like, and you're giving the book and the creative team far more importance in your life than they really should have. I mean, if you hate, say, THE JAY LENO SHOW, you don't watch every episode, then run to your computer and post everywhere you can about how awful it is. You just stop watching it.

[Mark_S]

Which means sooner or later I'm gonna annoy her again...

But really, I realize, as should most fans, the writer has her own ideas and agenda. What really annoys me from the fans is when some yutz gets fixated on something and won't let go of it or, worse, has decided he HATES the way the book is but rather than just dropping it and finding something more to his tastes he opts to hang around and try to make everyone ELSE miserable as well. I mean, really, not only is that a surefire way to make yourself unpopular, you're also spending a great deal of time concentrating on something you don't like, and you're giving the book and the creative team far more importance in your life than they really should have. I mean, if you hate, say, THE JAY LENO SHOW, you don't watch every episode, then run to your computer and post everywhere you can about how awful it is. You just stop watching it.

All fans have the right to complain. And their complaints don't make people miserable, if people don't like the complaints then they don't have to respond to the threads. A thread with no response just fades away.

Mark_S

[Flying Saucers Over Oz]

All fans have the right to complain. And their complaints don't make people miserable, if people don't like the complaints then they don't have to respond to the threads. A thread with no response just fades away.

Mark_S

Right. Except they just keep going on, and on, and on, and on incessantly. They start threads, they pop up in other threads, they generally make nuisances of themselves in the belief since they're not enjoying the book, noone else should be allowed to either. You know the type.

Of course fans have the right to complain, but if you're not getting satisfaction, it's best to move on. Trust me, indifference hurts comics pros far more than anger.

[nightforce]

All fans have the right to complain. And their complaints don't make people miserable, if people don't like the complaints then they don't have to respond to the threads. A thread with no response just fades away.

Mark_S

Interesting that you say that because in the thread "I love the Diana Prince" thread you have all the haters responding to that when there was ANOTHER thread that was "I hate the Diana Prince id".

The thing is you will have the unsatisfied/disgruntled fans just being annoying for "Annoying Sake" so sometimes it is easier said than done to just "ignore" fans like that

Luckily for here, there is an "Ignore feature" on here that sure helps me

Now, you can critique a book/story but then it gets out of hand by getting too personal attacking the writer or the fans who LIKE the story. Believe you me I so know how that shit is

As of right now I am considered "Gail's asskisser/Brown noser/Knight and Shining Armor. When all I am is a fan who happens to like/love her story.

[nightforce]

Right. Except they just keep going on, and on, and on, and on incessantly. They start threads, they pop up in other threads, they generally make nuisances of themselves in the belief since they're not enjoying the book, noone else should be allowed to either. You know the type.

Of course fans have the right to complain, but if you're not getting satisfaction, it's best to move on. Trust me, indifference hurts comics pros far more than anger.

No, you are 100 percent correct on all you say. For me, I wasn't enjoying the Angel Comic Book (The Spinoff to Buffy) and I just dropped it. I collected a year's worth (or more) of books and I just couldn't get into it. But instead of me complaining and nagging and bitching on Boards and bitching to the fans who love the story direction I stopped spending my money on it, I did critique the book a bit but after like the 8th complaint I knew it wasn't for me anymore.

[Alexx1]

New comic writer, did a fantastic Huntress story in last year's Holiday Special, a crappy Wonder Woman story in this year's Halloween Special, and an 18-page Oracle story that ran in this year's 'Tec and Batman annuals that I didn't read.

She did a fantastic job on that Huntress story. I haven't read the WW or Babs story. I wonder if she's doing another Huntress story in this years DC Holiday Special as it looks like Helena will be featured in it again. I still wish we could get a BOP story, at least get the girls together for a visit for the holiday!