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c/comic-book-fans•wade871wade871•2mo ago

A guy at the local shop argued we should stop calling new readers 'fake fans'

He said gatekeeping hurts the hobby, but another regular said you need to earn your stripes by reading the old stuff. This came up after a kid asked about a movie character's first comic. Where do you stand on welcoming new people?
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4 Comments
sage_green
sage_green2mo ago
Gatekeeping just makes people feel dumb for liking the thing you both like. I got into comics through a movie and worked my way back, and that was fine. Making someone prove they're a real fan seems like a good way to have no fans left.
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grays13
grays132mo ago
Just ignore the gatekeepers, honestly.
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the_claire
the_claire1mo ago
Argue that gatekeeping keeps the culture from being watered down by people who don't actually care about the source material. There has to be some standard for what counts as being a fan.
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vera_johnson9
Wait, you got into comics through a movie?
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